Enjoy the spirit of The Great Outdoors - without leaving the comfort of your own home...
Be inspired by Western decorating looks - for a relaxed, fun and practical style.
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Look to western style decorating, for a style suggesting the ‘Wild West’, cowboys, mountains, nature and the great outdoors...
You don’t need to live in the western states of America, or even have a horse, to enjoy Western home decorating styles – they are very relaxed, flexible and suitable for anyone.
For your inspiration for all things ‘western’ think of the great outdoors. Be inspired by a simple, natural style – with a theme of horses, cattle, farming, forests and other outdoor activities.
The look is simple, rustic furniture, patchwork quilts and home-spun style. It looks back to the age of the early cowboys, and their simpler pace of life – a life based outdoors - hunting, riding, fishing and farming – enjoying fresh air, mountains, forests and lakes…
The Western style is pretty easy to adapt to suit your own home. Make the style simple and sparse, or more cosy (with rugs, throws, cushions and warm colors) depending on your own sense of style and comfort. Just follow these simple guidelines, for a few easy pointers…
Walls and Color
If you are going for a cabin style look, try split logs, or wood panelling (leave it a natural wood color) for a really rustic look.
Otherwise, why not try a rough plaster finish – if you don’t want to go to the expense and hassle of re-plastering, then try a textured paint finish, such as suede-effect paint, or even a color-wash paint effect.
I think your walls should have their color base in neutral tones - bright white can brighten up your room, but off-whites, creams, greys, beiges and tans may suit the western home decorating style a lot better.
To add warmth and character to your room, try adding accents of deeper colors, such as a deep forest green, red, russet and terracotta, rich bronzes or a deep navy.
Natural wood tones should feature strongly in your western style – keep doors, skirtings, window frames, beams etc in their natural tones – wax or oil to keep the wood in good condition.
Flooring
Hard flooring is pretty much required for a western home decorating style. Enjoy the beauty of natural wood, or go for stone or terracotta quarry tiles.
Do include plenty of rugs though, to soften up the look, and to keep your toes lovely and warm! A few smaller rugs will give a pretty authentic look – choose hand woven/primitive style rugs, Indian style rugs or even fur or animal skin. (I will leave it to your own sense of style and conscience, but as an animal lover myself, I would have to say choose faux-fur to get the look, without the suffering!)
Windows
Ideally, choose very simple window treatments. Shutters are a great look for the western style, or choose very simple blinds.
If you do want the warmth of curtains – choose long, thick styles, and go for suede, wool and leather trim
Furniture
Definitely keep the rustic style in mind when choosing furniture for your western home decorating look.
Go for simple, solid furniture, in natural wood finishes – especially oak, pine and split logs.
Mix your wooden furniture with other natural materials, such as leather, stone, clay or terracotta, granite and iron and other metalwork
You can soften up the look quite a lot with throws, rugs and cushions, in natural woven materials, such as wool, cotton and linen. Look out for fabrics with leather trim, to really accentuate that ‘cowboy,’ western home decorating look.
Arrange your furniture around the central focal point of your room – a fireplace. A fireplace is a really important part of the western home decorating look – if possible, choose a rustic kind of style – a solid, cast-iron stove, bricks and chunky wooden mantle.
Accessories
Accessories will be the best way for you to incorporate the western home decorating style into your own home…
Layer up the fabrics, to get a cosy look – look out for Indian style blankets, suede, leather, faux-fur throws, chenille, tapestry, even hard-wearing denim – for cushions, throws, curtains and upholstery.
For lighting go for very rustic styles – consider wrought iron (nothing too intricate or delicate), pewter, wood, horn or antler. And look out for lampshades made of stretched rawhide. (You can get very effective reproductions, and faux effects, if you have concerns over the suffering of animals by buying these products.)
Try a simple hurricane lamp placed on your mantle. And surround your fireplace with simple, metal fireplace accessories, such as a poker, tongs and a metalwork firescreen.
Look out for items that suggest cowboys, mountains, farming, forests, riding, fishing, hunting etc for all your accessories – clay pottery, antlers, vintage implements, horse gear, cowboy gear (boots, hats, spurs etc)…
You can really find some great stuff on eBay to help you with this decorating theme, so why not take a look now …
This is a live feed from eBay and is constantly updated. Just click on any product for more information, or to bid or buy.
Happy Shopping! Hope you get some great bargains.
This is a great look, that allows you to get back to nature and the great outdoors – enjoying fun and healthy outdoor pursuits.
Now you can get the feel at home – without even getting up from your sofa (until you are ready, of course!). I hope you will enjoy incorporating the western home decorating style into your home – and it will bring happy associations of the western lifestyle into your home and your life.
Are you ready to start your western home decorating project right away? Then take a look at this checklist of interior design tips to make sure the whole interior design process goes without a hitch...
