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Cowboy Up with Western-Style Home Decorating
Itching to add some western-style
or cowboy-style home decorating?
Great choice! There is something
timeless and enchanting about this style of home decorating.
Closely related--and possibly the same--are rustic style,
log cabin style, and mountain style decorating.
Regardless of what you call it, this
type of interior design will center upon the use of
natural materials. The first thing you'll want to do
is evaluate how you can add more natural wood, metal,
rock, and leather to your room.
When it comes to furniture, Western
style is most often large and bulky, but simple in design
and structure. Look for lots of bare wood. Fabrics tend
to Native American prints, Cowboy prints, or outdoorsy-kinds
of prints. If busy prints are not your cup of tea, consider
matte-finish leather, denim, suede, or nubbly weaves.
Colors should be those found in nature,
such as rich browns, dark greens, dark reds, golds,
etc. Other colors might include rock gray, metal black,
and cream.
Add Western motifs such as knickknacks,
blankets, wall hangings, pillows, and more. This would
include motifs such as cowboys, saddles, horses, Native
American crafts, wild animals found in forests and mountains,
rivers, wildflowers, etc.
Older, vintage items will go well with
Western home decorating too. Look for bold-colored quilts,
old saddle blankets, barrels, weathered farm tools,
and so on.
If you're crafty (or know someone who
is), you can really let your imagination run wild when
it comes to cowboy (or cowgirl!) home decorating. Use
old horseshoes as candle holders on your wall or as
bookends. Take bandannas and sew them into pillows,
quilt squares, or even lampshade covers. "Plant"
dried flowers in old Mason jars and scatter them around
on your side tables and bookcases.
Your floors in a western style home
should also be natural... preferably hardwood or recycled
plank flooring. But they could also be made from flagstone.
Be sure to scatter western-style area rugs around though,
because natural floors can be cold!
If you can, don't use window treatments...
just leave them bare, especially if you have a great
view of the mountains or other natural settings. But,
if you must use window coverings, keep them simple,
such as plain valances, straight panels, or shutters.
Lighting needs to go with the western
style of your home decorating too. Vintage lamps are
great, but you can use almost any lamps made from wood
and metal. Lampshades made of stretched rawhide will
really add to that cowboy feel. But the rule here is
plain and functional.
Other decorative details might include
beading, fringe, twig accents, nailhead designs, metal
drawer pulls and doorknobs, and anything made from logs.
Pottery and stoneware will also enhance the look.
So, do you see how easy it can be to
add western and cowboy touches to your home decorating?
Whether you go "whole hog" into it or just
add a few touches here and there is up to you. Whatever
changes you make, though, are sure to give your home
decorating a whole new look.
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