There is no easier way to give your home great rustic style than through southwest bedding. A while ago, I was searching for an easy way to decorate one of the guest rooms in my home and give it a touch of the southwest. I found some southwestern blankets at a discount linen store and decided to add them as part of the western decor. I liked the Native American style they created in the room so much that I decided to use them in all the bedrooms of my home to give them that great, western flare you see in designer home magazines.

Because I used these blankets and throws everyday as bedspreads, shawls, or as lap blankets, I became interested in the history of southwestern blankets and began researching their origin. The more I read, the more interesting the story was. I never knew that although very popular today among home designers and in modern style homes, southwest bedding for use in southwestern home decor actually began in the early 1900's, when Indian trade blankets were put on the market.

Most people I come in contact with, believe that the blankets and throws they commonly use for southwest bedding were originally made by American Indians. I also believed that, until I began digging deeper into the origin of these southwest blankets and discovered that, although American Indians 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 western blankets, you will discover that they were actually machine-made, and produced by large weaving companies for the sole purpose of supplying the Indians with needed blankets. These southwest blankets were then supplied to the frontier trading posts where the Native Indians 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 look into the history of trade blankets to use as southwest, is that as women became more interested in home decorating in the early 1900's, southwest 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 accent rustic home decor. The Indian trade blankets were used 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 pass time called motoring.

Now days, you can easily buy southwest bedding online and in places that sell western and Native American 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 attracted to authenticity and traditional American Indian values and are searching for a great way to create southwestern style in your rustic home decor, then you will no doubt enjoy owning and decorating with southwest bedding.