Free Thrifting Guide!
Product has been added to your cart.
  1. Home
  3. Inspiration for Your Home
  5. Patriotic Decorating With Vintage Enamelware

Posts on theantiquedjourney.com may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases. You can read the full privacy policy and disclosures here.

Patriotic Decorating With Vintage Enamelware

By Rachel
|

Share this post. Share the Journey!

Last Updated on November 17, 2023 by Rachel Granholm

Patriotic decorating with vintage enamelware is festive and fun!

You know that smell of summer? Like, when you walk outside on a warm, sunny day, there is a very distinct smell in the air that can only be described as ‘it smells like summer today’.  It’s one of my favorite smells, ushering in the long, beautiful days of summer. Is there a candle that is scented like that?! Anyways, today’s post is something that is quintessentially summer because I’m sharing simple patriotic decorating with vintage enamelware!

For this vintage summer theme, I’m collaborating once again with my friend Anna from Sky Lark House! Anna has an amazing blog full of vintage goodness and I am so grateful for her. She is sharing a vintage summer tablescape using red transferware dishes and it’s incredible. Be sure to pop on over to read her post and say hello!

a patriotic tablescape with red transerware dishes from Sky Lark House blog
Photo courtesy of skylarkhouse.com

The red, white and blue colors that you see so often this time of year, along with the patriotic holidays, evoke a special kind of summer nostalgia. Picnics, barbecues, fireworks and time at the lake are all things that come to mind when thinking about using enamelware during the summer season.

Vintage enamelware evokes the feeling of lazy summer days in the sun, feeling happy and free.

a vintage patriotic display with enamelware, books, and milk glass this post

Patriotic Decorating With Vintage Enamelware

Bold colors are normally not my jam when it comes to decorating my home. I’ve never really been into using red, white and blue themed decor before because it has never been aesthetically pleasing to me.

But, this year, I decided to incorporate yellow into the mix and I absolutely love how it looks. For my patriotic themed decor, I kept it really simple and minimal. Here is the process and the elements that I used for my patriotic display!

The Base

a vintage patriotic vignette with enamelware, milk glass, and books

You know how much I adore vintage linens, so I started with a vintage white eyelet table runner and then placed two yellow and white gingham cloth napkins over the top of that. The softness of the eyelet paired with the bold checks helps create a solid foundation and draws your eyes in.

Height Elements

a wooden scoop used as a riser in a patriotic vignette

I didn’t want to buy anything new for this display so I shopped my house and picked from what I already had on hand. It’s always helpful to think outside the box when creating a display. I chose to use a vintage wooden scoop turned over so that the flat side was up, two vintage books in the themed colors and a thin wooden plaque. The wooden elements help to balance out all of the metal, creating a more uniform and pleasing display.

a small vintage red enamel teapot displayed with vintage milk glass in a patriotic display

Larger Pieces

a vintage white enamel pitcher filled with faux yellow stems and a flag

I grabbed taller pieces next and dispersed them throughout. The vintage lamp always lives on this cabinet so I can always count on that for height on the right side. The white enamel pitcher on the left side is the largest piece of enamelware that I have. It has such substance to it! My amazing mother-in-law gave me the vintage marshmallow tin years ago and think it is just the perfect summer-y accent to use as a statement piece alongside the enamelware.

a vintage marshmallow tin filled with faux greens displayed for the 4th of July

Then, I placed two of my medium sized enamel teapots on either side. As you start to add more pieces in, you can see how the display is taking shape and tweak or move things around accordingly.

Smaller Pieces

a blue vintage enamel teapot displayed on top a Jadeite saucer in a patriotic vignette

Once you have the larger pieces in place, you can then start to incorporate smaller, shorter pieces to fill in empty gaps. For this, I chose to use some of my cute enamel cups and small teapots as well as a hobnail milk glass cup. Apparently I love milk glass so much that I can’t create any type of display without it! I added in the Jadeite saucer on a whim for added color and I love how it looks.

a blue and white transferware plate displayed in a patriotic vignette

For one more added design element, I used a vintage blue and white transferware plate underneath the marshmallow tin. I love how the softness of those florals play with the toughness of the tin. It just works! Again, it’s okay to move things around and pull things in and out until you find the balanced and visually pleasing display that you are going for.

