The Joys of A Southwest Style Kitchen

When you think of family gatherings, either normal daily meals or events for larger family groups for special occasions; when you host a special time of entertaining with friends, usually your kitchen comes to mind. So much time is spent in the kitchen. To many of us the kitchen is the central focus of our home so naturally, we want our kitchen to be a tool of warm hospitality. A wonderful style of decor that is sure to welcome and charm is a colorful Southwest kitchen. Bringing with it, many different styles of decorating, the use of color and texture are main key elements. Creating a Southwest style kitchen will vary from home to home. Some think of a country style with rustic touches and designs of cows, roosters or sunflowers and checked curtains when they think of the Southwest. Others want more of a Mexican style Southwest and draw decorating touches from arches, pottery, bright colorful paintings, baskets, tile and wrought iron. The pieces a Southwest kitchen is accented with, plays an important role in the total overall look.

Baskets and pottery are as useful as they are decorative and are a wonderful way to add a touch of the warm Southwest. They can be purchased inexpensively and are available in many sizes and pleasing shapes. A unique way to display a special collection in your kitchen is to have shelving installed around the top portions of your room. There, many special Southwestern objects such as Native American hand drums, prayer fans, dough bowls, hide racks, Indian pottery and baskets can be displayed. The choice is up to you and will make your room unique. An important thing to remember is that there are no set rules. Surround yourself and your loved ones with items that are special to you with the ultimate goal of creating a room that reflects the warmth of your personality. If you love things of the west, use western cowboy or ranch objects. If you have a spiritual mindset, the placement of wooden, tile and wrought iron crosses would be suitable. A Southwest kitchen can be created many different ways and there are no particular design rules to follow. Keep in mind, warm and cheerful when designing your kitchen. 

Your Southwest kitchen accessories will be as unique as your personality allows. However, the focal point of the room will usually be the table. A table made of chunky wood either painted a bright color or left natural would be ideal. To adorn your table, place fun colorful Southwest place mats or a table runner. To soften the look, a brightly patterned area rug may be used. If your room has a bar or island, a great addition would be to use saddle style wooden hide covered bar stools. This pulls the Southwest kitchen look together and becomes an excellent place for extra seating. The items you choose to use as accessories in your Southwest kitchen may change from time to time as well as the people whom you entertain. The one thing that will remain the same throughout time, is the warmth and welcome emanated from your Southwest kitchen.

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