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Animals have been a big trend in home decor since 2018 and the whimsical trend is showing no signs of backing down. For us it all started with our George monkey lamps, which swung out of our warehouse faster than they arrived. Since then, we've added chimp babies, Georgina, a mischief of Raymond Rats, Patrick Piglet and extended our popular festive Caribou range as well as added a litter of rabbits…to name a few.
The design industry has been taking inspiration from wildlife for many years – much of it making its way in to our homes, so here we give you animal home décor 101.
Wallpaper, Carpets and Rugs
Over the years, one of the most popular ways for designers to integrate ideas from the animal world has been prints, particularly in the fashion. Tigers, leopards, giraffes and snake skins have all been faithfully, and sometimes creatively, reproduced and made into fabric for clothes. A similar process is used to produce items for the home and there’s a wide range of wallpapers, carpets and rugs that feature animal skin prints and that bring texture, warmth and intrigue to a room.
Some designers and artists, however, aren’t content with taking inspiration from animal skins and opt to create images of the entire creature for our pleasure and entertainment. Osborne & Little, for example, have produced some fine wallpaper designs including a playful cockatoo collaboration with illustrator Quentin Blake.
Lights and Lamps
And it isn’t just our floors and walls where animal designs can be found. Lamps are another area of home décor that often use animal magic as a theme. Popular choices include rabbit shaped lamps, along with monkeys, mice, pigs and of course, cats and dogs.
No longer seen as simply a novelty, although there is definitely a place for that, styled in the right way animal lamps can cut quite the line, as in reality all animals are grand designs respectively – lamps that don’t look too cartoony are the way to go if you aren’t a fan of the wry smile.
Art and Ornaments
For animal lovers, there’s no easier way to bring a little wildlife into a space than by investing in art and ornaments. Whether it’s a majestic brass sculpture of a hound, a dairy cow print for the kitchen or just a keepsake kitten you found at a jumble sale, these are the things that allow us to express our personalities and that make us happy.
Animal Inspired Furniture
If you’re looking for something larger, there are companies out there making home furniture. French designers iBride are one such company and among the animal items they sell is a bookshelf in the shape of a polar bear, cool, elegant and totally unique. If bears aren’t your thing, then maybe check out some of the statement animal chairs by Maximo Rierra – art home décor at its very best.
For those who are looking to hone their animal instincts, there are plenty of options to explore and so let your imagination run wild and release the animal within your home.
Note: Please be aware that no animals were harmed during the writing of this blog.