Native American Area Rugs: Really Loving Them Lately

Native American Area Rugs: Really Loving Them Lately

Feb. 26, 2018 by

My home is an expression of my most vulnerable self. The space I’m in rids my mind of all stress and creates, if only a single moment, an area of peace. This sense of peace stems from the knowledge that each piece I use to decorate my home garners my individuality at its best, and ensures absolute love and respect for myself. Because of this emphasis of care, when guests arrive, my home greets them, surrounding them with the warmth and comfort that should always be felt when entertained. Being true to yourself and what you surround yourself with is so important when navigating life, and doing this whether it be pursuing a passion, expressing personal fashion, or even decorating a space ensures the continuation of the path set out for yourself and secures the future that you’ve dreamed of.

antique native american rug

 

Only until recently, was I able to fully express who I am and how I want to be perceived when I invite guests into my room. It may sound insignificant and something that doesn’t cause much thought that a twenty-one-year-old has finally decided to remodel her room to her aesthetic; nevertheless, I have noticed the drastic change it has had on my thoughts and feelings.  I, for one, never actually liked my room, I was not the one who chose the color of the walls, who put up the picture frames, nor the one who picked the bed sheets. All were selected and put for me. At the time, I really did not mind. Years passed by and I continued to view the bedroom as the place where I go to sleep and get dressed, nothing more and nothing less.

 

One day, I laid in my bed taking in the sight of my so-called bedroom… and I started to feel something. That something was not pleasant; it was a complete disconnection between my room and myself. Thoughts rushed in, a self-reflection began, and I was able to conclude that this so-called “bedroom” was not mine. Before being a college student, I did not spend time relaxing or doing my homework in my bedroom; instead, I did most things in the living room. Now that I am an off-campus student, I spend most of my time in my room doing homework and I came to the realization I felt out of place. My bedroom was not “my bedroom”. I then had this sudden urge to make it mine; in the end, I did in fact mind that the bedroom did not represent me. I started to sketch my ideal room, searched for bedroom re-modeling ideas on the web to further spark my enthusiasm, creativity, and curiosity, and made a list of the materials I wanted/needed to remodel my room with Native American area rugs.

 

I went to the store and bought fairy lights, inspirational frames, and posters of some of my favorite shows and bands. Clichéd? Yes, but those things that I enjoy, are me. As I got home, I took down the frames from before and everything that was not me and went ahead and put up what was. I also added little extras such as a fluffy blue rug and a bookshelf where I placed the fairy lights to not only illuminate my room, but also the books that will be placed there. Now as I sit in my bed working on my homework and take a small break to stretch and relax, I gaze up and look around to the changes I have made in my room… I am pleased with what I see and no longer feel out of place as I once did before.…

Adding Navajo Style to Your Home

Adding Navajo Style to Your Home

Nov. 7, 2017 by

Navajo style rugNavajo style, also known as Southwestern style is becoming increasingly popular as an interior design style. Much of it rests on Navajo elements, such as rugs and wall hangings.

For many generations, Native Americans were the only inhabitants of the American Southwest and the Navajo tribe was definitely the most influential when it came to design style. They are probably most notably known for their textiles and when adding Navajo style to your home it is easiest to add some of their textiles. Their weaving traditions have been passed down through the generations for centuries. The graphic style of their Southwestern and Navajo style rugs and blankets is iconic, as are the colors they use, lots of natural colors such as burnt ochre and sienna, reds, yellows, gray, dark blue and plenty of browns. When buying rugs, blankets, wall hangings and other textiles, make sure you buy directly from Navajo artisans, so that your money goes to the right place. There are a number of shops owned and run by Navajo members who sell online and even ship their goods.

To begin adding Navajo style to your home, you can start with a few accessories, such as rugs and wall hangings, which we mentioned, as well as throw pillows that have been woven by the Navajo. If you’re going to commit a room to this style it is best to paint it an off-white, think of the color of a tepee, and then add earthy colors as accents. Think natural materials, such as terracotta tiles and wooden floors. But don’t be afraid to add a splash of turquoise.

If you can find them use animal hide as rugs, sheepskin can make a hard, wooden chair look especially inviting, and leather furniture in a Midwestern style really pulls a room together when adding Navajo style to your home. The Navajo also create wonderful woven baskets and beautiful pottery, which can be used in the kitchen as crockery, or placed in the living room as accessories.

