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How to Use Rustic Style Furniture to Signify the Southwestern Look

November 28th, 2009 | Author : Craig Chambers | Posted in Home & Garden

The United States is known as being a very diverse continent with different lifestyles and scenes to be found wherever you travel. When it comes to decorating ideas however, the Southwestern style must be the most distinctive and most thought-provoking. Across the land, homeowners in any climate or environment think about reconstructing that unpretentious, back to basics, lived in and laid back approach, so typical of a Southwestern abode. Rustic style furniture selections should be considered for the ideal look and any would-be designers should aim to achieve authenticity.

Probably the most common component of rustic style furniture in the Southwest is wood, with the darker variety preferred. You should not look for complex detailing, but for a substantial yet simple approach. A few striking accents may be incorporated but you must aim to achieve a weathered and distressed look. Very often, major architectural features are wooden, with exposed beams and hardwood floors commonplace.

For your major rustic style furniture items, minimalist is a good byword to bear in mind. When you are thinking about how you will stage your home, throw away the plan and don’t opt for inch perfect positioning as modern designers prefer. The less composed and the more natural look you achieve the better. Aim for color scheming that mimics nature, just as if you were bringing the outside indoors. You have a big variety of colors to choose from and try and picture nature, the sky, the earth and water. Major furniture items should have that distressed look even if you have to create it artificially using sanding methods, for example.

If you have never created a Southwestern look using rustic style furniture, you should do some research first to understand the result that you are trying to achieve. Traditionalists recommend you try and understand the association between all the elements. Imagine native Indians, adobe construction, ceramics, accents made from wood and animal castoffs and an abundance of natural elegance.

While some uneducated people might imagine a desert environment as being quite sparse, nothing could be further from the truth. Imagine the brilliant and rich colors of a typical southwestern sunrise or sunset, the huge variety of different plants representing a palette of different colors. With rustic style furniture items, remember not to go for a busy look and ensure that you have calming and soothing compositions.

Wrought iron is a staple of southwestern rustic style furniture. It’s perfect for end tables, coffee tables or other smaller items. It is perfectly acceptable to mix and match between different subcultures within the southwestern overall style.

Choose your main rustic style furniture options from a selection of leather or wooden items. Your chairs, tables and sofas may appear to be quite bare or neutral to start off with, but you have a wealth of choices when it comes to mood effects, lighting and other accessories.

Rustic style furniture should be very functional, yet also warm and inviting. Oversized items work very well and can be perfectly accented with throws or pillows.

For additional information on rustic style furniture, get the popular free Rustic Southwest Decorating Guide by writer Craig Chambers, founder of Mission Del Rey Southwest, for unusual ideas and rustic decorating tips. www.missiondelrey.com.

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