Southwestern Style Home
The Southwestern style of decorating a home developed as the pioneers moved west. Early settlers combined traditional pieces with more indigenous decor. Southwestern furnishings can honor your roots. Southwest homes are warm and casual places where family and friends gather and raise their children. Use the furniture you already have, but add a Southwestern color palette to it. Transform your home the cost of a few buckets of paint. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Paint your walls a light color. Southwestern homes often have thick adobe walls. If you live in an apartment, you might have to decorate around beige walls you can't paint. Recreate the Southwestern look by painting your home a bright white or a soft gold. Bright accents and a basic wall color will keep any room from being overwhelming.
2. Mix indoor and outdoor furniture in a Southwestern-style home. Check out the garden section of local hardware stores for dining room pieces and accent chairs. You can often find less expensive furniture pieces there than in a traditional furniture store. You can save money and create a unique set. If your room gets a lot of sunlight, the fabric on outdoor furniture might not fade as quickly. Iron work is a trademark of the Southwest style. Mix iron chairs with a wood table so no one knows you bought outdoor furniture. Pick up colorful clay pots or planters to use as accessories in a southwestern home.
3. Use beams. Ceilings are a focal point in Southwest design. Have a contractor create faux wood beams or hang a few wall poles along the ceiling. This will delineate the space in a great room and draws the eye upward. Pick light or medium wood tones for a Southwest home.
4. Focus on lines. Southwestern design avoids modern clean lines. These homes often have curved fireplaces and archways. Make subtle statements with the architecture of your home instead of using bold wall colors.
5. Redefine earth tones. You might be bored when you think of a natural color palette. To decorate a Southwestern style home, be inspired by the colors of the desert. The soil in the desert ranges from a deep orange color to bright red. Open spaces accentuate turquoise skies. Plants in the desert are a bright cactus green. Southwestern style is a chance to use colors that you may otherwise be scared to decorate with. Balance brighter colors out with white walls or earth tones.
6. Add in texture. Southwestern decorating is easy to live in because it's worn and rustic. A southwestern home will hold up well with kids and dogs. Look for worn furniture pieces made out of distressed leather. Find wood tables that you can either paint or stain. Shop at yard sales to save money and find distressed pieces.
7. Accessorize with handmade items. Southwestern homes are full of pottery and dream catchers. If you can't get authentic Southwestern items in your hometown head to the local craft fair. Buy accessories that are indigenous to your area to support local artists. By using unique accessories you won't have the same room as all of your neighbors. Your accessories can even serve as conversation starters because of their one of a kind nature.
Tags: outdoor furniture, your home, color palette, earth tones, furniture pieces, Home Southwestern