There is no easier way to give your home great rustic style than through southwest bedding. A while back, I was looking for an inexpensive way to decorate one of the rooms in my home and give it a touch of the old west.
I found some western blankets at a discount linen store and decided to add them as part of the western decor. I liked the Native American look they created in the room so much that I decided to put them in all the rooms of my home to give them that chic, southwestern style you see in designer home magazines.
Because I used these throw blankets everyday as bedspreads, shawls, or as lap blankets, I became interested in the story behind southwestern blankets and began studying their origin. The more I researched, the more interesting the story was.
I never realized that although very popular today with interior decorators and in modern style homes, southwest bedding for use in western home decor actually began in the early 1900's, when American Indian trade blankets were put on the market.
Most people I come in contact with, believe that the rustic blankets they commonly use for southwest bedding were originally made by Native Indians. I also believed that, until I began researching the origin of these southwestern style blankets and found that, although Native Americans were the prime inspiration behind the designs and production of trade blankets, they were not the ones who made them.
In fact, as you study the interesting history of southwestern blankets, you will discover that they were actually made by machines, and produced by large weaving companies for the express purpose of supplying the Indians with needed blankets.
These southwest blankets were then sold to the frontier trading posts where the Native people would buy and trade them and use them to wrap themselves in instead of a modern coat or jacket.
Another thing you will find interesting as you research the history of trade blankets to use as western bedding, is that as women became more interested in home decorating in the early 1900's, rustic decor and western designs rose in popularity.
These "Indian blankets" as they came to be called, were sought after by people across the nation who used them for southwest bedding and as decorative couch or chair covers to enhance rustic home decor. The Indian trade blankets were perfect for covering exposed legs when riding on a wagon, sleigh or buggy, and in the new horseless carriages. Later on, they became popular as blankets and throws for camping, canoeing and a new hobby called motoring.
Now days, you can easily buy southwest bedding online and in stores that sell rustic and southwest home decor. Whether used as a rustic bedspread, blanket or bed throw, southwest bedding will add great charm to your home and environment.
If you are impressed with authenticity and traditional Native American values and are looking for an easy way to add southwestern style in your rustic home decor, then you will definitely love owning and decorating with southwest bedding.
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