Design Trend: Creature Feature

(peacock pillow - Bassett Hall, courtesy of Global Views)One of the recent and still popular trends in interior design is the love of animal images on furnishings.  Designers jokingly call this trend “creature feature”. Inclusion of almost any type of animal image in design usually renders that furnishing instantly desirable.

If you’re having a hard time picking out patterns for a client and you know the client is an animal lover (pets running around in the home is a dead giveaway), then maybe it’s time to look at prints with animals. Don’t get this confused with animal prints – like zebra-striped prints or leopard prints; that’s an animal of a different stripe! These are popular too but I’m talking the whole animal here. Some clients shy away from spots and stripes but fall head over heels with cats, birds, the whole menagerie!

Peacocks strut their beauty on this pillow from Global Views, seen above.  Shown in jewel colors of red, gold, pink and yellow, this peacock pillow is a great addition to any elegant room.  Birds are always a popular choice and we have several examples here – the Ash Hill pillow from Joss & Main, the bright Nesting pillows from Koko, and the Vintage blossom from Dwell Studio. 

(Ash Hill pillow from Joss & Main)

(Nesting pillows from Koko)

(Vintage Blossom, courtesy of Dwell Studio)For those who have an affinity for furry animals, these rabbit and squirrel pillows from Arhaus are oh so warm and cozy. They have the feeling of a Beatrix Potter wonderland.  Lastly, for those into exotic animals, we have the zebra and lion pillows from Dwell Studio in bright spring colors. 

(Rabbit pillow, courtesy of Arhaus)

(Squirrel pillow, courtesy of Arhaus)

(Zebra pillow, courtesy of Dwell Studio)

Interested in learning more about decor? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.

2013 Color of the Year: Emerald

(Vase by Moretti)When I think of emerald, I envision grassy rolling hills, shamrocks, and endless summer - all things fresh and hopeful. So with maybe hope in their sights, Pantone has declared emerald 2013 Color of the Year and not a moment too soon.  Despite winter blues and fiscal cliffs, we are going to have a rich array of greens to enliven our interiors.  Here's a couple of ideas to add emerald into your homes.

The glass vase above shows off from dark to light a range of emerald hues, courtesy of Italian glass designer, Moretti. Below is a porcelain version of emerald, the Happy Temple Jar, from Global Views.

(Happy Temple Jar from Global Views)Designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec took the same emerald and swirled it to a fun and functional storage/coffee table in polycarbonate, called the Panier table. 

(Panier table from Kartell)For quick and easy decorating, add these beautifully patterned Addison and Maya pillows from Joss Gold.  The leafy sheets, Magnus Kelly, will add a light touch of nature to the bedroom, available from Dwell Studio.

(pillows from Joss Gold)

(Magnus Kelly sheets from Dwell Studio)For a stroke of true emerald greens, Viva Terra, takes fern and moss to an art form, literally! Designers shaped and preserved fern and moss to a verdant, graphic wall art.

(Fern and Moss Wall Art from Viva Terra) 

Interested in learning more about accessorizing?  Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design.  At Sheffield, you will learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.