The American Southwest is known for its desert landscapes, gorgeous sunsets, simple architectural structures that blend into the natural surroundings, and rich Native American heritage. The Southwestern decorating style echoes these features in its warm, vibrant color scheme, solid and rustic furnishings, and interesting Native American art pieces. The following are some ways to weave a Southwestern theme into your living room.

Native American Art

Pottery, rugs and other textiles, woven baskets, and ceramic figurines are some of the handcrafted items that you will find at stores selling Native American crafts. The designs often feature symbols of the landscape, animals, and people of the region. A few art pieces displayed in your living room certainly contribute to the Southwestern theme. You can even design the room, including the color scheme, around your favorite accent.

Vibrant Colors

Warm and cheerful colors make the room inviting and set the mood for lively family gatherings. Reddish browns, deep yellows, and soft greens are some colors that are evocative of Southwest landscapes. You may want to have neutral tan or sand-toned walls so that the colors in furnishings and accents will stand out.

Focal Wall

An idea for incorporating Southwestern color into your living room is to paint a focal wall a deeper, more striking shade than the rest of the walls. This ensures that you do not overwhelm the room with color. For instance, you can paint the focal wall terracotta and assign a lighter shade of earthy brown to the remaining walls. Alternatively, hang a large brightly patterned tapestry on a focal wall in the room.

Rugged and Natural Material

In a Southwestern living room, textiles are prominent, draped on sofas, coffee tables, covering the floor, hanging on a wall. They are natural and simply woven, usually displaying a basic, repeated geometric or striped pattern. Wood and wrought iron are also popular materials used in furnishing and accents. Wood wall shelves with wrought iron brackets, and wrought iron wall sconces are a couple of accents you can include.

Oversized Furniture

Look for large, solid, rustic pieces when shopping for your living room furniture. Knotty pine is a favorite wood that complements this theme. A piece that you may often see in Southwestern-styled rooms is a tall wooden armoire with big doors and bronze knobs and handles. It is a useful piece for housing the television and other entertainment apparatus. Leather sofas in rich brown are also popular in

Southwestern Rooms

Tiled floor or table: Terracotta tiles and colorful, painted ceramic tiles add to the natural and rustic feel of the living room. They can be placed in a beautiful arrangement on a small section of the floor, or set into the surface of a coffee or end table.
Desert plants: Don’t forget to include some cacti and other succulents in your Southwestern living room. You may choose a small cacti garden in a glass bowl, or a large pot of cactus with bright pink blooms, or a few smaller pots of cute succulents that will complete the room.