Black and white photographs of Midwestern landscapes, or of cattle look great in a wooden frame and when clustered together on a photo wall. Or paint the frames in the same white that you used to paint the interior for a slick look.

While it is frowned upon to hang up taxidermied heads of animals, you could source them from old antique shops, or from flea markets. There are also companies who specialize in making papier-mache heads of animals.

When adding Navajo style to your home you don’t have to just stick to the living room, Navajo blankets are incredibly warm to sleep under in the colder months, or you could hang a blanket up as a wall hanging and have it cover an entire wall.

Nothing says Midwestern interior design quite like a cactus. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a large one, you could get a small collection of cactuses or even some succulents if you prefer. Place them in terracotta pots or ceramic painted in bright colors.…

tribal

Tribal Patterns, Harry Potter, and White Desks

Sep. 10, 2017 by

Decor has never had a significant place in my life. To be honest I didn’t think about it at all and felt like people who really cared about decor or their home surroundings were the very rich who could afford decorators and expensive pieces to furnish their home. It was not until I moved from my childhood home and bedroom into a new place that I ever really looked at what was in my room. I had a typical bedroom as a child. All white walls with posters of my favorite celebrities and teen heartthrobs. My room was identical to many of my childhood friends and classmates. Over the years I kept important items and keepsakes and had a bookshelf full of Harry Potter, the Princess Diaries series, and a tribal pattern rug. As I packed up my room and stood there with boxes and empty walls it hit me that even though a lot of thought hadn’t gone into my room, it was what made me who I am.

 

The years I spent at my bookshelf choosing which book to read and the wall of all the strong female celebrities that I wished to know and be friends with. It was the simple twin bed with the comfortable teal sheets and my white desk where I spent hours studying as a child and teenager. Each piece and item in my room held a story. It was the first time in my life I recall having an attachment to items of furniture. As we moved into a new house and I set up each item, this time I did it with more intention and care. Everything became special and I wanted to keep my room exactly as it had been before. As I’ve gotten older I appreciate when someone has a home and decor that reflects who they are and has special meaning to them. Everything in your home tells a story and should be important to you.

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farm house

America Loves A Farmhouse

Sep. 8, 2017 by

 

I’m an avid HGTV watcher, but I spent my entire high school career being pestered and nagged by my parents to make my bed, put away my clothes, just clean my room in general – you get the gist. Unlike many of my friends, decor, or even just cleanliness, was never something I was all that concerned about. When my friends and I would hang out, we would usually stay at one of my other friend’s houses or just go out to eat and then go our separate ways. Because of this, I never really cared nor had any reason to care about what my room looked like. Yes, I would marvel at the immaculately decorated houses on HGTV’s flip or flop, and I would scroll through Pinterest and admire all the super-chic, well-decorated rooms people posted pictures of, but to me, the effort just wasn’t worth it to create one of my own. As a new college student, that ideology desperately needed to change.

Stop and take a second to picture a ten by twelve room with bare white brick walls, plain white industrial tile, one window, and closets with no doors. Now picture two teenage girls living in that room together for nine months. Sound like fun? It didn’t to me. I was so excited to go away to school this past summer, but I was dreading the idea of having to live in a dorm room. How was I supposed to feel at home in a tiny concrete box with another girl when I couldn’t even make my own bedroom feel homely? Because I was so concerned about how it would work, I decided drastic measures needed to be taken: I actually put some thought and effort into the way my room was going to be set up.

My roommate and I connected before move-in day to discuss how we wanted the room to look. We coordinated the color scheme of our comforters, accent pillows and wall decorations, picked a giant rug to help make our floor feel significantly less like the floor of a supermarket, and even planned to buy curtains to hide the inevitable mess our closets are likely to become during midterms and finals week when we have no time to organize. We decided we would half loft our beds and both got adorable cube storage organizers for underneath them. On move in day, we hung pictures above our window, organized our desk areas, and hung our closet curtains. I’m now a week and a half into college, and dorm life is so much better than I ever could have imagined it would be, largely thanks to the decor of our room. For the first time in my life, I have a room that would fit right in if it ended up on Pinterest. I was dreading dorm life until I actually took the time to plan out and organize how my room would be decorated, and my dorm room now feels more like home than I could ever imagine. As it turns out, the effort it took to successfully decorate a room was well worth it… Especially when it came to turning a tiny college dorm room into a place I am now proud to call home.

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