I Want That Southwestern Look!

Accent your home with accessories that reflect the colors of the Southwest landscape like our Tarracito Table Lamp.

What you want: A retreat that speaks of the beauty and color of the Southwest landscape and culture. Southwestern style is unlike anything else and places an emphasis on an inviting, warm atmosphere while melding influences from Native American and Mexican cultures.

Colors: Your foundation color should find inspiration in a neutral adobe or terra cotta tone. Select accent colors that occur naturally in a tawny Southwestern landscape, including green, both vibrant and muted blues, and the warm-toned yellows and oranges of mountain ranges and mesas bathed in sunlight.

Use Terracotta or Adobe as your base and highlight with the bright colors of nature.

Floor: Southwestern style rooms require hard floors, like wood or terra cotta tiling that flows with the room's more natural, shaped-by-the-land vibe. Toss on a couple of beautiful, hand-crafted Navajo rugs with simple, geometric patterns like stripes or diamonds for authentic Southwestern flavor.

Vestige Table Lamp.

Lighting: The type of fixtures you decorate your room with depends on your preference. Lamps with pottery bases in earthen colors are an appropriate choice, but so are sconces with hammered tin shades, floor lamps with wooden frames and Tiffany-style lamps with darker, geometric patterns that recall Navajo rug designs. Find these styles with an environmentally friendly slat at the GREENCulture's Eco-lights.com.

Lil' Brown Jug Table Lamp

Furniture: Less polished than furniture found in a traditional room, Southwestern pieces should be more solid looking and rustic. Nevertheless beauty can be found in the grain of the wood, and the craftsmanship of its characteristic straight lines, molding, slats and iron decoration. Mission furniture is a handy style to use in a pinch, as the designs are the soul of practicality and function.

The Mission-style Alana Dining Collection exhibits attractive utilitarianism.

Accents: This style is actually rather minimalist in approach. Accent your living space with some lovely pottery and indigenous paintings and sculpture.