South by Southwest

Earlier this week we started talking about how close in style Lodge and Southwest are. That quite often they can be used interchangeably but that there are some differences. Lodge comes from the hunting lodges found in the likes of Montana and Idaho while Southwest design comes from further south and usually brings in elements of Native American and Mexican culture. Now, will a Lodge area rug look at home in a Southwest design, quite likely. And a Southwest rug motif will easily look at home in a Lodge inspired room. They are more or less cousins of the same rugged western tradition of the USA. With that in mind, we explored some of the Lodge looks that we offer at Rugs to My Door and now I want to do the same for the Southwestern rugs that are on our site. We offer hundreds of rugs in this category, so I use these three to wet your appetite so that you will take some time to browse through all the rugs.

Like I wrote earlier, Southwest design incorporates many Native American motifs and ideas. The Navajo rug is one good example of this. But what is more interesting is that these native designs can be found the world over. Native peoples have striking cultures and beautiful art work that transcend borders and nations. So while a rug may come from the designs of tribal lands of Pakistan or Tibet, you will find that the motif looks similar to rugs found in the Southwest United States.

We’ll start out with this flat woven rug from Surya. Flat weaves are popular among many native cultures, including the Native Americans. This rug from the Jeweltone Collection is hand loomed in India of the finest wool. It uses traditional patterns and colors to give you a rug that speaks loudly of the indigenous peoples of this world. Whether you are trying to use it as a traditional tribal piece or in a beautiful Southwestern design, this rug will work wonderfully.

Next, is a rug from our Fashion Source collection. The Beekman Place Collection of rugs are made from 100% polypropylene, making them easy to clean and inexpensive to buy. Again, a very traditionally tribal motif is used to make this rug perfect for a Southwestern designed room. The colors are earthy and easy to incorporate into existing color schemes. The design is bold and ready to take center stage in a room requiring a Southwestern (or Lodge) edge.

Our last rug example is from Dalyn Rug Co. This is the Sierra pattern from their Santa Fe collection of Southwestern area rugs. With the colors your would traditionally expect from a rug of this type, but made from 100% nylon which means you have one of the sturdiest and most resilient of the flooring fibers available. With a name like Santa Fe you know you are getting designs that truly reflect the designs of the great American Southwest. Make sure you take a look at all the rugs in this collection; I think you will find some great examples.

There, you have two “kissin cousins” Southwest and Lodge, and if you’re ready for something a bit different from traditional and contemporary area rugs, take a look at these fascinating genres of design and rugs.