• Western decor may include horse tack.western image by thierry planche from Fotolia.com
  
  Decorating your home in rustic western style can range from small touches of the Old West to a recurring cowboy motif, to all-out western style furnishings and decor. Determine how authentic you want your western home decor to be, then start scouting for the items you need at thrift stores, feed stores and modern cowboy-style boutiques.
  
  

Fabrics and Colors

• Rustic western fabrics are all natural, and usually rooted in the cotton industry. Use muslin, flannel or similar fabrics in calico, checkered or plaid patterns for your Western style decor. The same fabric can be used for bed coverings, window treatments, tablecloths and furniture throws, but to avoid getting a look that is too busy, choose one or two of these items to decorate in a bold plaid, then use cream or natural colored cotton fabric for the rest. Avoid bright whites and large amounts of pure black. Stay instead with brown, orange, blue, red and green tones.
  
  

Wood and Walls

• Heavy wood with clear low-gloss varnish is a mainstay of the rustic Western motif. Choose wood furniture that looks weathered or distress it yourself with a woodburning kit, steel wool and similar treatments to artificially age the look. Large, rough-cut log bed and couch frames are right at home in a rustic cabin, while simple wood chairs and tables are good for the kitchen and dining areas. If you have real wood paneling in your home, don't paint it. If not, go for an off-white that provides a neutral background for your other decor.
  
  

Decorative Items

• Use a nature theme for your rustic Western cabin. Depending on which part of the west you're in, this may mean cactus and coyotes or pine trees, deer and moose. Choose kitchen and bathroom textiles with these animal themes, then decorate the entire home with dried flowers and branches. Of course, preserved animal pelts and heads also fit the theme, but these may be too much for some modern sensibilities. If you're looking for more of a "Wild West" theme, hang old bits of horse tack (bits, bridles, stirrups and horseshoes) from the walls and use worn leather accents and horse motif paintings throughout the home. When choosing metal accents, rusted iron, antique brass and polished silver all suit the Western theme well, whereas bright brass and aluminum should be avoided. Copper works well in kitchens and baths, but should be used sparingly in the rest of the home.