Decorating With a Cowhide Rug

Using a cowhide rug in decorating is both natural and beautiful, but can be a bit of a task. Complementing the rug with other natural furnishings can take it from back of the closet to front line couture.

Redecorating your home around a rug can be a difficult task, but if you're dying to use your cowhide rug, or you really want to buy one for your home, there are plenty of ways to utilize the rug and also find furnishings and other décor that will work splendidly with the area rug.

If you're trying to create a rustic lodge setting in your home and you're starting with your cowhide area rug, you're off to an excellent start. Your cowhide rug can be the centerpiece of your main room on the floor or on a wall if you have high vaulted ceilings and it really will look just like the movies and magazines you've seen. In a rustic lodge setting, you should consider leather furniture in a complementary color to your rug, a rock wall fireplace and wood flooring. It also wouldn't hurt to select coffee tables and other wood furniture that is made from whole trunks rather than cut and sanded wooden planks. Natural woods that have not been modified with work perfectly with your cowhide rug to create a beautiful, natural look in your home.

Most little boys' rooms are done up in blue or sports and most little girls' rooms are done up in princess pink or butterflies. For a different look in your child's room, a cowhide rug is the perfect place to start. Find or make some vintage looking cowboy sheets and accent them with bandana print pillows (blue for boys and pink for girls, of course!). You should also consider a bed that is made from natural wood or factory distressed wood to give it a western feel. And don't forget that either child could always use a little sheriff theme in their bedroom.

Your dining room is traditionally a place that features a country, Italian, Victorian or other similar more sophisticated setting and it's probably not the first place you should be going overboard with steer skulls and other cowboy décor. However, it is possible to use a cowhide rug in your dining room with destroying the elegance of the space. You'll want to use natural wood for your dining room table and chairs, as well as your cabinetry and hutches. Simple lighting changes like brown glass or a fixture made from antlers (it doesn't have to still look like antlers, just be made from them) can go a long way to pulling the look together and making it look as elegant as any other design.

Remember, using a cowhide rug in decorating your home is a natural, beautiful thing. However, it can go seriously wrong if you try to pair it with the wrong décor. That's why, when you decide to select a cowhide rug, you should also be prepared to select other natural or distressed furnishings that will give your home a unique, old time western or country lodge look and feel.