Get on Your Boots! Our Top 10 Western Table Decorating Tips
Want to add a touch of rugged charm to your next dinner party? Look no further than western tablescapes! Drawing inspiration from the American West, these stylish settings fuse weathered, natural elements with unexpected pops of color and whimsy. Whether you envision a refined cattle baron feast or a rowdy chuckwagon buffet, our top 10 decorating tips will help you brand your table with authentic cowpoke spirit.
From rugged runners to boot-scootin' centerpieces, read on below for pro ideas to stir up some serious cowboy cuisine excitement!
Tip 1: Incorporate Western-Themed Table Runners
An easy way to establish your western vibe is by layering rustic yet refined table runners down the center of your table. Choose fabrics like burlap, leather, linen or cotton bleached by the desert sun and emblazoned with iconic ranch motifs like horses, cacti, coyotes, cowboys on bucking broncos and more. Whether placed over a red checkered or blue bandana picnic cloth, your western runners will trail guide your overall palette and themes.
Key Takeaway
- Use table runners to set foundation color scheme and motifs
Tip 2: Use Bandanas Creatively
Move over messy BBQ stains - we're taking the bandana up a notch! These inexpensive kerchiefs influx so much downhome style in an instant. Drape bandanas folded into pleats down table runners, wrap them around silverware, or tie them in floppy bows to top napkin rings or chair backs. Feel free to get creative with how you incorporate patterns; guests will be bucking over backwards for your clever styling!
Key Takeaway
- Bandanas inject quintessential cowboy flair through creative touches
Tip 3: Create Wagon Wheel Centerpieces
Wagon wheels evoke images of crossing the vast frontier by covered wagon on the Oregon Trail. What better centerpiece to symbolize adventure, promise and your guest's westward voyage to your table! Wagon wheels can be styled glamorously with flower garlands, burlap and ribbon streamers, or distressed and decked with hanging lanterns ablaze with candles. However you spin it, they make a mighty fine focal point.
Key Takeaway
- Repurposed wagon wheels engraved with history make natural focal points
Tip 4: Showcase Cowboy Boots
Well-worn cowboy boots slung on top of fence posts define the American West as much as sprawling desert plains. Incorporate this quintessential icon into your tablescapes by lining the table's center with mix-matched boots filled with prairie-inspired posies or red bandanas. Or place boots at each place setting to corral napkins, candles, or hold farewell gift cards for guests' boots were made for walking on home after your western affair.
Key Takeaway
- Boots personalized for each guest inject quirky flair
Tip 5: Display Nostalgic Boot Jacks
Before pull-on cowboy boots appeared in the 1860s wild west, cowboys struggled stepping in and out of their stiff knee-high boots without a boot jack tool. These rustic metal leverage devices helped slide boots off with ease. Incorporate this cool piece of cowboy history by showing off antique boot jacks repurposed as vase stands or candle holders. They nod to end-of-day ranch relaxation in a unique and meaningful way.
Key Takeaway
- Boot jacks recognize cowboy heritage with nostalgic charm
Tip 6: Top Tables with Cowboy Hats
Stetsons off to the cowboy hat - this iconic crown tops off our list in a mighty stylish manner! Felt, straw, weathered leather - collect an assortment of hats to stack triple-high as the table's central structure. Line wider brims with checkered bandanas or burlap before filling with roses, sunflowers, and curly willow. Or place individual hats at each place setting lined in bright pocket scarves or bandanas. However branded, these ten-gallon toppers steer tables toward the wild frontier in no time!
Key Takeaway
- Cowboy hats corral floral arrangements with signature cowboy class
Tip 7: Light Up Lanterns
As the desert sun sets its auburn glow across purple sagebrush plains, decorate your tables with that same ranch romance by lighting lanterns in warm candlelight. Cluster glass-encased lanterns together as a centerpiece, or line the table's edge intermixing metal and paper luminaries. Hang lanterns from wooden beams, trees or porches to cast an intimate glow. However you brighten your evening, lanterns pave the way for stunning starlit ambience.
Key Takeaway
- Lanterns powered by candlelight match the ranch's sunset radiance
Tip 8: Dot with Whimsical Cowboy Figurines
From jaunty pony express riders to bucking broncos and prairie dogs perched on wagon wheels, inject playful personality around your western tablescapes with figurines crafted from metal, resin, wood or ceramics. Bring the Wild West to life by curating miniature vignettes: a trusty cow pony hitched to the table, a sheriff mid-draw reaching for wanted signs posted across napkins. However you round up your ranch hands, these 3D touches spur on lively tales!
Key Takeaway
- Figurines enact the Wild West story through lively cowboy tableaux
Tip 9: Showcase Rustic Whiskey Barrels
Want to bring a spirit of the saloon to your home on the range? Upcycle whiskey barrels as centerpiece stands or side tables with larger-than-life ranch personality! Their rugged wooden staves already evoke the Wild West, but you can enhance barrels' swagger by ornately filling them with flowers, stamping band logos on the exterior or chalkboard painting the interior for displaying funny bar jokes. However you tap into their potential, whiskey barrels intoxicate with spirited flavor.
Key Takeaway
- Whiskey barrels relay the saloon's rowdy, lawless essence
Tip 10: Layer Saddle Blankets
What cowboy would be caught without his trusty saddle blanket, weathered from days riding the open plain? Incorporate the multi-colored geometric patterns of these iconic 100% wool blankets into your table decor by layering runners over tabletops. Or cut saddle blankets into placemats for bright pops of color beneath each place setting's boot plate. However draped or displayed, Pendleton saddle blankets nod to the cowboy's most loyal companion.
Key Takeaway
- Saddle blankets recognize the horse's integral role in cowboy culture
Tip 11: Ground Settings with Cowhide Rugs
Introduce the texture of the range by layering cowhide rugs underneath place settings for a rugged base juxtaposing polished flatware and china. Framed by ornate placemats or runner edges, these hair-on hides echo the pastoral lifecycle. Entire cowhides also make stunning table overlays, their organic shapes and black splotches contrasting brightly-hued tablescapes. However incorporated, cowhides graft natural vibrancy.
Key Takeaway
- Cowhide rugs overlay the land's raw textures and patterns
Tip 12: Brand with Cowboy Place Card Holders
Make sure your partners pony up to their assigned seats by creatively coralling place cards in cowboy-themed holders. From mini milk pails to hand-carved wood tree cookies and horseshoes branded with guest names, these functional sculptures stamp Western spirit to each place setting. Or rope in guests by tying folded name cards onto rope keychain loops clipped to chairs. However you steer your posse to their spots, this special touch signifies true Western hospitality.
Key Takeaway
- Place cards wrangle guests to their seats with quirky cowboy frames
So get on your (cowboy) boots and saddle up to rustic style with this roundup of table decoration tips straight from the ranch! Whether planning a down-home country potluck or upscale wine pairing dinner, our Western pointers guide you in transforming everyday tables into spirited scenes from the Wild West story. Just don't be surprised when your inner Dolly Parton or Clint Eastwood comes out to play!