Decor and Styling Ideas for Your Western Home

The American West is a romanticized landscape with an austere and down-to-earth quality. It has a distinctive soundtrack and archetypal characters, partly reinforced by American cinema. When we think of the West it conjures images of cowboys, Native American artwork, cacti, and desert landscapes with rattlesnakes and cow skulls. Western homes find ways to incorporate all of these elements into their decor, whether through color schemes, wall art, or patterns. Within this guide, we’ll explore numerous ways in which you can make your home a cowboy or cowgirl’s ideal retreat.

What is western design style?

To understand western style, we need first to understand the landscape. Utah, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, and California comprise the American West. Canyons, Native American textile patterns, cattle ranges, and cowboys are all themes of these regions. They complement the habitat types of the west — such as deserts, arid grasslands, and mountain plateaus. The materials and animals within these habitats are also decorations common to western design styles. For example, a coyote print area rug can handsomely accompany a desert-themed color palette (which we’ll discuss below).

Western home exterior design

The two most common tropes of western exterior design are wooden trusses and natural or quarried stone. Entryways to western homes typically sport a covered doorway or wrap-around porch with exposed trusses. Elegant limestone, gypsum, sandstone, or slate pillars support the raw wooden trusses. As these rocks are in quarries throughout the western United States, they are a staple of western home construction.

Western color palettes

What makes western color schemes unique is the contrast of auburn, sand, and natural browns with light powdered blues and turquoise. The hues of the desert intermingle with gem-like shades to create a stand-alone style. Ironworking, leather, and handwoven fabric materials like jute also appear in western color schemes. Below are some examples of westerly color palettes.

Elements of western decor

Besides the typical colors of oranges, browns, and blues, western decor expresses itself through the robust assortment of wildlife, crafts, and occupational tools from the region. As mentioned, animals found in the American west are a staple of western design styles. Coyotes, wolves, hawks, cougars, longhorn cattle, snakes, and lizards are just a few critters incorporated into western decor. Besides animals, other timeless additions to this styling include:

• Cowboy and ranchhand items - boots, spurs, hats, stars, horseshoes, and cattle brands are just a few items used by cowboys that have found their way into this design style. The tassels commonly found on leather jackets also make great additions to rugs, throw blankets, or pillows.
• Boho style rugs - Bohemian style rugs with Aztec-like patterns and gem-colored accents can bring a western living room together. Diamond shapes and natural fibers make western rugs calming and vibrant decorations for any living space.
• Ironwork - western lighting fixtures often utilize iron and metalworking to create a rustic and homey feel. Homes built in the west first used lantern light for illumination — the metal framework on western lighting harkens back to this time. 

How to decorate your western home

Now that we have a good feel for what colors and decor items to incorporate, let’s go over some helpful tips to fuel the creative process. Thinking about each room individually and choosing items with similar color profiles and themes simplifies decorating. For instance, brown and white cowskin rugs paired with rust-colored, cowboy-themed wall decor are cohesive with leather living room furniture. Now, let’s focus on some tips for decorating high-traffic areas in your home.

Western kitchen ideas

Metal, wood, and stone construction used in tandem with western kitchen dinnerware provide a timeless, rugged feel. Granite countertops easily incorporate stone colors into a western kitchen design. Lighting in a western-style kitchen should use metal trim and glass reflectors that give a warm, golden glow. Rustic wooden cabinets of dark, reddish, or light brown all mesh well with metal and stone accents. Consider stocking cutlery and dinnerware with geometric designs or wildlife, like cacti and bison.

Western living room decor

Picking out couches and larger pieces of furniture is the simplest way to start decorating your living room. Leather couches are a primary component of the western living room unless you’re looking for a modern western feel — more on this later. You can add a wow factor to your furniture by including pillows and throw blankets with contrasting colors. Afterward, choose a rug with red or earth tones that complements your couches. Additionally, drapes and curtains with fringed ends or brown and blue hues can tie the room together.

Western bedroom ideas

We recommend using auburn, and sand textures to create an earthy and comforting feel. Southwestern bedrooms often make use of desert-themed, lighter color schemes. A western home would be incomplete without an adobe-colored bedroom. Bedrooms can be brought to life with desert quilts, ornate rug patterns, and rustic wooden bed frames. Popular bedroom wall motifs are cowboy hats, longhorn skulls, and horses. Also, an antler chandelier looks majestic above an adobe-themed bed setting. 

What is modern western design?

A modern approach to southwestern or western home architecture uses the same color palettes and similar furnishings, however, at a minimalist level. Modern western homes use metal trusses and have sleek, smooth granite construction — in contrast to the rugged quarried stone used in rustic western designs. These homes exchange leather couches for stone and sand-colored furniture. They also feature large windows and treated, polished wooden accents that jut from stone walls.

Start decorating your western home today

Are you looking for inspiration to complete your natural, rugged western-style home design? Cabin Place can provide all the furnishings to create a one-of-a-kind southwestern or western-themed abode. We curate our collections to offer unique decorations for any room in your home, even your washrooms. If you’re ready to start designing your home on the range, check out our western collection today!