How To Decorate A Coastal Cottage For The 4th of July
The Fourth of July is a time for celebration, and what better way to celebrate than by creating a patriotic oasis with 4th of July decorating ideas? If you have a coastal cottage or want to create a patriotic coastal feel within your home, these simple tips are sure to help.
When your cottage is only 460 sq. ft., small touches of patriotic decor can make a big impact. So today’s ideas are simple and easy to duplicate.
We have spent over a year remodeling and updating the tiny house, and it’s finally fun to decorate the space with festive touches.
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Patriotic Inspiration
Today’s post is part of a Patriotic Inspiration Blog Hop hosted by Pasha at Pasha Is Home. You are in for a treat as over 10 bloggers share ideas to get your summer off to a great start.
If you are joining me from Heidi at Eleanor Rose Home, I know you enjoyed her fun July 4th Party Favor ideas.
If you are new to my blog, welcome. I love helping you create the home of your dreams with budget-friendly decorating & DIY ideas. This is where I share my love for curated vintage decorating, sustainable projects, thrifting, & entertaining. If you enjoy today’s post, I hope you’ll subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss an adventure.
4th of July Decorating – Coastal Cottage Porch
Although the porch can barely hold four rockers, it’s a favorite gathering spot each evening when the sun begins to set. With new cedar shake shingles, a new door, and windows, I was excited to add a few 4th of July patriotic ideas.
Pro Tips for Patriotic Cottage Porch
- Add red and blue pillows or seat cushions to porch chairs
- Fill planters with red flowering plants
- Add patriotic pillows or throw blankets
- Add a 4th of July wreath or basket to the front door.
- Add flags to plants.
First, we updated the rocking chairs with navy seat cushions and added decorative pillows in blue and white fabrics.
The new cushions work well with a flag pillow that I brought from home.

The porch is small for planters, but a couple of patriotic thrift store baskets hold red geraniums and herbs, adding a punch of color to the small space. In addition, inexpensive small flags tucked into the baskets add a patriotic touch for the 4th of July.

The new front door looks festive with the addition of a hanging basket full of red artificial tulips. I also tucked another flag into the arrangement. You can’t have too many flags, am I right?

Resources For Porch
Patriotic Living Room
The cottage interior was painted shades of white and grey as we remodeled each space.
Once the remodel was complete, we added accessories in shades of blue mixed with more neutrals.
The blues add a coastal feel and make decorating for holidays simple.

Pro Tip – 4th of July Decorating
When decorating for the 4th of July, pull out all your reds. Adding accessories in red instantly adds a festive patriotic feel.
- Festive striped table runners
- Red striped hand towels
- Bowls and dishes in reds and blues
- Red or Blue Throw Blankets
- Pillows with reds and blues
- Flowers (real or artificial) in red
- Use flowers that you can later plant in your garden to fill containers and vases for the 4th of July.
- Add inexpensive flags to floral arrangements and another existing decor.
One of our favorite additions is the accent wall in the living room. The wall is host to several DIY coastal cottage decor ideas.
The DIY Aluminum Can Star Garland adds a pop of color as it surrounds the DIY Nautical mirror. In addition, the Pottery Barn Hack candle holders and painting add a stylish coastal feel to the accent wall.

A basket of red artificial flowers and flags is added to complete this living room corner.

Once the patriotic decoration is down, I’ll add the Oyster Shell and faux fishing cork garland back to the accent wall. The garland was recently featured in Farmhouse Style Magazine, Summer issue.

We recently purchased a new sleeper sofa for the living room and chose a soft greyish-blue fabric. The navy and white sofa pillows are a HomeGoods find and are enhanced with DIY Scrap Fabric Star pIllow.


You’ll find more nautical coastal cottage decor on the side table at the other end of the sofa.
The glass cloche has a rotation of coastal collections. The collected sea shell gets a subtle patriotic addition with a small wooden star. While the driftwood arrangement looks festive, with a small flag tucked in.


Coastal Cottage Bedroom
Next, let’s take a look at the small bedroom. At only 84 sq. ft., the tiny bedroom doesn’t leave much room for accessories.
We recently updated the built-in cabinets surrounding the bed, providing much-needed storage. Instead of replacing the tired-looking cabinets, we added rattan cane to the door and drawer fronts. The easy update tutorial is at DIY Rattan Cane Upgrade.


This room contains nautical waffle navy bedding from Levtex Home and blue and white coastal-inspired pillows.
Above the built-in cabinets, you can see some coastal decor and a clever basket that hides the unsightly air heating vent. You can see what’s behind that basket by reading How to Hide Those Ugly Vents and more.

We recently added the DIY Petal Sconces above the bed. The cottage does not have electrical wiring for the wall scones, so they are plugged into a remote light switch that allows us to turn them on and off at the bedroom door.

4th of July Decorating in Tiny Kitchen
The tiny coastal cottage’s kitchen is the same size as the bedroom; therefore, only a few small patriotic accessories will work in this space.
I recently found these cute salt and pepper shakers at a thrift store for $2.00. They were too cute to leave behind.

The kitchen is also decorated with simple blue and white dishes and accessories, which makes setting the bar table for the 4th of July easy.
The eat-in bar table was added during the tiny house remodel and had the most significant impact of all the renovations. The 12 x 7 space now lives large with the addition of the eat-in bar that extends into the living area.

