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Trend Alert: Navajo Decor
Navajo Style Jumps From Runway to Home
I'm a home makeover TV show producer, interior designer and the creator of Decor Demon, lifestyle editorial with an edge. http://www.decordemon.com
I'm a home makeover TV show producer, interior designer and the creator... More »
Fashion on the runway and fashion for the home seem to go round-and-round like some sort of style merry-go-round. Soon after Navajo colors and materials begin influencing fashion designers, those same materials and similar hues began showing up in home showrooms everywhere. Here are some key elements of Navajo style you can use to impress your friends:
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The Navajo Nation is the governing body for the Navajo Indian Reservation which is located in the "Four Corners" of the U.S. Southwest. This explains why so much of the Navajo style is influenced by and still created in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Silversmithing, often necessary to link turquoise stones together, is an important cultural trade of the Navajo People. This explains why shades of blue are usually present in many Navajo creations, whether it's a home's exterior or a hand-woven rug.
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by DSA Architects
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| Overall, Navajo-style blankets and rugs are the most popular items made and sold by the Navajo People. If you're a modernist and/or minimalist, a great way to achieve the less-is-more Navajo look is by keeping a neutral, textural backdrop and playing with materials architecturally. This incorporates elements of the style without being in-your-face and it highlights one-of-a-kind, Navajo pieces such as tapestries or longhorns. (Now that I wrote about them, I kinda want longhorns in my house.)
One of the most common Navajo patterns of the 20th century is the "Eyedazzler," consisting of small, serrated diamonds which appear to form rows of bigger serrated diamonds — all boasting contrasting outlines. |
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by DSA Architects
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| Architecture plays a prominent part in Navajo style. Adobe walls, protruding wood posts and wall niches are the most indicative. Something else you'll see a lot of: leaning ladders, often used to display gorgeous blankets and tapestries. Although I totally love the ladders, I can't help but think how fast a cat would try to perch himself atop it, turning it into a Navajo Cat Condo. |
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For design lovers eager to get on the Navajo bus, here's a safe way to slowly inch the look into your home: Start with just a few key items such as a single rug, then layer handmade pillows in. Slowly working it in allows you to make it your own, stopping when you feel proper balance. This style, an update version of "Saltillo" consists of large, colorful, serrated diamond motifs. Navajo weavers slowly and selectively adopted new design ideas to what previously included smaller diamond arranged to create rows of larger diamonds.
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Navajo works amazingly well with maximalist interiors. Whether it's pottery, art, sculpture or applique, there are plenty of Navajo items out there sure to turn any lover into a collector.
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by Carl Vernlund
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| With so many unique prints, it's hard to fall in love with just one — especially if one happens to sport a Najavo design. The key to mixing Navajo and other prints properly in one space is to change up the scale but ensure the color schemes of each relate to one another. In this bedroom, the smaller, busier design in the rug (which isn't actually Navajo yet does have a serrated diamond pattern) doesn't compete with the larger, more graphic pattern on the bed — which is a cross between "Eyedazzler" and "Saltillo." |
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by Mario Marquez
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| Aside from turquoise and vivid blues, another common color used in Navajo architecture is Swiss coffee. The sandy white tone works beautifully with darkly-stained woodwork; it also steps back to let turquoise and clay tones shine. Why is it that each time I type "Swiss coffee," I immediately want a White Chocolate Frappuccino? |
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Arched wood doors and Mexican tile are other key elements not just in Navajo interiors, but Southwestern style in general. Sticking with this combo in an entrance or great room will ensure an aesthetic certain not to go out of style — unless you move to Antarctica or the rain forest. In that case, I guess the Navajo style would't really work.
Anyone else use Navajo accents in their own place? If so, how?
Anyone else use Navajo accents in their own place? If so, how?
Ideabook published on Jan. 21, 2011.
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This look can be so comfy, very relaxing & actually quite elegant if done properly!
Thanks, Linda in AZ *
I will forward to a friend of mine working in New Mexico!