40 Rustic Decor Ideas for the Summer Farmhouse

Trista - June 9, 2019

Summer is a beautiful time with the full bounty of nature on display and plenty of warm, inviting weekends to gather with friends and family to celebrate graduations, holidays, and the very season itself. Summer is also the perfect time to do some DIY rustic farmhouse decorating, as so many implements of the farm are meant for summer use. Galvanized metal items, enamelware, watering cans, chicken feeders, and more can all be repurposed to display the floral bounty of the summer, and the colors and motifs of the season pair beautifully with pre-existing rustic decor.

1. Summer Wreath

There are numerous options for creating a beautiful, rustic summer wreath to welcome guests and visitors into your home. For the ultra-thrifty, try looking for a simple wire or twig wreath on clearance from Easter or at a second-hand shop. Pair your simple frame with lush faux florals like magnolias, hydrangeas, or even succulents for a fun tropical look. Ribbon in bold, summer citrus hues can provide a perfect finishing touch.

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2. Wagon Wheel Accents

Nothing says summer farm like a beautiful wagon wheel, whether it’s a full-size vintage wheel or a small modern reproduction meant to evoke the style simply. Laid in the ground, a wagon wheel provides the perfect segments for brightly colored annual flowers like petunias or impatiens. Propped up, they can support wind chimes, garden ornaments, and even small hanging baskets. Small reproduction wagon wheels can also make delightful wreaths when paired with faux florals and ribbons.

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3. Upcycled Tires

If you can get your hands on some old tires, they are incredibly useful for summer decor. Spray painted in bright, cheerful colors they make ideal stacking container gardens. Plant them densely with trailing annuals like wave petunias, and you will have a summer-long display of color. For the rustic chicken-keeper, an old tire painted and filled with sand makes a nice dust bath for your hens. Small tires can be hung with rope and filled with faux florals for an eye-catching, quirky wreath.

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4. Old Trunk Porch Table

While heirloom cedar trunks can be quite rare finds, many old luggage trunks are relatively cheap and easy to find. Made from wood and leather, these finds are typically in somewhat rough shape which makes them perfect for outdoor use in a rustic porch! A flat-top porch makes a perfect little picnic table, and clean-up is easy — just store your clean picnic utensils inside the trunk until your next meal!

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5. Gingham Accents

Gingham, with its classic checkered appearance, is a beautiful addition to any rustic summer decor. For a front porch, try adding gingham pillows to rocking chairs or a swing. Oilcloth or another waterproof material will make for a beautiful look with easy maintenance. Try some gingham ribbon in contrasting colors tied around your flower pots. Nothing will make a pink African daisy pop more than a beautiful teal gingham ribbon.

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6. Crate Furniture

Are you searching for the perfect spot to rest your glass of lemonade or sweet tea? Try stacking vintage crates to create stylish, useful side tables that also allow you to display even more rustic decor. A couple of stacked containers will make an ideal side-table height while also allowing you to show off a lantern with succulents, a galvanized bucket with some bright annuals, and more. Try pairing crates with metal items and rough fabrics like jute and rope items for a truly rustic look.

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7. DIY No Vacancy Sign

Everyone wants their home to feel like a welcoming vacation abode come summer. Nothing complements this vibe more perfectly than a DIY rustic no vacancy sign for your front door or porch. Starting with pallet or salvaged wood, create a rough plank sign and paint it with your choice of color. If you want to stay on-trend, think pastels, especially greens. Stencil on no vacancy in a vintage font, and you’ll have a beautiful sign that will no doubt lead to a guest waiting list for your home!

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8. Wire Spool Table

Many types of industrial cables come on giant spools that quite closely resemble the thread spools you’re likely more familiar with. While they can be tough to move due to their size and weight, find some friends with a truck and an old wire spool could be the perfect centerpiece for your porch or patio. Thanks to their shape, these spools make a natural table, and their simple wood construction looks effortlessly rustic. Keep an eye on your local Craigslist and swap groups, and hopefully, you’ll have your own spool table in no time!

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9. Hanging Mason Jar Vases

Mason jars, as ever, are a core part of the rustic farmhouse aesthetic. For summer fun, try suspending some colored glass mason jars from the roof of your deck or porch with wire or heavy twine. Fill these with a bit of water and some fresh cut summer flowers like tickseed, coneflowers, daisies, and hydrangea for incredibly whimsical accents. Mason jars now come in blue, green, and other colors, and there are online tutorials for coloring the glass yourself as well so they can match any porch!

