Decorating with a southwestern motif is tricky. The style has such a varied range of rich pattern styles and color schemes that it's easy to go overboard. Also, you may think that by choosing a southwest style you're limited to the iconic Santa Fe decor style -- a look defined by heavy use of subtler earth tones like sienna or terracotta and geometric-patterned fabric and pottery. Authentic southwestern style ranges much further. A well-decorated southwestern kitchen balances elements from Native American, Mexican and the southwest desert-scape.
Bring the Desert Inside
For an immediate southwest feel in your kitchen, bring in several small container cacti or desert succulents. They come in all shapes and sizes to fit that empty corner behind the dining room table or brighten the window sill over your sink. Place them in small terracotta planters typically found at nurseries. Leave the containers their natural hue, or paint them in bold hues like turquoise. Your desert plants require very little water, plenty of indirect sunshine and may produce brilliant desert blossoms, depending on the variety.
Southwest Color
When you think of southwestern decor, you may think of muted tones of seafoam green, salmon or mauve. However, the natural desert landscape and its native decor are actually bursting with bold hues of greens, golds, turquoise and even more vibrant colors like purple or magenta.
Southwestern style is influenced strongly by Mexican aesthetics. Bring this element into your kitchen by painting your counter backsplash a deep turquoise or sunny yellow. Complete the look with a rustic wall hanging or Mexican/Spanish style mirror framed with carved wood or hammered tin.
Rustic Space
Wide, open space and intense, vibrant sunlight are two of the southwest's defining elements. Bring them into your southwestern kitchen by opening up the space and letting in as much light as possible. Keep only the furniture and pieces you absolutely need, leaving plenty of floor space free. Hang mirrors to reflect light and make a small kitchen appear larger. Use light, translucent window treatments like cotton or bamboo Roman shades that let in plenty of daylight, but give ample privacy at night.
Southwest-Style Tile
Revamping your kitchen with the right kind of tile can transform a modern or country kitchen into one with a strong southwest feel. Mexican Talavera tile is colorful and usually has elaborate curvy or floral patterns. This works well on the kitchen counter top, on an accent wall behind the dining table or as a backsplash. You may also find tile with more of a Native American-inspired design on it, using blacks, turquoise and earthy tones in . Repujado, or hammered tin, is very common in southwest homes. The metal is carved with floral or geometric patterns. Install these metallic tiles on the ceiling or on along the counter wall to reflect light and highlight the southwest's rustic style.
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