March 19, 2024

mvnavidr

Comfortable residential structure

Native American interior design tips | Branded Voices

The Native American style is primarily intended to convey the splendor of the surrounding nature and recall the cultural heritage of such American states, such as New Mexico and Arizona. 

A distinctive feature of this style includes natural colors, materials and accents taken from the life of the indigenous population (Mexicans and American Indians), as well as the Spanish newcomers. Most of the time, this style can be fully brought to life in a private house, where you can set up the interior in a Native American style, while also keeping it spectacular from the outside: a flat roof, a spacious courtyard and a large garden.

Native American style decor inspiration

The Pacific Northwest region, which covers the states of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia in Canada, and southern Alaska is a vast region, known for its production of excellent Native American art objects in the form of wood carvings.

This is not surprising, as the Pacific Northwest is teeming with forests. They provided wood as a raw material for Native American Indian art in the region. 

This wood is painted in bright colors or simply tinted with natural browns. In any case, such pieces would perfectly fit into any room set up in earthy tones.

It is also possible to have the walls of your living room, bedrooms, office, hallway and even bathroom enhanced with Native American style and decor from the Pacific Northwest – most often in the form of engravings and carved wooden plaques.

Native American artists of the Pacific Northwest also make some of the most striking Aboriginal masks in the world, which can also be hung on walls.

Nature and its expression the Native American style decoration

Native American art in interior decorations helps bring the vibe of raw nature in the overall design of a room. This is due to its natural colors and its subjects, which tend to be animals and plants (for example eagles, bears, thunderbirds, killer whales and salmon, trees and cacti).

Indigenous art from the Pacific Northwest, in particular, gives homes in this region a local flavor. Many of them showcase this type of artwork and make them a part of their interior design.

On the other hand, Native American art style is still relatively unknown in many parts of America and the rest of the world. So, for homes located outside the Pacific Northwest region, owning a beautiful wood carving can be considered an exotic treasure brought back from a great adventure.

Now, we believe it’s time to delve into specifics and take a look at real examples of Native American style features. We hope this will help you understand exactly how any room in your home can become a part of this unusual, authentic style.

The main features of interior decoration in the Native American style

1. Colors

The interiors of Native American style homes use muted natural tones that are so rich in the nature of New Mexico and Arizona. All shades used in the color scheme are found in nature: salmon, green foliage, shale blue and lemon yellow.

For finishing materials and furniture, it is desirable to use natural colors: terracotta, brown, tan, cream and white. All of this can be found on the best outlet catalog, Homey Design Store. The accents should be set with the help of bright colors, which are reminiscent of the succulent desert plants and household items of the American Indians. 

Moreover, remember that azure has long been considered a powerful talisman by the natives of the Southwest of America, presumably being capable of driving away evil spirits. Therefore, in such interiors, doors and windows are often painted blue or decorated with an azure-colored curtain. 

2. Wall, floor and ceiling decorations

Traditionally, houses in the Native American style were made from adobe. In our modern days, you could use decorative plaster or matte paint for the walls, with which you can achieve the effect of whitewashed paint. One of the walls or a partition can be made of brick or stone. 

Deliberately rough wall shelving niches are often used in such interiors. Plus, some hand-painted walls and tiles also add coziness to the home. In Indian culture, such frescoes with ritual or naturalistic subjects create an incredibly attractive interior accent.

The ceiling is often painted with white, creamy, or milky shades. It is also decorated with wooden beams. 

The flooring can be of two types: solid wood board or parquet, as well as honey-colored ceramic tiles (also with a pattern). The floor in the interior should look interesting, so enhance it with some patterned bright rugs.

3. Furniture

The Native American style is, in some way, a distant cousin of minimalism. Therefore, furniture should be simple, with no frills, and made of natural materials. 

Soft leather, unpolished wood, graceful carving, forged fittings, covers made of dense linen and cotton fabrics perfectly fit into an interior in a Native American style. In addition to standard furniture, this style allows one to use large floor pillows in the interior and hang hammocks in the yard. 

The home should have an atmosphere of freedom and space. So, to make the rooms look larger, one can move the upholstered furniture closer to the center and not overload the functional areas with a lot of items.

4. Decor elements

The main decorative elements of an interior in the Native American style are handmade rugs in the style of the American Indian tribes. In addition to wall paintings, you can decorate the wall with a framed painting, the plot of which is Indian life or the nature of the Southwest of America. 

Still, remember not to overload the interior with Indian motives. A few accents are enough: forged elements on furniture or lamps, a few beautiful candlesticks, some vases with dried flowers, a patterned bedspread and some decorative pillows, indoor plants (giant cacti and dracaena), ceramics or skins.

Popular accessories used for decoration in Native American style

In this portion of this article, we want to share an inspirational and popular Native American style decorating accessory with you. What about acquiring a set of native drums as rustic tables to create a chic western decor, even if you’re not a music person and don’t have a sense of rhythm?

Do you like rustic furniture and decoration? Then you’ll definitely like the look of some attractive, native drums taking on the role of your living room coffee table. They can become a great detail to bring true Native American design and enrich the Western style of your home.

All in all, Native American style interiors are a rare guest in modern homes, and that’s a pity!

Perhaps, when the craze for minimalism and oriental ethnicities ends, designers will fully appreciate this friendly, warm and positive interior style. 

And if you are exactly into this type of design, take a look at this amazing article on Native American face masks https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/this-native-american-designer-is-the-latest-to-bead-culture-into-face-masks !

Native Perspective.  Native Voices.  Native News. 

We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That’s why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers.  We hope you’ll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.