There’s nothing quite like a beautiful, glimmering lake surrounded by towering green pines to say “summer”. Throughout most of my childhood, we spent many summer days at a good friend’s cottage in Ontario and they are some of my happiest memories. It’s no wonder, then, that when the time came to give our deck a little refresh, I pulled inspiration from vintage cottage style! We knew that this would be the summer the deck got repainted, so I jumped at the chance to add some new decorative touches to the space. I was thrilled to partner with Milkshakes ‘n Sunshine Fabrics to create some charming fabric accents for our newly re-painted deck. The best part is that we will get to enjoy them out on the deck for years to come!

 Fabric used in this post was provided by Milkshakes ‘n Sunshine Fabrics. All opinions are my own. For more information, please see my policies. Thank you for supporting the brands that partner with Flourish & Knot. 

To me, vintage cottagey style means a crisp white background with bright, colourful accents that don’t feel too “matchy”. I worked with turquoise, red, and navy as my main colours, but there’s also some dabs of yellow, pink, and orange. Since this was a mini-makeover, our efforts were really focused on re-painting the deck. It was looking pretty drab and chipped a few weeks ago…

I annotated that for you so that you could fully appreciate some of its former decorative elements, like the Lone Pot of Solitude. House & Home will be knocking at my door any day now.

Thank goodness that didn’t last long and we now have a gorgeous, fresh, bright outdoor space to enjoy!

We’ve had pretty crummy weather this summer (sooooo much rain), so this project has really taken a lot of time to complete. You can’t paint outdoors if it’s wet, or about to rain, or even threatening rain within a few hours, so I feel like we’ve been playing a giant game of chicken with Mother Nature these past few weeks!

I think this little area is my favourite. I sewed a big pillow cover in the same vintage floral print from Milkshakes ‘n Sunshine that I used for the table runner and I love the cottagey vibe it gives. The canoe paddle pillow is another fun lake-inspired touch. This lounge chair is such a cozy spot to curl up with a good book, and we always have a good breeze through the deck so even on hot summer days it is a perfect place for a nap.

I got out our plant towers from Ikea (which we used in our wedding decor back in 2013!) and used them to make a small herb garden. I love to cook and having fresh herbs to use in summer recipes is such a treat. We’ve also had our croquet set out for a couple of gatherings this summer – a family tradition! (And very considerate of the set to match my colour scheme, don’t you think?)

I had a lot of fun whipping up a few new pieces to complement our new deck, and the vintage-style floral fabric from Milkshakes ‘n Sunshine was just spot-on. You actually caught a glimpse of it back at the end of June in my Canada Day BBQ post, but you saw the other, red side of the runner! That’s right: it’s reversible. Why not get double use out of it, since you have to line this type of runner anyway? 

By the way, I have a tutorial for a similar reversible runner HERE!

We had several major family events this summer, including my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary and our little girl’s first birthday. I used the table runner as my inspiration for a vintage floral theme:

By the way, I made that fabric-covered “1” by mod-podging the fabric to a wooden number 1. It was sooo easy!

I won’t be winning any cupcake-decorating contests, but they were tasty and K loved them. It was so much fun to have a fresh new space in which to celebrate her birthday!

Are you completely overloaded on pictures now? No? Ready for one more? 

I love having a garden that I can raid to make little posies for our summer table. Those bright-pink coneflowers are just perfect for a summer tablescape! 

i want to thank Callie at Mikshakes ‘n Sunshine Fabrics for providing the fabric for the table runner, pillow and cushion covers. She was so easy to work with; the only hard part was choosing from her wide selection of fabrics! The quality and weight of the cotton is great for sewing (or quilting), and she sells her fabrics in fat quarters and several different yardages, so you can get just the right amount for your project. As a special bonus for Flourish & Knot readers, Callie is offering 15% off any purchase made before September 1st! It’s the perfect time to make yourself a new table runner or pillow for fall. 

Get 15% off your Milkshakes ‘n Sunshine fabric purchase!

Code: Knot15

What does “cottage style” mean to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Hope you have a great week!