Southwestern design incorporates many style elements.
Making a house a home means surrounding yourself with things you love that make you feel happy, safe and secure. Southwestern style incorporates a wide range of design and architectural influences that include ranch, contemporary southwest and Native American in a palette of rich colors and tones. Big, chunky furniture and accessories in natural materials like wood, leather and stone create a unique atmosphere. If this design range feels good and feels right to you, then southwest decor and design will help you turn your house into the southwest-style home of your dreams. Does this Spark an idea?
Front Door Southwest Style
The entryway to your home is the first place visitors are introduced to your style. The front door and inside foyer are perfect locations to incorporate southwest design elements. A heavy wooden door on oversize hinges is a bold southwestern statement that anchors other southwest accents. Large pottery, wrought-iron artwork and soft adobe colors like mustard yellows, burnt oranges and deep browns recreate the feel of a desert ranch. Large slate in natural earth colors on sidewalks, steps and inside the front door add to this effect. Lighting suspended by chunky iron chains, natural lighting from skylights and stained glass side door panels, and glass insets in the door bring light into your home.
In The Kitchen
The central functionality of the kitchen in any home makes it an important area for design. Extend the warm southwest feel from the home's entryway into the kitchen by using the same flooring as the front entry. Use one or two colors from the front entry in the kitchen either in tiles or paint on the walls. Skylights and large windows in the kitchen highlight your southwest design style. Warm wood tones for cabinets and furniture complement the colors and feel of adobe tile and natural sunlight.
Bathrooms
Decorate bathrooms with a foundation of southwest design by using natural stone tiles and earth tones on walls, wrought-iron light fixtures and chunky or carved wood-framed mirrors. Copper accents for sinks and faucets add a rustic, exotic metal element. Make room for earthy candles on brass pillars. Use wood accents for window blinds and wall art. Oversize towels and washcloths, towel racks and accessories are finishing touches.
Outdoors
Extend the southwest style out the back door to decks and patios. Use large terracotta pottery and sculptures. An oversize adobe oven or chimenea fireplace add southwest atmosphere to evening get-togethers. Wrought-iron railings around decks or patios and carved-log arbors bring the southwest to your backyard and extend the home's style to the outdoor space. Landscaping elements like boulders and sandscapes with rustic southwest accents such as wagon wheels, cow skulls and ranch implements tie the inside styling with the total property.
Tags: decks patios, front door, front entry, southwest accents, southwest design