At Home: Redecorate your home like a ranch

MICHAEL NOBLE JR., TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE Woodland Creek Furniture produces custom Western-style furniture out of its 55,000-square-foot showroom and workshop in Tulsa.

Where to find Western and ranch-style décor

Grace Wood // Tulsa World Magazine

Western décor is certainly having a moment, especially here in Oklahoma. Incorporating items such as cowhide rugs and colorful, tribal-inspired geometric bedding, many homeowners are turning to the American West for inspiration when it comes to decorating their homes.

Even if you don’t live adjacent to the American West, this type of home furnishing can be accessible to you.

For those wishing to deck out their abodes with items reminiscent of cowboy country, here are three Oklahoma stores specializing in Western furniture and décor.

1. WOODLAND CREEK FURNITURE Woodland Creek furniture was started in 2012 originally as a wholesale outfit, selling furniture to companies such as Bass Pro Shops. Now, the company is focused on producing custom Westernstyle furniture out of a 55,000-square-foot showroom and workshop in Tulsa.

The company concentrates on creating special rustic pieces, using locally sourced materials, said Donna Laster, general manager. Woodland Creek also offers The Refuge Lifestyle, which features new trends in contemporary, modern and rustic furniture.

“Anything you can dream of, we can have built for you,” Laster said. “Because we source our wood locally, our furniture has its own personality, its own life. It has a story — maybe it was a tree that stood on a knoll that someone sat under to be protected from the sun. It exudes a story — just by being near it, you know that tree lived an exquisite life.”

People want rustic, ranch-style furniture and décor because it reminds them of what’s most important in life, Laster said.

“The lifestyle and the aura that comes with the furniture draws people to it because it takes us back to a simpler time in our lives,” Laster said. “It takes us back to our roots; it’s home-grown. It lends itself to sitting at the dinner table and telling stories like how it was in the old days.”

COURTESY, LOREC RANCH HOME FURNISHINGS Custom barstools from LOREC Ranch Home Furnishings are accessorized with dyed crocodile skin and leather fringe.

TULSA WORLD MAGAZINE FILE A table being created is on display at Woodland Creek Furniture. The company uses locally sourced wood to create its home furnishings. 2. LOREC RANCH HOME FURNISHINGS LOREC Ranch Home Furnishings is a family-owned rustic Western and accessory store with locations in Pawhuska, Oklahoma City and Amarillo. Founded in 1993, the company uses premium cow and deer hides, Tibetan leathers and Western-style fabrics to create items for bedrooms, offices, dining rooms and living rooms, as well as other home accents.

“When you come into our front door, you’ll smell the wonderful woods that we use for all of our furnishings and the scent of leather,” said Dr. Kari López, founder and CEO of LOREC Ranch Home furnishings. “You can pick out the beautiful fabrics you’d like to use and the stains and color washes — turquoise, barn red, gray — you want. You get this experience when you come into our store, and we consider you a friend when you leave. We really get to know our clients — they’re our main inspiration.”

López said she has noticed over the years that her clients are drawn to the iconic history of the American

COURTESY, LOREC RANCH HOME FURNISHINGS The use of animal hides is extremely popular in the world of Western furniture and décor, said Dr. Kari López, founder and CEO of LOREC Ranch Home Furnishings. West, and they want a piece of that culture to bring home with them.

“It all comes back to the American cowboy — John Wayne, the nostalgic feeling of the look in a cowboy’s eye, the shake of his hand, their whole persona that we try to bring into our store,” López said. “People want a signature piece of Western couture in their own homes.” 3. LONE STAR WESTERN DÉCOR Lone Star Western Décor is a mail-order catalog and e-commerce business based in Enid offering décor, rugs, bedding, kitchenware, furniture and more in the Western and Southwestern styles. The company was started 20 years ago out of CEO Jason Dupus’ garage and is now one of the largest e-commerce companies of its kind, Dupus said. In addition to Lone Star Western Décor, the company also has two other stores — Black Forest Décor and Bella Coastal Décor — offering lodge and cabin-themed décor and nautical-style home décor, respectively.

“Western décor can be broken down into two categories: cowboy-themed and Southwestern-themed,” Dupus said. “The stronger and more popular theme is Southwestern — we’ve noticed that people are really drawn to the colorful Southwestern patterns and geometric shapes and want to see those in their homes.”

A hallmark of Southwestern furniture and décor is the rich colors like turquoise, chocolate brown, tan, amber, red and orange. Signature Southwestern geometric patterns are extremely popular, especially for bedding and rugs. One special aspect of Lone Star Western Décor is the sheer

COURTESY, LONE STAR WESTERN DÉCOR The Sheridan Table Lamp from Lone Star Western Décor uses leather engraved with a Western-style floral pattern.

volume of items it offers, Dupus said.

“The large selection across several categories that we have sets us apart — we have so many unique items that you can’t get anywhere else,” Dupus said. “A big part of our inventory are custom designs and things that were made just for us, and that makes us pretty unique, too.”

COURTESY, LONE STAR WESTERN DÉCOR Bedding from Lone Star Western Décor incorporates a rusty red color and chocolate brown, two colors CEO Jason Dupus said are very popular for Southwestern décor.