Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Design A Western Bunkhouse Guest Room

A vintage chair and cowboy hat fit a bunkhouse theme.


Nothing is more American than the wild wild West. Cattle drives and chuck wagons evoke the ruggedness of cowboys dusty from the trail and ready to bed down for the night. While their quarters were rustic, with few of the comforts of home, your bunkhouse style guest room will have all the luxuries without giving up any of the Western ambiance. Cowboy style is popular in all parts of the country and can be achieved in any home. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


Walls


1. Panel one wall with barn board or any rough-hewn paneling. Paint the other three walls in natural colors like sand, cactus greens and terra cotta. Try out different painting techniques like sponging to add texture to the walls. Hang wall paper in a Native American blanket design on the upper half of the wall and panel the bottom half.


2. Substitute a wall mural depicting a cattle drive for a headboard above the bed.


3. Dress the windows with plain muslin or calico. Fashion burlap curtains from old feed bags.


4. Build a rustic plank door. Screw on black wrought iron hinges and a handle.


Furniture


5. Place two vintage wooden chairs at the foot of the bed on either side of an antique trunk to act as a conversation area or a handy place to put small pieces of luggage. Paint them in bright colors to contrast with the neutral walls.


6. Create a reading nook. Position a weathered leather club chair near the fireplace or a window. Pair it with a floor lamp made from a log with a cow hide shade and a rustic side table fashioned from a tree trunk.


7. Erect bunk beds on one wall and place two wooden and canvas cots on the opposite wall. Dress the bunks in cowboy print sheets and bright woolen blankets sporting Native American designs. Roll sleeping bags up and place them on the end of each cot on top of a pillow.


Choose a bed frame and side tables crafted from logs or wooden crates.


8. Provide storage with an antique armoire. Decoupage the doors with pictures of horses cut from magazines.


Accessories


9. Place a saw horse with a saddle in a corner. Hang antiqued wooden signs advertising stables, blacksmiths and saloons on the wall above the windows.


10. Feature a large Western themed painting or print above the fireplace. Put a vase inside a large cowboy boot, fill it with flowers and display it on the mantel.


11. Border a window with cowboy hats and hang a Texas flag above the bed.


12. Place the bedside lamps on a pile of Louis L'Amour novels. Have the cover of Larry McMurtry's Western epic "Lonesome Dove" enlarged and framed.


Toss throw pillows in covers fringed to look like saddle bags on the bed.


13. Hang a fringed suede jacket and cowboy hat on a door hook.


Fill a corner with cacti of various types and sizes.







Tags: Native American