Western Home Decor Basics

We stood in front of the door. Finally. We’d started at the Student enter, then gone to the dorm, where we were told we had to go to the housing office, which, as it happened, was locked. Eventually, frustrating adventure completed, we arrived back at what was going to be my home for the next two semesters. I fumbled with the key for a minute before managing to slide it into the lock, then grabbed the door handle. It didn’t turn. Fighting down my rising embarrassment and irritation, I tried turning it the other direction. Still no luck. Everyone knows that college is different from high school, but I had assumed that doors would still work the same. The riddle was soon solved however, and the door opened.

 

Southwest and Western Style Are One in The Same

Southwest and western style have long been intertwined. The foundations of the two are very similar. You can’t really have good western decor without having southwest rugs in your home. And vice versa, you can’t have good southwest home decor without a few western rugs.

 

My parents followed me inside, and my elation at mastering the door went to war against a sudden feeling of dread. The room looked like a jail cell. Beige block walls, two bare beds, and a few drab items of furniture greeted us silently. Even after we started unpacking, the place still felt uninviting and vaguely hostile.

The change came an hour or two after arrival. My mother and I pulled the bedding from the mountain of boxes and empty bags on my not-yet-arrived roommate’s bed. As soon as the brightly patterned comforter was spread out and in place, something about the room changed. I remember looking around and thinking, “I can live here.” Four and a half pillows and a rug later, the jail cell was transformed into a warm, inviting haven from the as yet unknown terrors of college.

 

The final, most meaningful touch came from my mother. With a mysterious smile, she handed me a gift bag that she had somehow managed to keep hidden and un-squished through the chaos of the day. When I opened the bag, I could barely speak. Inside was a framed drawing of me and my roommate, the artistic style instantly recognizable as that of our best friend Kate. The three of us had been best friends for years, but a little before my roommate and I went to school, Kate had moved out of the country. Having her art on our wall was like having a little bit of her with us, and made the room truly feel like home.

 

Since then, our room has been home to food fights, sleepovers, impromptu jam sessions, and countless late nights of homework. And through it all, it’s never once resembled the jail cell of those first few hours, thanks to a few pieces of color and cloth that became so much more.