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10. Rustic Porch Lights

Thanks to the popularity of rustic decor, especially in the summer months, there are many rustic string and fixture light options available at big box stores. However, if you want to get creative and make DIY rustic lighting, there are countless options. Simple, clear lights can be wrapped and dangled around pieces of salvaged wood or branches and hung from the ceiling with wire or twine. Mason jars can be filled with battery lights and used hanging or as centerpieces on tables.

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11. Crates of Flowers

To amp up the rustic charm of any indoor or outdoor space, decorate with a beautiful plant that will be happy to stay in its nursery pot (the pot you buy it in) for at least a few months. Simply place this pot inside a decorate crate and fill any space with some fabric, moss, lumber, or whatever you desire. The sight of beautiful, fresh flowers bunched inside a vintage box gives a wholesome, old-timey general store type of feel that is incredibly inviting.

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12. Vintage Desk Porch Display

An old desk, even if it’s in rough shape, can make an excellent focal point for a floral and decor display on a rustic farmhouse porch or deck. Missing drawers? That’s fine! Simply find an old desk and paint it the color of your choice. Vibrant greens and barn reds both really pop, but choose any color you enjoy that complements your decor. Once finished, your desk can hold a crate or bucket of flowers, a picnic basket, or anything else your heart desires for your rustic porch.

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13. Chair Planter

Do you have an old chair that is no longer sturdy or has outlived its usefulness? Turn it into a planter! If the chair has a rattan or caned base, remove this portion and place plastic or other light material planter in the hole For chairs with solid bases, you can either cut a hole to fit a pot or leave it as-is and place a planter (or multiple planters) on the chair. These chair planters look phenomenal in a garden, next to a front door, and on a patio.

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14. Picket Fence Welcome

Nothing says warm, welcoming summer quite like a white picket fence. To welcome to your guests with this sunny, beautiful vibe try making a DIY white picket fence welcome sign with inexpensive white picket garden edging. Available at any big box hardware or garden center, sections of white picket are quite cheap and easy to cut to your desired size. Then, simply attach any welcome sign be it a wreath, hand-stenciled wood sign, or anything else you can dream up.

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15. Old Table Planting Bench

Anyone who does much gardening knows it can be hard work on your back. Lighten the load by turning a salvaged old wooden table into a perfect height potting bench for all your gardening needs. A small dining table or old entryway table is the ideal height, and only needs a coat of outdoor paint to become a long-lasting, handy addition to your yard. Stack crates on top to add storage and display room for your freshly planted treasures!

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16. Watering Can Vase

A lot of old watering cans just aren’t that convenient to use anymore. Either they leak, the pouring nozzles are clogged, or they’re just too big and bulky. However, don’t toss that old can out! Old watering cans especially galvanized metal ones, make beautiful, unique vases for fresh or faux florals. The imagery of a tool meant to care for plants directly holding plants is really whimsical and elegant. Try sprucing up rusty old cans with a bit of ribbon for a cleaner, sharper look.

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17. Poultry Waterer and Feeder Planters

Galvanized poultry waterers and feeders are highly coveted by rustic farmhouse decorators and for good reason. They are beautiful, useful pieces of life on actual working farms that can also double as bird feeders for suburban birds and function as planters, among many other uses. If you get your hand on a waterer or feeder, try planting an abundant annual, like an African daisy or dahlia in the main section. Plant a smaller annual like alyssum in the shallow surrounding tray for a wild, overflowing look.

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18. Hanging Basket Decor

Hanging baskets and wall pockets of all kinds, from wicker to pottery, are great additions to a rustic farm porch be they door hangers, wall art, or more. A lightweight wicker basket full of hydrangeas or another summer flower makes a beautiful, welcoming display on a front door. Dispersed throughout a porch, multiple wall pockets of faux florals with battery powered lights can be the perfect touch to finish off a palatial porch.

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19. Chicken Wire Signs

While chicken wire in picture frames is often used to hang photographs, they can be even more functional on a porch or patio. A large, rustic vintage frame filled with chicken wire and paired with laundry pins can be used to hold a bottle of bug spray suspended from a ribbon, lost and found sunglasses, coasters to dry out, and more. There will likely be no end to the uses you will be able to find for the rustic beauty of chicken wire with laundry pin clips.

