If you can only decorate one spot for summer, I recommend it be your porch! Follow along for my Summer Porch Design for this year!
Having my front porch looking it’s best for summer guests and visitors always helps me kick start the season feeling on top of my game!
Historically I’ve decorated in themes such as nautical, European vacation, or by adding in patriotic undertones. This year, however, I was very inspired by this image I found on Pinterest!
It is credited to “Mt. Tails”, but I cannot find a good original source link – please email me here if you know the original creator, I’d love to give them credit.
I absolutely love that it’s simple while still completely sophisticated. It also has beautiful formality.
The whole look instantly struck a chord with me, and since I already have black Adirondack chairs, I knew I could bring this inspiration to life.
At first I wasn’t sure if the two Adirondacks would fit, but it was worth a try and it paid off in the end!
So I knew I wanted to bring in black, gold, old worn wood, and lots of lacy feminine greenery like jasmine and ferns.
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As I got to work on my porch, I knew I wanted to tackle a few “house-keeping” items. I had a $5 thrifted basket that I wanted to repaint in a faux wood technique, and I wanted to touch up the paint on my black Adirondack chairs.
I recently shared the tutorial all about how I turned the poorly painted basket into a faux wood look, and I’m so pleased with how it turned out!
We purchased the Adirondack chairs a few years back when we were refreshing our outdoor fire pit area, and after a few years in the Pacific Northwest, they were in need of a touch up coat of paint. I used “Ash” by Fusion Mineral. (Click HERE to get 10% off your Fusion Mineral Purchase.)
While my paint projects were drying I went to our local nursery to look for the feminine florals I was after.
After getting a bit distracted by all of the beautiful options, I ended up with some pretty options that had white flowers for nice contrast.
I mixed in some of my faux ferns, which are one of the unspoken heroes of my porch decorating.
My husband helped me roll our large whiskey barrel up onto the porch between the two chairs, and I styled the top of it with the two black boxes I purchased from Magnolia when I was in Waco, TX, a pretty white shell, and my favorite DIY candle made in a thrifted $0.10 tin!
My Texas trip was one of my first retreats, and I’m so excited to be planning another for this Fall to Orange, Virginia and the grand Mayhurst Estate! Learn more about The Bespoke Design Retreat and sign up at bespokedesignretreat.com!
** If you’re reading this post after August 1, 2023 – Registration for the 2023 trip is already closed, but you can join the Waitlist Here to be notified for future Bespoke events! **
On the other side of the door I used my new faux wood basket filled with my new plants, my black lantern, and a small galvanized bucket with more greenery and another little white hidden shell.
On the wall behind the Adirondack chairs, I hung my bird print from IKEA.
If you love decorating with art prints, I have a free selection of 12 curated prints that you can access HERE.
Being able to go from inspired by something beautiful to creating something beautiful in your own home is one of the skills I teach in my Elite Decorating Academy!
There are 6 Modules packed with practical interior design skills and formulas. This equates to 28 hours of teaching time, conveniently split into 160 easy to digest classes that are an average of 10 minutes each!
If you want to learn more or get started now, you can sign up at elitedecoratingacademy.com!
I also have boards on Pinterest filled with inspiration that you may love for your summer porch: