Welcome to episode two of Design Ramblings, a 10 -12 minute “show” of Kriste & I talking about design stuff – trends, what inspires us, tips…whatever occupies our thoughts as we work in the studio. If you missed episode 1 (about decorating for Christmas), you can find it HERE.
First of all, we got a lot of valuable feedback on our first video that was complimentary and constructive. We took some notes, made a few changes and we have even more ideas for the future. Our list of topics to discuss is rapidly growing! Keep the feedback and suggestions coming. We’re learning as we go, so it’s helpful.
When Kriste and I first kicked around the idea about Design Ramblings, we put talking about design trends near the top of the topic list. And, one of the first trends that came to mind was deer heads. Well, the whole deer/deer head/antler/animal head theme that is everywhere. You know what we’re talking about.
(From my Opa’s house)
(At the Chapel Market)
(via Rosemary & Thyme)
(In my kitchen)
It’s not just on the walls, though. It’s literally everywhere in every color, size, finish, material, medium and design style. Have you hopped on the band wagon? Do you love it? Hate it? Is this a design trend that should stay or go?
And now, we ramble…
Did you like that chevron, ombre, deer head shower curtain? Talk about a trend mash-up.
At the end of the video, Jeff inserted an audio clip he recorded as we were getting ready for the next D|R clip. Anyway, I’m doing a very poor job describing a chandelier and this is what I hand in mind…
(via Garden & Gun)
I just thought I should give a visual…for Kriste’s sake if nothing else.
Design Ramblings episodes will post every Friday. Next week, we ramble about the color of the year. (Please suggest topics you’d like us to discuss!)
I like it, it reminds me of my Uncle’s basement when I was a kid! In fact, I have some vintage and antique mounts in my office at home! Granted, I’m not a fan of the stylized versions.
/Users/maryjanemagoon/Desktop/Skull and Hydrangeas.tif
If you can open this is a watercolor that I did of a deer skull. I like the idea of the deer heads in some homes. It depends on the rest of the decor.
I’m not a fan of some glassy-eyed head staring at me from the wall. No taxidermy (real or fake) for me, thanks.
I just don’t get why someone wants to hang an animal’s head on the wall and call it decor. The naturally shed antlers don’t bother me so much but those heads….ewwwww.
Magfie, I’m with you. I don’t understand why anyone would want dead animal parts staring at them from the walls. Luckily, fads change pretty quickly, so maybe they will all disappear from the blogs before long, to be replaced by another fad. We can hope the next fad is not stuffed cats or lamps made from the hind end of a raccoon. LOL
I have 2 rather large pike fish on my den walls. They were caught by my father-in-law many years ago and Sweet Husband wanted them on the den walls. Needless to say, that’s as far as I’m going. I’d rather not have a deer head looking over my shoulder while I’m watching television. As far as the skulls, antlers, etc. they’re nice, but they’re not me.
Way too overdone now. I’m not a fan of anything that’s “trendy”, actually. Kinda like the, country goose and the beanie baby craze – the herd mentality. I know what I like and what looks good in my home and I really don’t care if it’s what’s “trending”…why would you want your home to look like everyone else’s?
I think this series has a lot of potential and enjoyed the first one but an entire 10-12 min on deer heads was a bit much (for me, anyway) Sorry:(
As for the deer head trend, I think/hope(?) it’s on its way out.
Ha…well, we will be talking about different things every week. 🙂 Thanks for the input!
I absolutely hate real animal heads or other animal parts hanging on walls or lying on floors. How absolutely horrid that we kill a living being and call it decoration. I’m all for faux animal heads or skins, if that style is to your taste. I prefer my animals live or in lovely paintings like Eulalie.
I am not a fan of dead animals hanging on the wall but have no issue with the idea of shed antlers being used as decorative items. Some of the faux animal heads are fun to use.
I am totally against anything that glorifies dead animals-I am a vegan and try to have compassion for all living beings. I do have a painted deer pillow from craftberry bush that I love and deer figurines that I cherish! I just love deer that are in their natural habitat! Just my opinion! I respect everyone for theirs. Merry Christmas to you!
