Rustic Living Room Furniture Has Down-Home Charm

By AnnaRae Mills

With rustic living room furniture, your room takes on an ambiance that has wide appeal. That setting can best be described as a warm, comfortable feeling with plenty of down-home charm. Best of all, you can often mix the most rustic of items with other items having a slightly more contemporary look and feel to end up with your own unique decorating style.

Rustic living room furniture can fit right in with several different decorating styles, including the western, southwestern, country, lodge, cabin, and of course, the rustic style. Also, one or more of these decorating styles might influence new pieces of rustic furniture. Most of the different items from these casual styles of decorating match or complement each other very well.

There are a variety of materials that are used to make different pieces of rustic living room furniture. The seats and cushions of sofas and chairs might be made from leather or luxurious fabric. Often, the fabric will depict a forest or mountain scene, which may also include wildlife in a natural setting.

Sometimes the frame of a sofa or chair is made from logs fitted together to form a truly rustic piece of furniture. Logs are also used for the legs and/or frame of sofa tables and end tables. Logs used on rustic furniture are almost always left with a natural look. Although the logs might be treated with a protective coating and sometimes even lightly stained, the natural look of the log provides plenty of visual interest.

Some rustic tables use antlers for the legs or as a decorative accent. These antlers can be the real thing or faux antlers, which look very real. Natural antlers grown by deer, elk, and moose are usually harvested (picked up off the ground) after the animal has shed them naturally. This natural harvest puts neither man nor animal at risk.

Many people are attracted to rustic living room furniture because it is reminiscent of a trip to a National Park, a stay at a rustic guest lodge, or a favorite camping trip. The look and feel of rustic furniture allows you to add a touch of the outdoors to any room of your home. Another reason for the growing popularity of rustic items is that it allows people to pay homage, in a way, to the rural roots of past generations.

There are a few people who seem to think that rustic furniture is only for rustic cabins or lodges. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, some rustic furniture might resemble the older pieces of furniture stored in my Uncle Ned’s barn for a couple of decades.

However, there are plenty of rustic pieces that are right at home alongside a wide range of different décor styles, including western, southwestern, country, and sometimes even the more contemporary or urban styles.

Whether you want to add a few pieces here and there or decorate an entire room in a related theme, rustic living room furniture can make a room feel warm and welcoming. It’s the right touch when you want the ambiance of the room to be casual and comfortable.

My Aunt Mae pegged it right when she said, “Rustic furniture knows how to be stylish without being a snob about it.”

AnnaRae Mills loves informal home decor, such as the western, southwestern, country, rustic, and lodge styles. She has information and lots of pictures to show why casual home decor is more popular than ever. Go to http://www.Western-Home-Decor.net
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