Cotton has played important role in my life so I’ve paid homage to the plant on our cotton pickin’ fall front porch.
Hi there friends! Today I’m sharing our fall front porch decorated with a cotton theme as part of the week long Fall Ideas Tour hosted by my friend Angie from the blog Postcards from the Ridge.
You’ll find all the links to the other 28 home bloggers at the end of this post. Grab your favorite beverage because you are NOT going to want to miss a bit of this fall decorating inspiration!
In case you are new here today, I’m Jane and my husband and I live in an old southern country cottage that was built by his grandfather. On the front of our house is a large screened-in porch where we spend a lot of our time. It’s my favorite place to decorate for the seasons.
I always like to choose a theme when decorating our porch, and this year’s theme is cotton (with some white pumpkins thrown in!)
Why cotton? Well, my grandparents on both sides of my family were cotton farmers, and as a young girl, I picked cotton to earn some extra money. Pickin’ cotton by hand is hard work, but today it is all harvested by machinery.
Right now is cotton pickin’ time. We live in an area of South Carolina where a lot of cotton is grown, but we do NOT grow any cotton ourselves.
Most of the cotton that I’ve used to decorate our porch with is faux cotton, but this is what real cotton looks like.
Leo went into a cotton field and gathered a few stalks of cotton for me to tuck down into this basket.
It really is better to use faux cotton in decorating because it looks so realistic and is not messy!
I started decorating the porch by hanging these cotton garlands from Hobby Lobby by the front door.
The red panels that you see are not really shutters. They are repurposed closet doors that friends were going to throw away. They’ve been a regular fixture on our porch for a number of years, but we just recently moved some beside the front door.
The lanterns were given a new lease on life when I spray painted them. You can read more about that in this post: UPDATED PAINTED METAL LANTERNS
The lanterns got adorned for fall, and I placed some battery operated candles inside.
Lucy is a regular fixture on our porch along with the blue wheelbarrow. This time I’ve loaded it up with white pumpkins.
They are all faux, too, but several years ago, we grew a lot of white pumpkins in our garden. You can read all about growing them here: WHITE PUMPKIN REFLECTIONS
Next I decided that I needed a cotton seed bag on my cotton pickin’ fall front porch.
I really don’t have any memory of what cotton seed bags looked like, but you can find the details on how I created this one here: DIY COTTON SEED BAG
On one end of the porch, I decorated an old chair with some cotton.
Yep! That’s an old chamber pot sitting in the chair! I found the Cotton Pickin’ Blessed sign on Etsy.
Next I just happened to be looking on FB Marketplace and saw that a local person was making and selling cotton door hangers. The pillow in the chair was whipped out by…moi!
Here you can see up close the wooden cotton door hanger that I purchased HERE.
Don’t worry if you’re not local because they can ship the door hangers, too.
On the other end of the porch where we sit is a twig tree decorated with cotton.
There are two types of lights on the tree. Some of them twinkle and some of them glow.
Behind the tree is a kantha cloth bunting that I purchased from HERE.
The bunting reminds me of old cotton piecework quilts.
The red barn pillows I already had. Cotton, though, would not be stored in barns. Farmers baled the cotton and carried them to a local cotton gin.
On the table I’ve displayed a reproduction cotton bale. I found this one on Etsy.
The cotton bales today are huge. You can see some of them and learn more about cotton in this post: IT’S COTTON PICKIN’ TIME!
Lucy, our dog, is glad that some cooler weather has blown in and is enjoying her time on our cotton pickin’ fall front porch.
The old milk can got topped with some fresh fall mums…as white as cotton!
Thank you so much for visiting with me today! You’ll find lots more fall inspiration and projects below from the other ladies on the Fall Ideas Tour.
Tuesday – Tablescapes
Sand Dollar Lane / Aratari at Home / Nourish and Nestle
JenRon Designs / Salvaged Living / Our Southern Home
Wednesday – Wreaths
Petticoat Junktion / Lora Bloomquist / Exquisitely Unremarkable
Bliss Ranch / The Interior Frugalista / Chatfield Court
Thursday – Crafts & DIY
Domestically Speaking / DIY Beautify
Homeroad / Christina Faye Repurposed
not pictured Weekend Craft
Friday – Porches
Jane, I always love seeing your porch decor and this one is so fun. I love all of the little details like the miniature cotton bale. That kantha banner is so pretty and colorful. And the pillow and bag that you made are perfect for your cotton pickin’ porch. So happy to have you on tour with us again!
Your fall porch is adorable, Jane! I love all the cotton accessories.
You’re right about faux cotton, it’s so realistic. Probably the most realistic faux flower/plant out there!
This is absolutely darling! Happy Fall, Jane and Leo!!
The porch looks great! I love the tree!
Just beautiful and I love the red! Your white pumpkins look beautiful and ready for the new season!
I am in love with your cotton pickin’ porch!!!!! It is wonderful! Love your decorated twig tree and just the whole cozy place!!! Can’t leave without mentioning how sweet Lucy looks in her pics!!! Happy Fall!
Jane, you had me right away with those gorgeous red shutters. Every detail is just perfect…as usual! Happy Fall!
I could spend hours on your porch! I love the cotton details and how cute is Lucy! And not to mention the blue wheelbarrow is so lovely 🙂
I could spend some time on that front porch drinking coffee and reading a good book. I love how the colors come together especially the white pumpkins against the red. You did a good job.
Wow! I can surely see why you love decorating that porch! What great ‘bones’ it has and I can only imagine how lovely it is to sit out there. I’d gladly keep Lucy company! And the cotton is such a fun theme!
Thanks for the inspiration.
So happy to join you on this fantastic blog tour!
Hugs, Lynn
I love seeing how you decorate your porch each season. This design is cotton pickin’ cute! From the garland around your door, to your wheelbarrow filled with white pumpkins, I love it all. I hope that you and Leo get to spend a lot of time on your pretty porch this fall.
I love theme decorating, and your cotton pickin’ porch is adorable! I visited Charleston this summer; it was my first time in South Carolina;) I enjoyed your little bits of history you shared, too, since I’m a vintage-loving girl! The cotton door art is awesome; how wonderful that you came across it!
I am a lover of all things red and so I’m swooning over your front porch, Jane! Fun theme – beautiful touches.
Love, love, love the cotton colors and textures against that raspberry colored wall. I could linger and look at all the special touches all day! Enjoy Fall in this beautiful space. XO
Using the cotton balls with the red and white pumpkins, beautiful. You created a unique porch, I love it!
This is cotton pickin cute. I adore this one. Just when I think you can’t outdo a previous one, that is just what you do. Adorable!!!
Hi my Friend!!!! <3 I simply love your cotton themed porch and the history you've provided! I really also love the backdrop of red against that white cotton and the blue chair, swoon! And of course my love to your Lucy, please give her an extra treat from me! xoxoxox
Jane, your cotton themed porch is so fun. I love hearing about your families history. The real cotton is truly lovely and I appreciate you sharing it from a northerner who has never seen it up close and personal. It has such an interesting texture of hard and soft, and ties in great with all of your warm fall hues, Including Lucy who’s a beauty.
So cotton pickin’ cute Jane! I love to decorate with cotton boles, love the tree and the pumpkin cart! Lucy is adorable and just the right colors!
I love all the cotton, perfect for Fall!
I always look forward to your porch decor very season and you did not disappoint! What a unique and fun theme this year!