Home decor is walking on the wild side.
Animal prints and motifs are charging back to the forefront of interior fashion. They never seem to fall completely out of favor, but they’re riding a new wave of popularity now.
“And we’ll see even more of it,” said Michelle Lamb, chairman of trend forecaster Marketing Directions Inc. and editorial director of its newsletter, The Trend Curve.
Lamb ties the current vogue to the upswing in traditional decorating, an outgrowth of the faltering economy. Animal motifs have long been a staple of traditional styles, which historically gain strength when the economy wanes and people retreat to the comfortable and familiar, she said.
Eighteen-century and art deco styles are particularly amenable to animal attraction, she said. And of course, animal designs fit right in with global decorating.
But that’s not to say the link between animal motifs and traditional decor are hidebound.
In fact, animals are sneaking stealthily into contemporary interiors, said Gillian Andrew-Stupar of Garth Andrew’s Interior Design in Bath Township, a firm that specializes in contemporary design. “I think people are getting away from thinking of the animal print as a traditional-themed look,” she said.
Often animal prints and motifs take on a less literal form in such settings. Andrew-Stupar, for example, is currently covering a window seat cushion in a zebra print done in deep plum chenille on a bronzy metallic background, and she once created window treatments for a home office using a cheetah print that incorporated an unexpected light blue.
Faux leathers often find their way into contemporary design, adding texture and tone-on-tone pattern without a lot of color, she said. Fake furs and hides are also showing up in contemporary settings — a luxurious fur throw on a sleekly styled bed, for example, or an ottoman covered in fake cowhide.
Cat spots are becoming a hot print, replacing zebra stripes, Lamb said. She’s seeing them used in new ways, such as ruched on an accent pillow or paired with large-scale cable knits in a throw.
Antlers — particularly deer antlers — are a big theme this fall at Arhaus Furniture, the retail chain based in Northeast Ohio. But they’re rendered in unexpected materials such as cast aluminum and brass, giving them a more modern feel, said Gary Babcock, the company’s senior vice president of fashion and merchandising.
Among the store’s offerings are a wall-mounted deer head made of recycled aluminum and a candelabra of antlers carved from teak, painted a dramatic ebony with brushed silver accents.
It’s Americana updated — “sort of a lodge feeling,” but more contemporary, Babcock said.
He isn’t sure why deer have become so hot, but he predicted the trend after noticing an increase in demand for items made of antlers in the antiques market a year or so ago. The motif fits well with the use of recycled wood, which is popular now, he noted.
Peacock feathers are also popular, as decorations and as a motif in fabric designs, he said. And peacock colors — blue, green and purple — are hot in home design.
Babcock believes interest in the environment is behind the recent animal urge. It’s a way to bring nature into the home, especially for those who don’t care for botanical motifs.
Besides, “people like a little touch of the exotic,” Babcock said. Animal motifs, he said, are an easy way to bring a sense of excitement to a room.
It doesn’t have to be an expensive way, either. Even mainstream retailer J.C. Penney is showing its animal instincts this fall, featuring prints including zebra, leopard, cheetah and giraffe on comforters, blankets, rugs, benches and chair seats.
Just because you’re spicing up a room with a bit of wildlife, though, doesn’t mean you should run wild. Restraint is the key to appropriate animal behavior, the experts say.
Use animal prints and motifs sparingly as accents, perhaps on a throw pillow, a rug, a valance or a curtain tie-back. Overdo their use, and you lose their power to surprise, Andrew-Stupar said.
Strike the right balance, though, and you’ll feel the animal magnetism.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at marybeth.ohio.com.
