Native American Ledger

Native American broadly describes any Indigenous people in North America and encompasses hundreds of tribes and groups, all with distinct cultures. Native American–style furniture and decor likewise varies widely, from pieces created by Indigenous people to those appropriated by non-native designers.

Indigenous furniture’s rich heritage includes the bentwood boxes of the Northwest Coast carved from cedar for storing household or ceremonial objects. Generations of Native American people have made baskets for holding household items, with those in the Northeast using sweetgrass and those in the Southeast using pine needles and wicker. Artisans in the Plateau region wove watertight pieces like cradles from plant materials. Although these objects were intricately made, they were usually utilitarian rather than decorative.

The colonization of North America and the removal of Indigenous people from their lands led to the suppression of these practices. Many styles that used Native American motifs — such as Southwestern style, which was heavily influenced by the geometric patterns of Navajo textiles — have historically not involved Indigenous creators and, instead, have taken their traditions without their tribal context.

When decorating a home with Native American–style furniture, it is important to do so respectfully, by understanding the origins of motifs and objects and examining who profits from their sale. There are now Indigenous-led companies, such as Cherokee designer Cray Bauxmont-Flynn’s Amatoya and Totem House Design, promoting Indigenous work in furniture and home decor. Supporting Indigenous artists and artisans is essential to confronting the still pervasive issue of cultural appropriation in design.

Find a collection of Native American living room furniture, folk art, rugs and carpets, decorative objects and other items on 1stDibs.

An empty wall in your home is a blank canvas, and that’s good news. Whether you’ve chosen to arrange a collage of paintings in a hallway or carefully position a handful of wall-mounted sculptures in your dining room, there are a lot of options for beautifying your space with the antique and vintage wall decor and decorations available on 1stDibs.

If you’re seeking inspiration for your wall decor, we’ve got some ideas (and we can show you how to arrange wall art, too).

“I recommend leaving enough space above the piece of furniture to allow for usable workspace and to protect the art from other items damaging it,” says Susana Simonpietri, of Brooklyn home design studio Chango & Co.

Hanging a single attention-grabbing large-scale print or poster over your bar or bar cart can prove intoxicating, but the maximalist approach of a salon-style hang, a practice rooted in 17th-century France, can help showcase works of various shapes, styles and sizes on a single wall or part of a wall.

If you’re planning on creating an accent wall — or just aiming to bring a variety of colors and textures into a bedroom — there is more than one way to decorate with wallpaper. Otherwise, don’t overlook what textiles can introduce to a space. A vintage tapestry can work wonders and will be easy to move when you’ve found that dream apartment in another borough.

Express your taste and personality with the right ornamental touch for the walls of your home or office — find a range of contemporary art, vintage photography, paintings and other wall decor and decorations on 1stDibs now.