Textural Elements and Accents

vintage enamelware and a vintage tin displayed with faux stems for a patriotic vignette

Textural elements are my favorite things to add to a display to really make it come alive. For me, these are elements such as faux (or real) greenery or stems, florals, ribbon, themed accents, or small figurals. For this display in particular, I went to Michael’s and picked up a few stems of faux yellow Ranunculus and this really pretty trailing greenery! The yellow Billy Balls I had in my stash. The trailing greens remind me of a Willow tree, which is another quintessential summer thing for me. If you remember my door basket from the spring, which was also a collaboration with Anna, I had the faux white Wisteria trailing out of that basket. I have since disassembled that project so I grabbed a few of those Wisteria stems to incorporate with the yellow flowers. I played around with the stems until I was happy with how they looked.

a vintage patriotic display with yellow gingham checked linens

I loved how my display was looking but it was missing something. It dawned on me the next day that it was flags! Of course a patriotic display needs flags! I wanted to use some vintage looking flags throughout, not just the cheap looking ones from the dollar store. I was going to make some flags using ticking stripe fabric, but before I did, my sweet neighbor texted me a picture of some burlap flags that she had just stumbled across at Marshall’s of all places! I had her grab me a pack of them and they are perfect. The addition of the flags was exactly what I needed to tie the whole display together.

Vintage Patriotic Display

a vintage patriotic display with enamelware, milk glass, wooden elements and faux yellow florals

I truly love how this patriotic themed display came together. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on creating themed displays for your home. All of the pieces used in this vignette were things that I already had, minus the floral stems and the flags. The pops of yellow really helped me to love decorating with the traditional colors of red, white and blue. To me, it is the perfect balance of colors and textures paired with the enamelware, giving me that nostalgic summer feeling that I was going for.

a vintage inspired patriotic display with enamelware

Closing Tidbits

I hope these ideas for patriotic decorating with vintage enamelware are an encouragement for you! This was really fun for me to create because I always like to show you different ways of doing things. You can use yellow in the mix of patriotic decor. You can use a certain item intended for one purpose but use it in a completely different manner. You can decorate with enamelware in any way you choose. May you find the courage to roll your windows down, let your hair fly free and find that special summer nostalgia in whatever way that is for you.

signature from The Antiqued Journey

Don’t forget to check out Anna’s patriotic tablescape and other posts over at Sky Lark House!

a white and blue enamel pitcher sits on top a Jadeite plate for a patriotic centerpiece

P.S. A few days after I finished my display, I was going through my linens and came across this table runner that I completely forgot about!! I rescued it from the thrift store a few years ago for around $2. You guys…it’s red, white, blue AND yellow!! How could I not put this out somewhere?! It perfectly ties my dining table and the patriotic display together. Just adorable.

Other Summer Posts You Might Enjoy:

How To Make An Outdoor Rug

DIY Flower Pots

5 Creative Ways To Use Kitchen Canisters

Simple Summer Decorating

If you haven’t checked out The Antiqued Journey shop yet, I would love it if you would go poke around a bit! You will find items designed by Mr. Antiqued Journey such as t-shirts, mugs, hats and bags, perfect for you or as a gift for a loved one! Your support helps me to keep creating weekly content. Thank you!

If you are loving my content, please consider subscribing to my e-mail list. In return, you will receive a free digital download and weekly inspiration delivered straight to your inbox. I would love for you to be a part of The Antiqued Journey community!

Shop Patriotic Summer Decor

42 Comments. Leave new

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
You need to agree with the terms to proceed

Hello I’m Rachel.

I’m so glad you are here! Old things are my jam. Antique malls and thrift stores are my happy places.

Here on the blog I love to share my excitement, knowledge, and ideas about all things antique and vintage. Let’s journey together!

If you like what I'm doing, feel free to buy me a coffee to show your support!

Sign me up for the

Journey!

Sign up for free antique and vintage inspiration, DIY projects, and thrifting tips straight to your inbox.

    Popular

    My hand poured holiday candles are SOLD OUT!

    Thank you so much for supporting my little business.
    View More
    Menu