Prairie Style Interior Design Ideas

Natural Colors

Natural is a color – in fact, it’s a lot of colors. Natural is beige, brown, taupe, cream and every shade in between. Natural is the colors found in nature, from the golden-brown plumage of the highest eagle to the red minerals of the lowest rocks and the dark brown bark of the swaying trees in between. Natural is the color of prairie style of interior design, which reaches for those long stretches of rye-filled American heartland on clear spring days. To get the look, contrast shades of nature through beige rugs, brown blankets, taupe furniture and cream pillows.

Layers, Lots of Layers

Just as the earth has layers, from the mysteries of the deepest core to the majestic mountains, hills and valleys on its crust, so too should a prairie design landscape. In a bedroom, layer a blanket from the edge of a bed; curtains and shades from a window rod; tapestries over a wall; and rugs over a floor for a terraneous effect. Note the many pillows on the bed in these images and the layers in both texture and color.

Quaint and Well-Worn

Life on the prairie means you don’t get to swing by the shopping mall in your free time; methods and form of art and entertainment are rustic and quaint and reward a slower pace of life. Let a prairie style design scheme speak its piece by incorporating handmade gestures – whether through a hand-sewn quilt, a hand-knitted tapestry or hand-drawn artwork. (Simplicity is key and walls, floors, shelves and counters should be kept bare for the most part. Note, in these images, how objects themselves are few and far between. The less material and the more space, the better for the prairie aesthetic.)

Whimsical and Charming

Minimalism or a ‘barely-there’ attitude symbolic of prairie style doesn’t equal boring. In fact, the slightly out-of-place thread or piece of yarn from a slightly crooked crochet pattern brings home the kind of character and charm that can’t be bought from a store. (Another example: the imperfections of that lumpy, asymmetrical mug or jar you made in pottery class that one time, and which you’ve kept in hiding in the garage ever since, will actually fit perfectly within a prairie design scheme – so bring it out of hiding, and let it work its unrefined charm atop a dresser, night table or bookcase!)

For more prairie-inspired pieces and natural aesthetics, follow @alliehavrilla on Instagram.