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20. Enamelware Planters

If galvanized pails, chicken feeders, and crocks are expensive or hard to find in your area, consider the alternative of enamelware. Vintage enamelware was often white with red trim, black with white speckling, or dark blue with white speckling. These colors are also being reproduced and sold inexpensively in many big box stores. These dishes, whether bakeware, vases, or urns, pair beautifully with classic flowers like red geraniums or white daisies to add a splash of elegant color to your porch or patio.

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21. Rag Rugs

Rag rugs always bring a folksy, home-spun character to a rustic farmhouse space, and this is equally true for a rustic porch. For an exposed porch, consider easy to clean materials like flour sack, terrycloth, and t-shirt blends. Alternatively, look into oilcloth and other waterproof fabrics, although these are stiffer and will be harder to work. For protected porches that aren’t exposed to water, the sky is the limit. Look to pastels, jewel tones, gingham, and natural fibers like jute to stay on trend with a rustic flair.

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22. Citrus Centerpiece

Whether indoor or out, nothing says summer like bright, beautiful citrus fruit. For special occasions, try a fresh citrus centerpiece with utensils available to make use of the fresh fruit for iced tea, lemonade, mixed drinks, and more. For a more permanent display, try faux or dried fruit mixed with florals, ribbons, and other interesting textures to add depth and visual interest. Wooden crates, metal buckets, old drawers, and more are all perfect choices for citrusy summer displays.

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23. DIY ‘Galvanized’ Terra Cotta Pot

If you love the look of galvanized pots and pails, but either can’t find any in your area for a reasonable price, or you have plants that prefer Terra Cotta, like succulents and cacti, fear not! With a little bit of elbow grease and some silver and grey spray paints, you can transform cheap Terra Cotta pots into “galvanized” treasures. Consider enhancing them even further by spray or hand painting a stenciled phrase or shape, like a flower, in black paint.

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24. Summer Garlands

Do you have a cookout or party coming up this summer? Add fun, fresh summer garlands to your deck or patio to make it stand out. Felted balls in fun, summer colors are a long-lasting, reusable item, as long as you keep them dry. Faux florals can be woven together to make lush botanical garlands, and miniature fruit or other summer items from party and decor stores can add a fun, playful vibe. Garlands are also a fantastic project to get children involved in for a fun summer afternoon project!

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25. Pallet Wood Flag

Without having to do any actual construction work, you can turn a wooden pallet into an awesome Fourth of July showpiece by painting it like an American flag. The parallel lines of pallets already mimic the strips of the flag, so simply paint them accordingly. The stars are a bit tough to fit, so look for a stencil of small stars. As with any pallet project, choose safe, non-chemically treated pallets if the project will be going inside or around food.

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26. Outdoor Canister Set

Mason jar canister sets are an awesome, functional touch for any rustic farmhouse kitchen but they can also add great functionality to outdoor dining spaces. The ability to tightly seal makes them ideal for keeping perishable or bug-attracting foods like sugar outside safely. Colored glass jars are a great option, or jars that have been painted (on the outside, of course) are another way to add a splash of color. You can store sugar, dried herbs, and other food and drink accompaniments in these cute jars.

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27. Candle Lanterns

Lanterns, whether old or new, add a historic vibe to any space. They call back to the days of heading out at night to check on the livestock by candlelight. For a patio or porch, try electric candles inside closed lanterns for a safe lighting option that can be used, unmonitored, for hours. If you can spare an eye to their maintenance, putting citronella or mint candles for bug control is another great option. Either way, lit lanterns create a bit of summer night magic.

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28. Daisy Basket

Daisies are one of the most iconic, feminine flowers of summer. Many varieties are very easy to grow perennials, and in fact, often spread like weeds once they’ve had a year or two to develop. For a beautiful fresh floral rustic display, put heavily bunched daisies in bud vases together in a basket. If pets or allergies make this inconvenient, try a basket full to the brim of faux daisies paired with a lightly floral candle or wax warmer to recreate the feel of fresh-cut flowers.

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29. Galvanized Serving Tray

A galvanized tray is the perfect accessory for any rustic farmhouse porch come brunch, graduation season, and barbecue season. Paired with rustic napkins made from roughly recycled paper products or rough-spun fabrics, mason jars full of cutlery, and other rustic serving items, they pull the entire serving look together. Plus, they are heavy-duty, damage resistant, and easy to clean, making them perfect for various uses all year.

