How to Decorate a Prairie-Style Home
- 1). Furnish your Prairie-style home with wood pieces in natural stains and muted colors. The lines and colors of furniture in a Prairie home should be simple and clean, allowing the craftsmanship of the piece to shine through. Use built-ins such as bookcases and cabinets whenever possible to highlight the quality of the construction.
- 2). Incorporate geometric patterns into the flooring and window treatments. Bold and clean patterns such as diamond shapes and repeating square prints work well in a Prairie-style home. The geometric quality of this design inspired the graphics of mid-20th-century interiors, so you can draw pieces from this era as well.
- 3). Install moldings around window frames, baseboards and wall borders. Paint these moldings flat white or finish the wood with a light-maple stain. This helps frame the space and create architectural interest reminiscent of the Prairie-design era. Add even more architectural shape by installing chair rails and wainscoting. Geometric stencils are an inexpensive alternative to custom moldings.
- 4). Paint walls in creamy neutrals to contrast with the natural stain of the wood trim and furniture in the home. For bolder accent walls, as well as upholstery, window treatments, rugs and accessories, use rich, warm colors such as red, yellow, burnt orange, with matte finishes. Green, purple and blue can work well in a Prairie-style home, as long as their finishes are not glossy.
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