Decorating September 20, 2018July 24, 2019 by Jane

A Fresh Take on Western Style

Western style is almost always stereotyped as kitschy design with animal heads and wagon wheels. That really isn’t the case and designers are mixing the modern and the rustic to create a cozy and chic space, a fresh take on western design if you will. Here are some ways to incorporate western design anywhere, even a New York City penthouse.

Photo by Eminent Interior Design – Browse bedroom photos

Pops of Color

Western design tends to pull color from nature which means a lot of green, tan, orange and yellow. This leaves you with a home full of basically neutral colors, but you can use rich reds and brilliant turquoise as accent colors or in rugs and throws. Have a brightly colored or patterned quilt to add color to your bedroom or on the back of a couch. Here are some ideas on how to do just that.

Soften Up the Log Cabin

If your home’s interior feature a lot of wood, particularly on the walls you can soften that look a bit with the right window treatments. Use lighter colored window treatments and bedding in the bedroom. In the living room you can still use lighter colored drapes but avoid that heavy dark leather furniture. Instead consider pale colored fabric sofas and chairs.

Rethink the Antlers

Deer heads and antlers on the wall are what can turn your room from classy to over the top, so rethink the antlers. Try instead a ceramic sculpture or piece of Native American art. You can add color while still maintaining that western feel without making your home look like a hunting cabin. There are lots of pieces of tasteful wildlife art that can replace the antlers.

Add Some Modern Details

Living rooms and kitchens done in western design often come with big features, large wood cabinets, big stone fireplaces and big trusses. You can add some modern details to soften up the room, you can work in some modern pieces of art or accessories that give the room modern touches.

Combine Textures

There is a lot of wood and leather in western design which can make your room feel kind of cold and impersonal. You can soften the space with accents in different textures. A high quality lush area rug is one way to do that, something like fleece or equally soft works great. So do throw cushions or a blanket on the back of the leather sofa, both will make the room feel cozy and warm.

Decorating September 18, 2018September 21, 2018 by Jane

Common Bedroom Decorating Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Out of all the rooms in your home your bedroom is the most personal. Your bedroom should be the most comfortable room in your house while still reflecting your personal style and taste. That being said people still make mistakes when it comes to decorating the bedroom, here are some of the more common bedroom decorating mistakes and how to fix them.

Color

Picking the color in your bedroom is something you should be careful with. While bright fire engine red might be your favorite color, your bedroom is a place you unwind and relax after a long day, so color choice is crucial. You want colors that are relaxing but not boring. What is your favorite color? Start with that as a primary color then work in accent colors. Try painting one wall first to see how it looks at night and under natural light. Take the time to make sure that this is the right color for your room.

Arranging the Furniture

Since the bed takes up most of the space in the room people end up lining up all their dressers along one wall. The dressers are at uneven heights and this makes your bedroom look cluttered. Arranging furniture in a smaller bedroom can be a challenge, you should measure the dimensions of the furniture and plan out where you want to put everything. Remember to leave yourself enough room to walk around, balance the furniture with the walking space. Here is some help arranging bedroom furniture.

Limit the Patterns

Between bedspreads, curtains and wallpaper you can end up with a lot of busy patterns that are too much. You should have elements of design in your room but you need to figure out where to put them. If you have a bright and colorful bedspread then use a solid color for the drapes, or vice versa. Using patterns can create a focal point in the room, but rather than add another pattern use accent colors or try different textures rather than patterns.

Hanging at the Wrong Height

This covers both curtains and artwork, most hang curtains too low and art work too high. Artwork should be at eye level but since people vary in height you have about 6 inches either above or below your eye level. Window treatment can be used to make your room look taller, you can hang drapes from ceiling to floor or just below the window casing.

These are some of the more common mistakes that people make when they are decorating their bedroom. All of them are easy to fix.

Decorating August 2, 2018June 27, 2019 by Ramona

Western and Southwestern Rugs

I’m nine years old again. I remember before this time, I always moved from house to house. For me, no place ever felt like home until this moment. I remember walking into this huge, five-bedroom house. It was my parents, my brother, my aunt, my uncle, my cousin, and me. I felt myself getting excited, even before we moved in. I ran to the furthest room upstairs, stopping at the doorway, and peeping in. That’s when my parents came up behind me and whispered to me, “this will be your room.” I’d never forget that moment. There was this feeling of excitement inside me that was so radiant that I can still feel that moment today. I had never had my own room until then. My favorite place for western and southwestern area rugs: Southwestern Rugs | FREE Ship | Western Area Rugs, Native American, Southwest

When we finally moved in, I rolled around the floor of my bedroom. I imagined exactly what I wanted and where I wanted everything to be. It was finally happening. I made my room a very mellow yellow. I had a white desk and a wooden bed frame that I had brought from my last home. I remember putting a white mosquito net canopy over my bed. To the side of my bed, next to the door, I had a wooden bookshelf that stored all of my childhood books and VCR tapes. I felt a sense of comfort and satisfaction in this room, that I never felt before.

Decorating a room to your own liking is a privilege in its own because not many people have the opportunity to do so. Providing décor in your room allows you to express who you are as a person and what you value most in life. When I was nine years old, yellow was my favorite color, and this is why I made my room this color. It represented a part of me. On my desk, I kept pictures with my best friends and my family. They represented what was most important to me at the time. I feel like if I could decorate my room now, it would be completely different, but that’s the best part of having décor. It’s flexible and changeable to satisfy the desires of whoever the room is meant for.

Western vs Southwestern Style Home Decorating

Décor allowed me to express myself. It was a safe place that I could call my own in the darkest of times. It was the serenity during the storm, the only place that I could ever let myself go. Whether it was crying or screaming out my emotions, the décor in my room gave me a sense of peace during my parents’ constant separations. I could stare at my bookshelf and VCR tapes and remember a time when I was happier, watching those Disney films with my family. It was a place where I was proud to bring my friends because I was proud of who I was and what brought me joy. I was showing them that “this is me and I hope you accept it.” Bringing friends into your room is like bringing them to your sacred place. It’s where you express yourself and hope that those around you can appreciate the same. What made me happy then, is not necessarily what makes me happy now.

The things that I used to like aren’t the same as what I like now. The best part about décor is that you can change it and modify it. You can save the things that are sentimental and move on to other things. I think that’s the most important part about décor; the ability to change who you are. Décor is a representation of yourself. There is no bad décor or good décor. There are only different interpretations and perspectives of it. Décor brings lively characteristics of the self out in materialistic things. It’s a form of self-expression and identity.