Thursday, December 3, 2009

How Do I Make My Room Look Southwestern?

By Jo Perty

The Southwestern decorating style brings the old west to life. It features bold colors and Native American patterns as well as brings the desert into your space. The cornerstone of this style is to use rustic pieces along with leather and silver items. This style is based on the cowboys of the old west.

As stated above some very bold colors lend themselves to the southwest look, a nice deep burgundy or turquoise is a perfect way to bring in the southwest. Buy some of the Native American pillows that have prints on them or some great accessories for your walls. Kachina dolls to coyote are some great ways to add to the look.

The furniture in the room needs to be very heavy and masculine either made of leather or slip covered in tan. Using dark woods in this space is ideal for side tables, coffee tables and accents on chairs. It is a good idea to distress the wood furniture in the space to give it a more authentic feel. You want to achieve a rustic or cabin style for the furniture and accessories to pull off a successful theme.

The flooring in this style space is generally hardwoods with a rustic tone to them. The floors need to look as though they have stood the test of time. They should be warm and inviting. This space needs to have the feel of an old cowboy's cabin with the rough hung floors and masculine furniture.

With an area rug added to the room you will make the room even more impressive. Get an area rug that has a nice Native American design, or just has the bold colors of the southwest. You can easily find some great reproductions of fantastic looking Native American rugs in many stores and it is hard trying to choose the correct color to fit into the room and a design that is all southwest. This will also add some nice warmth into the room also and a comfortable feeling.

Accessories to the southwest style are found very easily in different places across the country. You can look up places online, or visit not only flea markets, but estate sales, and garages sales. You never know when you will be able to find some great looking southwest decor. Adding in some silver that will break up the colors you have used on your accents is another great idea. If you can find some actual Native American relics that would even add more to the room.

While there are many bright and bold colors used in this style of decorating the overall effect needs to be warm and inviting. This should be a very comfortable space with many conversation pieces. This style works best in dens, studies, or the more public rooms in a home. The overall effect should give you and your guests many conversation ideas and should promote comfort and ease. This is one of the few truly American decorating styles and the room should reflect the true spirit of the American West.

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