15 Creative Ways to Display the American Flag Around Your Home

The American flag is a treasured emblem of the United States that dates back hundreds of years. While no one knows for a fact who designed the first American flag, according to the Chamber of Commerce, its distinguishing stars and stripes date back all the way to 1777. And while the flag's design has evolved over the years to signify America's expansion, one thing remains the same: its signature red, white, and blue colors. With this in mind, it's important to note that there are so many ways to display the American flag in and around your home. Whether you're looking to be more patriotic or are in need of some Fourth of July decorations, we're sharing creative ways to highlight the good old red, white, and blue.

For the patriotic at heart, a festive porch display is a perfect way to show off the trusty flag. Whether you choose to hang it from a flagpole just outside your front door or secure a few smaller iterations onto your porch banister, you can't go wrong by making the American flag part of your home's entrance. You can also decorate your entryway itself with a flurry of flags by creating a doorframe banner or making your own flag garland by suspending smaller flags from a cotton clothesline.

If you're looking for smaller, more subtle ways to display the flag at home, we have a number of ideas. A summer party favorite, American flag cake toppers are easy to find and serve as a festive, low-maintenance dessert decoration. The stars and stripes pop atop a classic white frosted cake for the Fourth of July. Add medium-sized ones to your table décor by placing them at the center of floral centerpieces. For a small but mighty display, opt for a flag embroidered pillow. Not only does it add to your home's décor, but it's functional, too.

From eye-catching exhibits to festive decorations, take a look at these creative ways to display the American flag.

Add the emblem to your floral centerpieces for an instant dose of patriotism. These are small and burlap, so they'll withstand some wear and tear.

Shop Now: Liberty Outdoor Burlap American Flag, $19.50 for set of four, potterybarn.com.

Nothing perks up a cake quite like a topper. Now's the time to whip out your American flag toothpicks, or simply clean and place a small flag right on top of your treat.

Suspend a swag of flags from cotton clothesline over your porch, then line the walkway with more flags.

Place mini-American flags in your floral centerpieces (comprised on red anemones) for a touch of patriotism, and tie flatware sets together using American flag-inspired ribbons. The look is cohesive and festive.

A banner of flags surrounds the doorway (all with the blue canton properly placed in the upper-left corner), and 10 flags stand at attention on the swinging gate. To attach the flags to the gate, use a staple gun or drill holes in a piece of 2-by-2-inch lumber the diameter of the flag dowels, and tack it to the gate each spring or summer.

Find the center of patriotism and function with an American flag embroidered pillowcase. Perfect for summer entertaining, whip this pillow out to celebrate Independence Day.

Shop Now: Pottery Barn Flag Embroidered Lumbar Pillow Cover, $45.50, potterybarn.com.

Decorate your fence with a garland of sorts made of flags. Here, we used 8-inch-wide bunting to dress up a plain white picket fence. Start by measuring the desired length of your swag and cut 1 3/4 times this length of bunting. Then, pleat the fabric: First, lay the fabric down, wrong side up. To make a single box pleat, crease both edges of a block of blue, and fold both creases so they meet in the middle, covering the blue; the red and white stripes will line up. It's a good idea to spray with starch and iron the folds as you go; sewing along the top using a straight stitch.

Flags encircle the basket of this bike, while red, white, and blue streamers decorate the handlebars.

A telltale sign of an upcoming holiday, a wreath makes for a simple and easy decoration idea. We like this one for its subdued hues and durable burlap material.

Shop Now: Lloyd & Hannah "Patriotic" Burlap Wreath, $19.99, target.com.

If you have a front porch, dress it up with American flag decorations draped. Or, if you have a flag holder, now's the time to let the stripes fly.

Place flags on top of a two-tiered cake stand to create a mini cupcake monument. To make it, start by priming and painting a wooden finial and plaque. Mark three spots on the base of a wooden plaque, and drill holes the diameter of the flag dowels into the base. Attach the finial to the wooden base and insert flag dowels into the drilled holes to snugly fit.

Declare your national pride by greeting guests at the door with a fresh spin on this star-spangled icon. Piecing and trimming the bunting yields a bull's-eye pattern. To make it, measure and cut two 39-inch-long pieces of bunting, join the pieces together (ensuring that the stars align), and adhere using fusible webbing or by stitching the 1/2-inch overlap together.

With little more than an empty container and colored paper, you can create a festive decoration that's perfect for any patriotic occasion. For younger children, it also provides a science lesson, illustrating the wind's direction and how quickly it can change. To make one, use double-sided tape to affix blue craft paper to fit inside and outside the container. Use paper punches to create decorative stars and four holes at the north, south, east, and west points of the container's top. Thread a piece of waxed twine through one hole and its opposite hole and tie it in place (repeating for all remaining holes). Red and white ribbons are glued at the bottom edge as streamers.

Small flags of graduated sizes burst from a basket-weave planter in front of Martha's pool for a festive decoration.

Festive half-rounds of bunting, with grommets for hanging, sway from a cottage porch; above them, seven flags shoot out from their own flag holders, all attached to a simple plywood plaque.