For the 4th of July decorating, I added the DIY Metal Star Garland to the table and other coastal tableware.
The Bico Ceramic Dinnerware is a perfect choice for coastal cottage decorating.
Pro Tip
Pull patriotic decor from other areas of the cottage when setting the table.
The DIY Garland will return to the accent wall once the table is cleared.
Look into cabinets and drawers for other red accessories or bowls and add them to your shelves.

Adding red geraniums to the shell planter and red, white, and blue straws to the water glasses creates a subtle and inexpensive patriotic feel.

Red kitchenware, vintage salt and pepper shakers, and blue and white dishes fill the shelves.
Small red touches, like the striped kitchen towel and the lobster bowl, add a festive 4th of July atmosphere without spending money.


Resources for Cottage Tableware
Coastal Cottage DIY Projects
Check the links below if you’d like to see all the DIY projects featured in the Coastal Cottage Renovation. Don’t miss the Tiny Beach Cottage Renovation Before and After.
- DIY Flower Petal Wall Sconces
- Rattan Cane Built-in Cabinet Upgrade Tutorial
- Oyster Shell & Faux Fishing Cork Garland
- Metal Star Garland for the 4th of July
- DIY Nautical Mirror tutorial
- Pottery Barn Hack Candle Holders
- Easy Accent Wall Tutorial
- How To Create Faux Wallpaper
- Patriotic Scrap Fabric Star Pillow DIY


More Patriotic Inspiration from My Fellow Bloggers
Tammy is next at White Lilac Home with her American Flag Grapevine Wreath Tutorial.

DIY Patriotic Door Basket // The Tattered Pew
How to Set a Red, White, and Blue Table // Cottage in the Mitten
8 Easy Ways to Add Americana to Your Decor // White Arrows Home

4th of July Party Favors // Eleanor Rose Home
How To Decorate Your Coastal Cottage for the 4th of July // The Ponds Farmhouse
How To Make An American Flag Grapevine Wreath // White Lilac Farmhouse

7 FREE Dinner Party Printables – 4th of July Ideas // WM Design House
Easy and Effortless Americana Decor Ideas for the Entryway // Pasha is Home
Easy Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Table Setting for the Holidays // Southern Crush at Home

Red White and Blue Faux Leather Vase // Amy Sadler Designs
Patriotic Pool Party Ideas // A Stroll Through Life

Pin It To Remember It
Did you find some great ideas you’d like to save for future reference? Hover over the images you’d like to save and pin to your favorite Pinterest Boards when you see the PIN button.


Rachel,
Absolutely gorgeous!! You did a fantastic job!! Thanks for sharing!!
Enjoy!!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie,
I’m so glad you like it. Thank you.
What a beautiful cottage! I like the way you added all the red, white, and blue for just the right amount of festive touches. Red, white, and blue is my go to decorating style for the summer.
Suzanne,
I’m so glad you like the patriotic touches added to the beach cottage. Thank you for your encouragement.
I love your decor. It is so much fun. Perfect for a beach cottage.
Thanks Renae.
Your coastal cottage is just the cutest Rachel! I love that your patriotic accents aren’t over the top. You incorporated just the right amount of red, white, and blue!
Heidi,
I really appreciate your kind comments. Thanks for stopping by.
Rachel,
Your beach cottage is so great. Your touches are remarkable and
you have used every inch to make a very welcoming cottage that looks
so much larger than the square footage stated. And thank you for sharing sources; may have to get those cute salt and pepper shakers.
Oh, I’m so glad you liked this post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. Have the best day.
So pretty, Rachel! Especially love the ceramic dinnerware.
Kim,
I appreciate this. Thanks for stopping by.
So many beautiful patriotic decorating ideas! Love it!!
AnnMarie,
Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it.
I love all of your coastal decor. Every room and space is so thoughtfully done. Great ideas and tips to add Coastal to any space.
Marty,
You are so kind. Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your encouragement.
Your beach cottage is just darling Rachel. You sure added the perfect touches for the 4th of July. You have that perfect touch.
Wendy,
You are so kind. It was fun to finally get to decorate the whole 460 sq. ft. LOL
I love all of your patriotic ideas Rachel! That American pillow is adorable!!
Pasha,
Thank you so much. I appreciate you for putting this together.
The cottage is soooo cute with just enough red, white and blue to make it patriotic but not over done! Great job!
Teri,
I really appreciate your sweet comments. Thanks for looking around.
Rachel, everything looks so beautiful for the summer. I love all the coastal touches especially your cloche filled with shells.
Tammy
I’m so glad you like everything. Thanks for stopping by.
Oh, Rachel! I just love coastal and cottage and somehow you have married them perfectly with patriotic decor! You’re so creative! Thank you so much for sharing your talents!
Melanie,
I really appreciate this. Thanks for stopping by.
Rachel
What is left to say, but GOD BLESS AMERICA
Carol
Oh thank you.
You did such a great job, Rachel! I love the tulips on the front door, and in the living room corner. So many great ideas for decorating a coastal cottage.
Kristin,
Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your kind words
It looks so festive and fun! xo
Stacy,
I appreciate this.
Everything so beautifully decorated for tge 4th of July. I love what you did here. Thanks for all the great ideas too. Happy 4th!
Ivory,
I’m so glad you like it.