The Ultimate Guide To Western Decor

At its core, Western style is about decorating with essential elements of the West. According to Sunset, these include rustic furnishings, natural materials, rich textures, and a warm color palette. Fill your home with welcoming wood furnishings that mimic large tree trunks, patterned blankets that look like flowers, or artwork depicting serene mountain landscapes. Focus on bringing the outdoors inside and decorate with pieces that mimic elements you ordinarily see in nature.

To add Western spirit to your home, add a stonewall fireplace, a wooden dining table, and pops of greenery. Western furnishings are typically charming, traditional, and feature rustic materials. You could also decorate with props, warm colors, artistic pieces, and wood furnishings to make your space feel like the Wild West. Adding a Western-inspired aesthetic to your home creates a warm and lived-in environment that is welcoming to any visitor. For more inspiration, here is the ultimate guide to Western-style decor.

To style your home with rustic Western spirit, incorporate plenty of wood. If possible, add some beautiful cedar, oak, or pine wood ceiling beams to the living space. Open concept homes are the ideal layout for achieving this decor look. If wood beams up above are not an option, keep the wood texture low to the ground with wood flooring or heavy wood furniture. Layer multiple types of wood in one room to create a cozy mountain cabin feel.

According to Anteks Home, you'll want to keep tones consistent when selecting your specific wood tones. If you have vinyl or hardwood flooring, consider matching wood tables and chairs to these tones. Bring large furniture items into the living room, such as a pinewood table or a mahogany bookcase. Try to construct the perfect Western-inspired space by blending complementary shades and types of wood.

Elevate your Western decor by adding a feature wall to the living space. Per Homenish, stone walls are ideal for updating traditional Western style. Designing a stone accent wall for your home creates a refined and natural atmosphere. This luxurious decor element could give the space the final touch it needs to complete a Western look.

Since it is an earthy element from nature, stone mixes well with other Western design elements to make a living space feel homey and comfortable. Using natural materials such as stone, wood, or brick brings the spirit of the great outdoors into your home. You could even add a fireplace to the stone wall for the ultimate cozy atmosphere. Fireplaces are the perfect gathering place during the winter months and great for curling up with a good book. Bring the look full circle and neatly pile some logs next to the fireplace.

Decorate your home with artwork and textiles inspired by Native American tribes of the West. Many of these tribes, including the Navajo, have a rich tradition of creating beautiful artwork. These pieces often feature bright colors such as vibrant oranges, reds, turquoise blues, blacks, and tans. According to SFGate, clay pottery, baskets, and masks are some of the iconic elements you can feature in your home. You can instantly add character to your living space by decorating with pieces designed by Native American artists, like patterned blankets or striped pillows.

If you decorate with Indigenous influences, try to buy from Native American artisans and vendors. To respectfully incorporate Native American art in your home, educate yourself and your guests about how pieces, for example, the dreamcatcher, are used in the culture (via House Beautiful). Unique decor items are capable of doing more than just looking good. Decorating with pieces from the past offers the opportunity to learn about and appreciate different cultures.

A Western home is not complete without beautiful landscapes. If your home doesn't have large windows looking out onto rolling fields or majestic mountain views, don't fret. You can hang up large-scale wall art to achieve the same effect. According to HGTV, images of bison, wild horses, and cattle are all motifs reminiscent of the West. Keep the look subtle by decorating with black-and-white posters of cattle with large horns. Or, go for art pieces with colors that complement your existing decor.

You can create a cohesive theme by selecting artwork that pairs well with Western-inspired tables, rugs, and accents around the room. Hang up cowboy-inspired art with cattle herders, rodeo riders, ranchers, and Wild West heroes (via Sunlit Spaces). Art that speaks to you will always belong in a space, so take all the time you need to select the perfect Western-inspired pieces.

You can achieve the ultimate Western look in your home by layering rustic textiles and fabrics together. According to House Tipster, traditional fabrics used in the Western style are wool, checks, denim, plaids, gingham, and burlap. Keep the decorating scheme simple by matching prints and patterns. This decor tip will create visual texture in the space and help tie the overall color scheme together.

If you want to add a bit of softness to an otherwise rugged space, consider pairing a buffalo plaid blanket with a neutral faux fur throw. You can layer the blankets together on a couch or corral them in a basket. You can add a unique Western touch to the dining room with a pale blue or red gingham patterned tablecloth or placemat set. To complete the look, place an oversized vase filled with colorful wildflowers in the center of the table.

Oil lamps are an authentic element of the Wild West. According to Wohomen, this old-fashioned lantern adds a warm welcome to a modern space. Consider an oil lamp the perfect accessory for creating a traditional ambiance in your home. You can hang one on a wall hook, place it on an end table, or design a focal point in front of the fireplace.

Candles are an essential element for creating a welcoming Western atmosphere in your space. These accessories produce just the right amount of light to set a relaxing mood in the home. Basking in their warm glow will help melt away saddle soreness from rounding up cattle, rope burns from lassoing, or any other rough tasks of the day. Consider adding a few candlesticks to the coffee table or bookshelf, or hang up an iron chandelier. Incorporating candlesticks of different heights spices up your entire living space.

Bring the Western vibe to life in your home by adding accessories that represent the West at its best. According to Epic Home Ideas, you can achieve a bold Western look in your living space by adding a decorative bearskin rug or antler chandelier. Create a rustic centerpiece for a dining room table or coffee table by adding some antlers to an antique bowl or creating a beautiful table arrangement with florals, pinecones, greenery, and antlers.

