The Ultimate Southwestern Home Decor Guide

The Sonoran Desert is in full bloom once again. You look around your Arizona home and you’re hit with the sudden urge for renewal. As you scramble to do some spring cleaning and re-decoration, you face a hard truth: It’s not that easy to keep up with changing interior design trends every year. So what should you do? Find a style you love and stick with it. When in doubt, embrace local culture. Southwestern design has a lot to offer in terms of visual appeal. It is versatile, and it can be fused with many different interior styles. To help get you started, we give you: The Ultimate Southwestern Home Decor Guide.

Desert Tones


What sets the Southwestern style from most is its use of warm tones and contrasting colors. But these colors aren’t chosen arbitrarily. As the culture is deeply rooted in symbolism, colors used represent nature. In this case, they represent the desert sand and the sky.

Shades of brown, red, and sometimes orange fabric can be used to upholster wooden furniture like accent chairs, benches and couches.

Shades of blue like azure, turquoise, cobalt, and indigo, are often used to contrast the warm, reddish tones. The key is being consistent with your palette, instead of going overboard with too many patterns and contrasting colors.

Fabrics and Patterns


Recent design trends use bold southwestern patterns to heighten an otherwise plain space. Patterned valances go well with plain drapes, for example. Suede and leather chairs with brownish tones look great with patterned throws. In the dining room, southwestern fabric can be used as table runners and as upholstery for dining chairsPatterns can also be used as decorative pieces like tapestries and living room blankets.

Decorative Pieces


Wooden furniture is a staple of southwestern design. The look is achieved through combination of different types of wood or wood grain colors. Decorative pieces can be used as functional items as well: woven baskets can be used as living room storage, and local pottery can replace the usual vases.

Fabrics That Go has the largest collection of Southwestern Fabric! Add a touch of Beautiful Southwestern culture into your home.

As extra storage and seating, patterned ottomans can also be a lovely addition to the living room.

Of course, your home wouldn’t be complete without some indoor flora. Dried flowers and cacti are the usual go-to indoor plants, but plants with large, deep green leaves also fits well.

Southwestern-Contemporary Fusion


The versatility of Southwestern and desert-inspired design shines when matched with different styles. You can see these pieces used in minimalist, boho, and even rustic interior design.

Rustic or natural style furniture (rough wood cuts, driftwood, distressed wood) look excellent with patterns and desert tones.

Woven pattern rugs and carpets blend well with metal furniture used in minimalist setups.

As accent and decor, southwestern pieces blend well with almost any muted color. Southwestern design intrinsically adds a lot of flair to your home, but it can also be subtle enough to add elegance. 

Fabrics That Go is a one stop shop for all your upholstery needs, from indoor to outdoor furniture! Our staff is skilled in custom upholstery and will work according to your needs and specifications!

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Fabrics That Go provides all the materials and services for your custom drapery, upholstery, valances, and more! We’re Tucson’s one-stop shop for home fabric projects. Feel free to contact us for any questions!

Fabrics That Go
3105 N Campbell Ave
Tucson, AZ 85719

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