There are lots of reasons to hang an American flag in front of your house, most of them very personal. Veterans for example, are more likely to hang a flag because of the memories they have of the time spent in the military. And we have quite a few holidays where hanging a flag is popular to show support for our country.
There are many recommended days for hanging your flag, too numerous to list here but they're only a click away (holidays to display your flag). And there are some days when you're supposed to fly your flag at half staff (half staff American flag notifications). There are rules you're supposed to follow when hanging (and folding) a flag in front of your house:
- Custom says you display the flag from sunrise to sunset. Alternatively you can illuminate the flag and leave it up all night but it should be taken down in inclement weather.
- When hanging an American flag from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a building, the union (rectangle with the stars) of the flag should be at the peak of the staff.
- When the flag is displayed rather than flown from a staff, it should be displayed flat, and the union should be uppermost and to the observer's left.
- Bunting of blue, white and red should be used, never the flag. There are rules of etiquette for displaying the flag and bunting, like the blue stripe should be on top.
- The flag should never touch anything below it, like the ground or floor indoors.
What You Need to Hang a Flag
There are many different ways to hang a flag in front of your house. As you review your choices think through how often you want to hang the flag. Will you put it up for Memorial Day and take it down after July 4th? Will you light it up at night or take it down each night … but who has time for this anymore?
Once you've thought through when you want to display your flag, it will be much easier to pick among these different options for hanging a flag outside your house:
Using a flagpole in your front yard – to hang your flag will take some extra work to dig and fill the hole. Make sure you've got lots of space that noone uses for other activities like capture the flag.- Using a bracket attached to your house – is a great solution for hanging a flag in front of your house. You can attach the bracket to the front wall of your house, a porch post, a window sill or a balcony.
- Hanging a flag flat against your house – is less common because it requires more hardware than a bracket. It's beautiful though, when a flag is displayed horizontally hanging down from a porch or balcony.
- Flag bunting (circular fabric using red, white and blue colors shown top right) – is another fun way to recognize your country when you've got the perfect porch or balcony.
- Try a few small flags in a flower pot by the front door – if you're not sure about hanging a flag? You can see if you like it and rethink what you want to do about hanging a flag next year.
Check Out These Products for Hanging a Flag
Here are a few flags on Amazon that might be just what you want to celebrate this summer. You'll see flag poles from 16 to 25 feet, or when attaching your flag to the house using a bracket, you only need a 5 ft flag pole. Most flags displayed on homes are 3 by 5 feet. With the tallest flag pole (25 ft), a larger 4 by 6 ft flag is recommended.
Looking for More Ideas About Hanging a Flag
The exterior of most of houses is fairly neutral, from white and gray to stone and colors found in nature. That's great because these are colors we never grow tired of … maybe? Just as throw pillows are used to add color to our interior rooms, shrubs and flowers add color to our home's exterior. Adding a flag is also a perfect way to brighten up your home and say, we love where we live.
We're working on a video to share more ways to hang a flag but until it's done, here are a few of our favorite photos.
What ideas do you have for hanging a flag?
The normal way to fly a flag from a private home is on a angled up poll mount. Would it be improper or disrespectful to have the poll mounted straight out from the house flying the flag???
Dennis, While I’m not a flag expert, I can offer the following observations … reminding you that there should never be a risk that a flag will drag on the ground.
Here’s an article I found that confirms you can hang your flag from a poll (also called a staff) that is straight.
I’m an Army veteran, I live with my parents, my bedroom window faces towards the side of the house over where the cars are parked..My question is, is it ok to display old Glory outside my bedroom window?
Joanne, I think you can hang your flag where you want … as long as you follow the rules for hanging a flag. Your challenge is going to be that flags should be taken down every day which might be hard to remember. Maybe you can put out your flag on special days & set a timer to remind you to take it down end of day.
Flags can remain hung at night if they are properly illuminated. (https://www.legion.org/flag/faq)
I did not know that there were rules of etiquette when displaying a flag and that they should be displayed from sunrise to sunset. My husband and I want to put up a flight in our yard and live it there forever to show support to our country. I will definitely follow your advice and make sure we look for the most unique flag out there so that we don’t have the same thing everyone has.
Quick question: We hang our flag up front. We remove it at night, or in bad weather.
What if we move the bracket inside the covered porch – it’s lit and out of the rain.
Can we leave it up 24/7 then?
how do I keep my flag from wrapping around the pole. I have it on front of house facing east and it is constantly furled around the pole. How do I present that?
Barbara, That’s an interesting challenge, so here are some ideas but I have to be honest and say I haven’t tried any of them.
And you might like one of the ideas in How to Keep American Flag from Wrapping Around pole … so good luck!
Thank You for the standards and rules. Also, half-mast days can be emailed to you from http://halfstaff.org/ and neighborhood association also has rules for where and when and how to hang any flag.
Thanks for the info on half-mast days Nikki …