If you consider yourself crafty, paint your centerpiece elements in a monochromatic color palette. Use warm whites, calming neutrals, or bold gold tones to achieve a uniform look. This style tip brings a refined and contemporary touch to the Western style. You can continue to adjust and play with your decor by adding simple items like printed cloth rugs, animal hides, spurs, and other Western-themed memorabilia.

You can create a traditional Western mood in your home by covering your bed with a pretty handmade quilt. According to Elle Decor, piling the bed with soft layers like stitched quilts and woven bedspreads evokes a homey feel that you will want to wake up to every day of the week.

You have plenty of options when choosing a quilt. Some of the best choices for Western-inspired spaces include patchwork or jelly roll quilt patterns with galloping horses and desert scenes. There are also quilts with charming log cabin designs and overlapping rectangles spiraling out from the center. Grab the reins and control the comfort of your space by selecting a quilt that speaks to you. Once you find the perfect quilt, accent it with striped and diamond-patterned pillows and throws. These soft elements pair well with rugged wooden furniture since they balance the aesthetic and keep it from feeling too sterile.

Few things say Western decor like leather furniture. According to Style Baggage, authentic leather is a primary element of Western-style designs since it recalls the ranching lifestyle. Consider adding deep brown leather sofas, stools, and benches to your home for some Western spirit. There are plenty of different leather finishes available, so choose one that complements your space. You can also select vegan leather alternatives for your home. These animal-free materials are often the more eco-friendly and sustainable option (via Gentlemen's Gazette). Be mindful that matte finishes are typically better suited for Western decor over shinier materials.

If you don't need larger furnishings, search for small accessories like hand-tooled leather harnesses or artwork. Hang them on a coat rack in the entrance area for some authentic Western flare. Create contrast by layering a cowhide rug under a soft suede accent chair in the living room.

To create a beautiful Western-inspired home, stick to a simple color palette with warm tones found in nature. Most Western homes feature shades of browns, oranges, and deep reds with touches of greens and blues. These colors appear naturally in the Western landscape so try to mimic them in your accents and furnishings. You can recreate the shades found in Mother Nature for an authentic Western atmosphere. For optimal contrast, paint your walls white, gray, or beige.

When decorating, don't go overboard with the color. Having too many warm colors may muddle the decor and make a space feel overwhelming and cluttered. According to Anteks Home, you should opt for traditional yellows and reds and resist bright and distracting colors. When decorating, add these warm tones to multiple rooms and adhere to a limited, cohesive color palette. Embrace consistent accent colors to make your place dazzle.

No Western look is complete without some cowboy-friendly accessories. Spurs, cowboy hats, and big belt buckles are classic Western-style decor to add to your home. Start by rummaging through your closets and storage trunks to find some old Western gear you could use as decor. If you have no cowboy gear to display, visit your local thrift shops and retailers.

Scatter Western props throughout the living room and other common areas. You can find smaller items to decorate tabletops, including turquoise jewelry pieces and antique silver trinkets. According to Elle Decor, you can make a decorative statement with antique cowboy hats and boots by lining them up by the fireplace. Alternatively, hang up some cowboy hats, scarves, and leather jackets by the front entry to add visual interest. Finding a way to incorporate meaningful items into the decor elements of your home creates a comfortable space and enables you to share unique stories with your guests.

While ranch-themed wall prints, canvas art, or traditional black-and-white photos are all attractive ways to fill your walls with Western style, feel free to get a little more creative with your rustic decor. Instead of adding typical decor items to your walls, hang up Southwestern-inspired terra cotta pots with air plants or succulents. This tip is good for way introducing natural greenery into the living space. Unlike potted plants, air plants do not grow in soil. They thrive on trees or other plants in the wild and produce tube-like leaves. You can grow air plants in your home with just a little sun and water.

According to The Spruce, flat, handwoven wall baskets complement most neutral Western color palettes. You can continue bringing Western flair into the home by adding horseshoes on the walls or traditional dishware. Consider installing some rustic wooden shelves in your kitchen for more space to display decor.

Strike the right balance between colors, patterns, and textiles in your Western-inspired space. According to SFGate, it's best to embrace a warm palette and stick to complementary hues. You don't want your colors to clash in this design style. Close your eyes and imagine colors that naturally appear outdoors, such as sunset reds, burnt oranges, cactus greens, sky blues, clay yellows, and earthy browns. Allow the colors to build an inviting and welcoming mood in the space.

You can add an accent color or two for your soft layers like blankets and rugs to make the space feel cozier. However, make sure the different patterns and prints don't clash too much. Western design elements are full of life and color, so your space should reflect all the West's natural beauty without over-saturating the room. To avoid overemphasizing the Western theme, limit repetition of patterns, Western-style wear, and distracting accessories.

Every once in a while, a single decor element can make a bold impact on your living space. Cow skulls are a Western-style essential that will instantly transform a room. According to Homedit, skulls are perfect accent pieces and belong in rooms where they shine as a focal point. Hang a real or faux skull above the fireplace or set one on an end table as an accent piece in the living room.

You could also display a longhorn skull in the living room above the couch to introduce some Western character. While this decor element may not fit every person's tastes, it is a guaranteed way to invoke Western vibes throughout your home. Many people find skulls creepy and disturbing, but there are ways to transform this unique piece into tasteful decor. Add flowers or colorful textiles around the head to spruce it up and bring contemporary Western flair into your living space.