At Home: The Great Outdoors

Hi everyone! It's Fairlight from flight of fancy designs and it's September! Hard to believe that summer is on it's way out and autumn is the new "it" girl of the moment. Here at my house we're in the full swing of school and our thoughts are starting to wander to bowls of hot oatmeal and afternoons picking apples and making applesauce. How we love the change of seasons!

Summer's stifling heat is giving way to cooling breezes and mellow days. Perfect for drinking your coffee on the back porch in the morning or eating your evening meals on the patio. I know that once the mercury drops past 90 we spend most of our days, evenings, and mornings on our screened-in back porch. Breakfast and coffee is shared out there, school work done and phone calls taken, relaxing with daddy time at 5 o'clock, and then eventually - our evening meal.

In the 4 years that we've lived here though, there has been quite a varity of different furnishings and I'm still working to perfect the 14' x 14' space to suit our many different activities and needs. So today I thought I would share with you some of inspiration for decorating your own porch, patio, deck, or balcony.

Nothing says "front porch" better than a porch swing.

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

I think these pillows would be perfect on that front porch swing.

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

I love Jessica's steal of a find and her retro set looks so cute on her patio! And I love the fairy lights on the fence.

How cool is the vintage Eames style chair?

All it needs is a couple of cozy cushions and this lovely afghan.

A hammock covered in old quilts, vintage sheets, and feather pillows can't be a bad spot to land.

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Can you ever go wrong with vintage metal chairs?

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Nothing says "charming" quite like a wicker set. The tradition white is nice, but I would love to give ours a fresh coat of paint in something as delicious as this blue!

I love these hanging jars

and a nice side table for holding drinks, candles, and a nice stack of books

How about a nice game of chess on the patio?

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

If you don't have a patio or porch, but would love to have one in time for Fall, check out this interesting post by Maxwell from Apartment Therapy about his solution for a patio in his own backyard.

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Or you can find all kinds of ideas from Lowe's Outdoor Living website and free semi-monthly magazine. (Their featured article this month is a quick and easy fire pit!)

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

I hope you are inspired to spend some time on your own porch this month, relaxing with family or friends, enjoying a good book and a glass of wine, or watching the leaves start to change colors. I know that we are looking forward to spending more time on our own little cozy porch.

By all these lovely tokens

September days are here,

With summer's best of weather

And autumn's best of cheer.

~ Helen Hunt Jackson

Have a lovely September! ~ Fairlight