Last Updated on May 22, 2024 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. Anyways, today’s post is something that is quintessentially summer because I’m sharing simple patriotic decorating with vintage enamelware!
Vintage Decor for Summer
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!
Shop Vintage Patriotic Decor
Vintage Americana Decor
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.
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.
Below is the process and the elements that I used for my patriotic display!
Start with a Base
You know how much I adore vintage linens, so I started with a vintage white eyelet table runner and then placed two yellow 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.
Vintage Decor for Height
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.
So, 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.
Larger Pieces of Vintage Patriotic Decor
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.
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 of Vintage Decor
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.
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 for Vintage Patriotic Display
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 as well as a stem of trailing greenery!
The yellow billy ball’s 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.
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.
Finished Vintage Patriotic Display
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.
Closing Tidbits on Patriotic Decorating with Vintage Enamelware
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.
Don’t forget to check out Anna’s patriotic tablescape and other posts over at Sky Lark House!
Also, leave me a comment! How do you like to decorate your home for the patriotic holidays? I love hearing from you!
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43 Comments. Leave new
Hi Rachel! The white enamelware pitcher is fabulous! I love how your display turned out. I also love that you added touches of yellow. (Yes you can!) Thank you for collaborating with me!
No thank YOU!!! SO fun!
LOVE all your enamelware, Rachel. Those little “tea-for-one” teapots are so adorable, and that marshmallow tin in iconic. Cute checked napkins just add to the summer fun!
Hi Debra!
Thanks SO much for your lovely comment!! I had a lot of fun styling this one. Thanks for stopping by the blog today…I do appreciate it!!
Rachel, this was one of my favorite posts! I think I will put flags INSiDE my house!
Paula
Thanks, mom!!! You can!
Love the festive way these pieces all came together, Rachel, they’re totally fabulous. I can’t get over your campfire tin and those check napkins either. I love them so much! It’s hard to believe it’s almost time to celebrate the 4th of July. We’ve had a great summer so far so I’ll be ready. Hope your summer has been an amazing one too! Hugs, CoCo
Hi!!
Thank you SO much, CoCo!!! I really had fun with this one and I’m so happy you like it! Thank you so much for stopping by and reading today…I appreciate you SO much!
Rachel
Everything came out so sweet! Love all your vintage pieces. Perfect for 4th of July!
Thanks Meagan!!
Rachel,
Wow, you have some very lovely enamel teapots. I really like this display. I have a few pieces and I love them. Congratulations, you are being features on Thursday Favorite Things. https://www.eclecticredbarn.com/2022/06/thursday-favorite-things-party_01679343881.html
Hugs,
Bev
Hi Bev!
Thank you!! I appreciate that very much!
Thanks for sharing with us at the Thursdays Favorite Things party! I love it! I’m featuring you @ this week’s party. Congrats! ~Theresa
Hi Theresa!
Thanks so much! I appreciate it!!
I just love how you presents Patriotic theme together with vintage summery look. Beautiful pieces! I’ll be featuring you on Happiness Is Homemade Link party this week!
Mel
Decor Craft Design
Thank you! I appreciate that very much!
Rachel, I love the way you assembled these enamelware pieces. The yellow teapot has me drooling 🙂 A summer candle would fit in perfectly with your collection. Happy summer!
Hi Rachelle!
Thanks so much for your lovely comment and for stopping by the blog today! This was really fun for me to put together. I hope you have a lovely week ahead!
I love all your pieces and I am so jealous – I’ve always wanted one of those marshmallow tins! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen
Hi Kathleen!
Thank you!!
I have to say while I appreciate your patriotic decorating tips (which are easily adaptable for our Canada Day), it was your campfire marshmallow tin and the enamel mugs that took me right back to my childhood summers at the lake. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Hi Marie!
Thank you!! I’m happy I could create some nostalgia for you today…that makes me happy! Thanks for stopping by today!
Visiting from Lora’s email. Your patriotic display is very cute! I love the book, Not so Big House too!
Hi Michelle!!
Thanks SO much for stopping by!! I appreciate it more than you know. I had fun creating that vignette…so glad you enjoyed it!!
Rachel I love all of your enamelware! And that campfire marshmallow tin! I’ve been wanting one! I’d love to invite you to come link up over at my weekly link party for a chance to be featured! https://www.ourtinynest.com/2023/05/24/weekly-link-party-349/
Hope you will join us!
Hi Nicolle!
Thank you!! My MIL actually gave me that tin..she had it for years and wasn’t using it anymore!
Hi Rachel! I never would have thought to add yellow to red, white, and blue but it works beautifully! This is such a fabulous patriotic display and I love all the vintage pieces you incorporated! So festive!
Hi!
Thank you!! I appreciate it, Donna! I loved it so much last year that I’m doing it again this year in a different way.
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