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Young House Love » Outside » Our Patriotic Front Porch + Front Yard Planning

| By Sherry Petersik | June 27, 2017 |

Our Patriotic Front Porch + Front Yard Planning

Just dropping in with a quick little patriotic update out front and some future yard plans. We’re no strangers to decorating in reds, whites, and blues outside, and the good news is that the back of our house isn’t having all the fun anymore. That’s right, the purchase of a $25 flag has me grinning every time we come home to it (and it only took us two tries to get it right – ha!). The funny thing is that when we moved into our house there was an old flag holder in a similar spot… but we were about to repaint everything from cream to white so we removed it. And then, well, the house was flag-less for the last four years.

patriotic front porch with american flag red chairs blue ottoman

Fast forward to me dragging our red adirondak chairs to the front yard (they’re super functional for when the kids play out front) and eventually adding the blue garden stool between them (it tied the chairs into the front door color nicely). As soon as that was plopped down John and I basically looked at each other and said in unison: let’s get a flag!

patriotic front porch on print colonial home

Perhaps we were a little over-excited because we ran to Home Depot and purchased the biggest flag and pole that they had, thinking it would look bold and fun out front. But when we got it home and held it up…. it looked gigantic. Like one of those car dealership flags. Literally, my friend came by and laughed so hard that now she snaps pictures of enormous flags and texts them to me saying “look, it’s your flag!”

So back to the store we went, and this time we grabbed a more moderately sized one (2.5′ x 4′) with a smaller pole, and WOOT, it’s perfect.

patriotic front porch on brick colonial home outdoor chairs

I think our newly-awakened enthusiasm for patriotic front porches can be traced back to a quick stop we made in Cape Charles over Memorial Day when we were checking in on our beach house. How lovely is this old beauty with that giant front porch?! Those buntings hanging from the railing are so cute (here’s something similar if you have an amazing porch like this to deck out – wait, here it’s two for that price).

patriotic front porch on gray blue beach home

This house is also one of my favorites, thanks to the bold siding color and the teal steps and porch floor. It’s such a sweet town full of playful and bright houses you guys. I want to buy them all.*

patriotic front porch bright pink house blue porch stairs

*John said no

We also love this sweet shingled beauty with a nice big flag out front (along with those cute little ones stuck into the flower pots). It’s tempting me to add some smaller flags to the potted ferns on either side of our front door.

patriotic front porch on shingled beach house

So if you’re wondering where we’ll be on a nice evening while the kids catch fireflies or chase a ball around, there’s a fairly good chance we’ll be sitting right here. Hopefully with an ice-cold refreshment on that little blue side table.

american flag on brick colonial home with red adirondak chairs

Note about the chair placement: due to marital debates (John not wanting the chairs in the grass because it would be annoying to move them to mow – which is something he does frequently) we plopped them right there in the mulch, but eventually we might make them a little paver patio spot or do some pea gravel under them or something. We also dream of someday creating a big stone or brick landing at the bottom of the stairs, sort of like these – which would be such a sweet place for chairs or benches eventually.

Brick Patio At The Bottom Of Front Steps 650x426

(source)

Front Patio At Bottom Of Steps 650x364

(source)

Patio At Bottom Of Front Stairs 650x351

(source)

So along with wanting to rip the deck off the house, now I also want to jackhammer the old walkway and get to work on a front patio. As you can imagine, John is thrilled (just kidding, he’s still recovering from the whole irrigation thing).

Anywayyyyy, I’ll work on him ;)

In the meantime, remember that when you’re thinking about working in some red, white, and blue stuff outside, the fun doesn’t have to stop after the Fourth of July. In fact, our back porch has had red, white, and blue going on for years! (here are the sources for everything in this space)

red white and blue outdoor decor on back porch

So if you’re looking to jump on the red, white, and blue train with me, here ya go:

fourth of july outdoor decorations mood board

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

My favorites are those woven chairs (#2) even though they’re not red, white, or blue because they’d look awesome with a red and white striped pillow on them (#1) and I also LOVE the blue umbrella (#13) – we have a similar one on our back deck and it’s awesome. I’m also FEELING that trio of planters (#4) – don’t those designs look like little fireworks?! LOVE. Also, those red white & blue string lights (#5) are awesome and I can’t get enough of that little red grill (#11) or the blue drink dispenser (#8). In summary: GIMME ALL OF THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE THINGS.

Psst – Want more? You can see a bunch of other holiday-related updates and projects that we’ve shared (like this watermelon carving from back in 2009). 

*This post contains affiliate links*

More posts from Young House Love

Filed Under: Decorating, Favorites, Holiday & Entertaining, Our Third House, Outside

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John and Sherry smiling against pink backgroundHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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