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30. 2×4 Summer Sign

If you’re looking for a cheap, fun sign that is simple then look no further! This brilliant design uses stencils to block out the letters for summer, leaving the letters to show through as varnished wood, while your choice of paint covers the rest of it. Bright blue with a dark wood stain looks especially nice and is on-trend for summer, but many combinations of finishes and color would look amazing.

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31. Pallet Planter

Another fun, cheap idea for a wooden porch planter is using salvaged pallet wood to create a small, square planter that will snugly fit around any nursery pot to hide the cheap, plastic appearance while maintaining great drainage and avoiding transplant shock. There are many tutorials online for assembling various sizes of pallet planters. If you want to display a food producing plant like a tomato, use non-chemically treated pallet wood!

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32. Straw Hat Wall Art

A big straw hat practically screams summer gardening and fond memories of grandma and grandpa. A cheap store hat from a dollar store or thrift store can be turned into an incredibly charming piece of wall art by simply adding faux florals, ribbons, and any other finishing touches you wish. Mount the hat to the wall simply with a single nail or plastic hook, and you bring a bit of vintage, outdoors charm to any summer space.

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33. DIY Mason Jar Sconces

Another unique lighting option for a rustic farmhouse porch is DIY mason jar sconces. These adorable sconces are made from stained pieces of 2×4 lumber, decorate shelf brackets, twine, and mason jars. They can be festooned with ribbons and faux florals to add extra charm and customization. Once hung, they can hold flame candles or battery operated lights to provide a fairy-light charm throughout your porch or patio.

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34. Bicycle Wheel Display

Much like wagon wheels, bicycle wheels can add a bit of nostalgic charm that borders on industrial design for a home that tries to incorporate both styles. A benefit of bicycle wheels is that they can easily be spray painted any color and resist the ravages of the weather far better than the typically delicate vintage wagon wheels. Check with your local bicycle shop to see if they have any old metal rims from wheels that can no longer be repaired!

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35. Hanging Bottle Chime

Everyone has seen that one beautiful branch that just begs to be upcycled into a piece of rustic decor. If you have that branch in your home (or yard) a great, simple project to revitalize it is creating a hanging bottle chime. Simple gather some whimsical glass jars and suspend them from the branch with rope or twine. Suspend the branch from the rafters of your porch similarly and let the breeze gently move the bottles for a beautiful piece of living art.

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36. Burlap Banner

While burlap isn’t the smoothest fabric to work with due to its tendency to unravel itself, making simple banners from pennants of the material is quite simple and makes gorgeous banners for any summer space. Simple cut pieces of burlap into your preferred banner shape (or even buy pre-shaped and finished pennants) and string them along with a piece of twine or wire. Then, use fabric paint to stencil a letter on each pennant to create the welcome or summery message of your choice!

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37. Salvaged Board Welcome Sign

If you have a large spare bit of lumber around or saw one in the bargain bin at your local hardware store, try turning it into a statement welcome piece! Simply paint the entire board in the color of your choice, and either stencil or free-hand welcome vertically. The sign can be enhanced with jigsawed or scalloped edges, flowers, fruit, or any other motif of your choosing. This summer decor idea is a great project for any artistically minded children or other family members as it allows for a great deal of creativity.

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38. Wicker Everything

You may have a tough time scoring vintage wicker furniture and decor pieces, as wicker is back in a big way. As a part of both 90s nostalgia and farmhouse rustic, wicker in all shapes and forms is red hot. However, if you can find any, it is a beautiful accent for any farmhouse space, especially when painted in the traditional white. Some modern pieces of semi-plastic wicker style furniture can be painted white to achieve a more traditional look if vintage or traditional-style wicker is not available.

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39. Burlap Sunflower

The sunflower is one of the most iconic flowers of summer, blossoming at the height of the summer’s heat and towering over all of its floral neighbors. To make the sunflower motif truly rustic farmhouse, try your hand at making a giant sunflower head wreath out of burlap. There are many tutorials online, and you can use various shades of dyed burlap to create your own unique sunflower. This summer idea is a great project to involve children in, as well!

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40. Dried Floral Wreath

If you have a green thumb and your own garden, why not try drying some of your beautiful blooms for use in a dried floral wreath? Simply hang your lovely, long-stemmed flowers and decorative grasses to dry. Once dry, gently twists and braid them together into a beautiful round wreath and bind with jute, ribbon, or twine of your choice. Thornless flowers are the easiest to work with, but a dethroned rose undoubtedly adds a bit of drama and elegance to any floral wreath.

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