10 Ways to Add Vintage Farmhouse Style to Your Summertime Decor

If you’re looking for Summer Decorating ideas, use this list of Accessories to get started

Summer is officially here! And if you’re like me and you’ve been a busy beaver getting all the outside projects done (and going to a ton of grad parties), the inside of your home is looking a little less-than-summery! Pretty soon the thermometer will be rising and the inside air conditioning will feel pretty appealing. Time to spruce up the inside of your home and give it some summertime love, also! Today I’ll share 10 ways to bring summertime style to your vintage farmhouse!

Decorate Using Bright, Bold Colors

Summertime turns up the heat, which means colors need to be bolder, brighter, more intense. Primary colors and croquet colors can replace the sweeter versions of spring. Also add plenty of white to contrast with all the brights and black to bring clarity.

White bedspreads and gauzy, white curtains blowing in the breeze typify summer in a vintage farmhouse. By adding bright colors in pillows and accessories, you can bring a fresh, modern touch to the comfortable style.

Decorate with Vintage Patchwork Quilts

Patchwork quilts bring a graphic punch to farmhouse decor. Their bright, happy fabric collages look wonderful at the foot of the bed, draped over the back of the sofa, used as a tablecloth or re-purposed. Pieces of quilts can be re-fashioned into coasters, bunting and runners to preserve the undamaged parts of these handcrafted treasures. I love the variety of old fabrics used and appreciate having an extra layer handy when the cool nights arrive! Even though I don’t quilt myself, I am very appreciative of all the work that have gone into them! {“Thankyou, Quilters”}

Decorate with Accessories that have Graphic Punch

Vintage graphics give summertime decor the perfect punch! Whether it’s old labels printed on glass pop bottles, or images of children playing on vintage tin toys. These items harken back to a simpler time when packaging wasn’t all disposable and kids toys weren’t destined for a landfill. These accessories provide artistic punch to summertime styling! If you have a couple of old license plates, you may want to DIY a “License Plate Trug”; a fun accessory for summer. (Once you gather all these fun items, you’ll want to grab my “5 Steps to the Perfect Vignette”, which I have in my Resource Library)

Decorate with Vintage Yard Games

Outdoor fun is on the agenda in the summertime! Accessorizing with vintage yard games like croquet and badminton, along with old tennis rackets and baseballs adds an element of whimsy to your home. It can be as simple as filling a wooden bowl with the colorful balls or placing the red-sewn baseballs in a glass container. {“4th of July Tabletop Ideas“}. Re-purposing the parts can create fun accent pieces also. I’ll be sharing some projects in the coming weeks!

Use the Garden as Decor Inspiration

It’s gardening season all summer long! Enjoy all those old, patinaed tools, fences of all kinds and anything else associated with the garden. You can work them into your porch decor, or anywhere in your home! If you’ve got old crimped wire metal fencing, you may want to create a ” Re-purposed Vintage Fence Square” with my recent tutorial. So many decorating possibilities! I’ve got some seed packet bunting in my near future, I think;)

Decorate with Summer Fruit-Inspired Accessories

Fruit is the queen of harvest in the summertime! Besides eating as much of the ripe goodness as we can, enjoy fruit depicted on vintage glassware and other pieces. Everlasting fruit can be worked into your styling for added texture. Fun signs depicting lemonade or other fruit treats can be a great addition, too. I inherited this cute watermelon crocheted lap blanket, which works wonderfully as a summertime tabletop backdrop.

Decorate with Water-Inspired Decor

Refreshing water is to be celebrated in the summertime! Whether it’s a lake, a swimming pool, the ocean, or a backyard sprinkler, the cool refreshment of water when it’s hot outside is much appreciated! Add water items to your vignettes to capture this special attraction. From vintage sprinklers, to fishing and boating accessories, to good old curbside garden hoses {“DIY Garden Hoses Wreath”}, water items are a fun feature for summertime decorating!

Decorate with (Faux) Summer Bugs, Insects, and Reptiles

All the world’s abuzz in the summer! If birds are for springtime, butterfly’s and bugs are definitely for summer! You can also add frogs and turtles and even a bee skep or two! If you come across old books with beautiful illustrations, incorporate them also.

Decorate with “Face” Flowers

The floral industry calls flowers that have a middle, “face” flowers. Daisies, zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, and Gerber daisies are all foundational garden plantings; they epitomize summer! Real ones can definitely be enjoyed in bouquets, but everlasting blooms can be worked into your inside summertime styling, too!

Decorate with Plenty of Green Foliage

And because it’s green outside, make sure to add plenty of green inside, also! Pieces of artificial grass, grass tufts, succulents and tropical greens add the final texture to all your interior summertime styling.

Once you’ve gathered all these fun items, you’ll want to create your own vintage, farmhouse-styled summer vignettes! If you subscribe to my newsletter, you can grab my free downloadable, printable “5 Steps to a Perfect Vignette”, which will walk you through styling your own groupings with your own pieces, easily layering! I’ll send you a password to my Resource Library that is full of refreshing and re-purposing tricks, styling tips, pretty printables and favorite recipes!

If you’re already a subscriber and haven’t grabbed your “5 Steps to a Perfect Vignette”, your Resource Library password is in your weekly email. You’ll want this resource handy for when your creative juices kick in!

I hope this post inspires you to go dig through your cupboards, or hit the closest vintage shop and round up some of these fun, vintage farmhouse items to create your summertime look! Yes, summertime living is all about the outside, but it’s fun to have the inside of your home reflect the outside! Summer is also a time to enjoy a more relaxed, whimsical style of decorating. Then when you’re stuck inside enjoying the A/C on a super hot day, you can still enjoy all the trappings of summertime! Let these 10 ideas bring some summer to your vintage, farmhouse-styled home!

Sharing at these lovely parties:

Vintage Charm

Talk of the Town

To Grandma’s House We Go

Thursday Favorite Things

Feathered Nest Friday

Farmhouse Friday

Creative Crafts