Bring on the red, white, and blue! Summer has officially arrived which means it’s time to add patriotic touches to the front porch.
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Front porch living.
Once the first day of Summer arrives, it’s game on with patriotic decorating here at the farm. I always start with the front porch. I love driving up to the farmhouse and being greeted by all the red, white, and blue. It’s so festive and makes me very proud to live in this great country.
A great majority of the Summertime is spent on our front porch. Not only is it where you enter our home, but it’s also the most used outdoor space on the farm. Whether it’s morning coffee on the porch swing, reading a book, catching up on Instagram and emails in the afternoon, or having a glass of wine in the evening on the rocking chairs watching a storm pass through, the front porch gets a lot of love on a daily basis. It only makes sense that it’s decorated first with the arrival of each new season.
Swinging into Summer.
The bed swing is my favorite place to spend quiet summer mornings with my cup of coffee. It’s also the best spot to watch Summer afternoon storms roll through. The swing is also the first place I start when I decorate the front porch.
The canvas drop cloth I use over the mattress on the swing bed and the macrame pillows pretty much stay the same all year-round. This makes the perfect neutral backdrop for the pops of color I like to add with accent pillows and blankets throughout the different seasons. With the arrival of Summer, the American flag pillow is a must, and paired with red ticking striped pillows they are a patriotic match made in heaven on the swing.
Behind the swing, I added the American flag that my Father-in-Law gave us. Not only is it a wonderful patriotic touch to the front porch, but it’s also got sentimental meaning. There is nothing like decorating with family heirlooms, they are my favorite pieces of home decor. As you can see, Jolene, the farm cat, loves the flag too!
Styling up the coffee table.
With the swing all decked out, it’s time to tackle the coffee table (or trunk). Last Summer I was obsessed with making concrete bowls. I couldn’t stop making them! I made so many concrete bowls that I was giving some away to friends and family. Of course, I kept a few for myself too! If you are interested in making your own, you may want to check out my post about how to make DIY Concrete Bowls. Fair warning though, it’s incredibly fun and slightly addicting. Once you start making concrete bowls, it’s hard to stop!
This season I was so excited to get my concrete bowls out of the trunk (which not only makes a perfect coffee table, but it’s also a great place to store all my outdoor decor and so much more)! For the centerpiece on the coffee table, I used one large concrete bowl and a smaller one. The small bowls are great for pillar candles with seasonal candle rings around them, but, they are also great for creating the base to make a concrete pedestal bowl. I turned the smaller bowl upside down and placed the larger bowl on top of it. Voila! It makes such a bold and beautiful statement piece.
Festive florals.
In the concrete pedestal bowl, I created a patriotic faux flower arrangement. Although I try to use fresh flowers as often as possible around the farmhouse, outside on the porch in the sun and heat, I prefer using faux stems. I used floral foam and white faux flowers including hydrangeas, ranunculus, and Queen Anne’s lace. To hide the foam and give the arrangement a more finished look, I covered it with moss. Two small American flags in the center of the arrangement were the perfect patriotic finishing touches to my coffee table centerpiece.
The red lanterns on either side of the floral centerpiece added the perfect touch of color to the coffee table. The pillar candles inside the lanterns create beautiful ambiance and lighting in the evenings, especially when a storm rolls through. There is nothing like the glow of candlelight! Millie, the farm cat, agrees.
Rocking all Summer long.
On the opposite side of the front porch are our rocking chairs. Yup, his and hers. In my opinion, no southern porch is complete unless it has at least one rocker. One of my favorite ways to spend a warm Summer afternoon is rocking on the porch with a cold glass of iced tea and a good book. I absolutely love our rockers. They are made from High-Density Polyethylene. Although they are more expensive than wood rocking chairs, their durability throughout the seasons makes them worth the financial investment. Note: The rockers never get stored away during the year and they still look brand new. Looking at them now, you’d never believe that they’re already six years old. 
Sometimes it can be difficult to find patriotic pillows that are subtle. Often times I find that many of the patriotic pillows can look too busy. When I found this sweet white pillow with blue stars and the word America printed on it I fell in love. I think it is the perfect patriotic pillow. Upon its arrival at the farmhouse (I ordered it online), I was pleasantly surprised by the softness of the fabric too.
Finishing (patriotic) touches to the front porch.
Southern Summers are hot and steamy, so this time of year, blankets are not necessary. They hang out on the blanket ladder until Fall comes around. With the blankets out of commission for the Summer, the blanket ladder needed to be jazzed up a bit. Draping some red, white, and blue fabric on the ladder gives it a celebratory and whimsical Summer feel.
Over the window, I added a patriotic garland. Throughout the entire front porch, I added small American flags to many of the flowering potted plants. Flags are a wonderful and inexpensive way to add patriotic touches to the front porch or any space inside or outside the home.
All about the bunting.
With all the patriotic touches on the front porch complete, the only thing left was hanging the pleated fan bunting on the railings. This bunting is the perfect Americana decor. Whether we are in town for the 4th of July or away, the bunting always gets hung. Without it on the railings of the porch in the Summertime, the farmhouse just feels like it’s missing something. It truly is the perfect patriotic touch to the front porch.
Thank you for joining me on the front porch today. I hope you enjoyed the styling tips, product sources, and patriotic inspiration as much as I enjoyed sharing it with y’all. Hopefully, your summer is off to a great start. I look forward to sharing lots more with you soon!
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