I actually like the trend, but I agree that it depends on the style thats going on. I have seen it done really well. But I prefer it in a more modern eclectic space, kind of like a Design Sponge space or something like Lena Corwin’s style. But I really like the way you both styled them in your own spaces-loved the picture edits of your different deer head styling. 🙂 And when it comes to a fully mounted deer head, we’ll I not against it, but I think it looks best if you own a house like Duneagle Castle from Downtown Abbey or some such opulent home. You know, where you have all 12 deer heads mounted on a gigantic wall with your ancient guns and spears hanging in a vast display around them! It makes sense right? It was a hunting castle. Even still, I kinda like it. Just do it really well, like magazine worthy. Whether Country living style or Horse & Hound style. I say let it stay!
Naturally shed antlers are one thing, killed deer are another. Replicas are fine, but this stuff isn’t for me – I’m not a trend follower.
Not a fan.. I have one pair of “antlers” that sit on top of an amoire and I’m beginning to question my decision to do that. Not sure how long I’ll keep them. But a stuffed animal of most any kind hanging on my wall sort of gives me the creeps.
Not a fan of hunting (although I live in a big hunting community), so the actual heads? Nope. But like others have said, the naturally shed antlers (especially as sculptural pieces rather than on a wall), faux versions and DIY “branchlers” are pretty cool. And, as with most things, they come and they go — rarely do I find something that makes me think, “This will be cool until the end of time.” Our tastes change, so I’m all for trends. They help you freshen things up from time to time and get you thinking out of your usual box.
I love the faux cow head in your kitchen Marion, I have one just like it. I also like the look of shed antlers. As too the taxidermy heads I just can’t do it, those sweet eyes staring back at me just breaks my heart. My daughter and her family however have a different outlook, they are hunters, not for sport, they eat what they shoot. Her husband is a game warden and they do have deer heads mounted in their awesome rustic lodge style home they built.
real dead animals on walls or floor are very unappealing to me. Not too keen on fake or bling heads either. I have a collection of antlers, bones and skulls that I’ve picked up on the beach that are interesting to look at but are never going to be part of my décor. They are in a drawer.
Fossils on the other hand, I love.
I’d love design ideas for swirl texture walls. I plan to board a batten lower 2/3rds but want something for the textured upper portion so ideas other than flat paint would be awesome. Maybe how to wallpaper them, is that possible? How to smooth them? Can they be covered with starched fabric?
I don’t think it’s in good taste to show dead animal heads. Please take me off your email list. .
As far as the deer head debate, I love using antlers in bowls and décor during the fall and winter. I also have a small faux white glossy deer head that I got from HomeGoods this year on my wall. I love it because it has a hook on it and I found a little girls vintage white fur muffler (hand warmer) to hang on it. It looks very Christmassy!
However, I am not a big fan of real animals that have been mounted hanging on walls unless its being used in a lodge or cabin. The old dried out skulls really creep me out. When I see skulls, the soundtrack from “High Plains Drifter” starts playing in my head.
Marian, if you think the deer head with the hornets nest at your Opa’s house was bad, my friends husband killed a white albino deer with red eyes and had it mounted. Image seeing that in the middle of the night on your wall!
I am not a big fan of deer heads, real or faux. Do not like the skulls either but I really like antlers and especially sheds. My husband is a hunter so I have mounts on my walls because he really likes them and I love him. Just to mention I am also a hunter.
Loved the little video! Cute. Not a fan of the dear head or antlers. But maybe I would be okay with it if I had one that had a “story” behind them. I do have a huge Bobcat hide on my wall but ONLY because it has a story! 🙂 I would hate it otherwise! – Dori –
I really am not a fan of “trends” in general, I think I prefer the idea of developing a style rather than following any sort of a trend. I have the unfortunate ability to predict trends (I don’t know I am doing it) so I will start doing something, while struggling to find/make what I want since there are none to be found on the market, and 6 months to a year later you can find what I wanted EVERYWHERE and then what I have looks like I jumped on a bandwagon.
I have several sets of deer antlers in my house, (and some “small forest animal, not a deer” as they were described to us in Germany, in reference to the small Bavarian/Black Forest style antler sets) but I have had them for years, because I love the look of European estate homes, and have decorated my house with things purchased on our travels (we are a military family too!) so we have antlers from Germany, pottery from Spain and Italy, antique textiles from France, etc.
I prefer the look of items uniquely collected, that speak of an individual’s or family’s story, style, and loves, rather than decorating to look “fancy” or on trend (so I guess what that means is, I like antlers, IF they fit in with your story, if not, it’s too contrived, and time, and effort should be putting things into your home that have meaning!)
I have had to make choices about that myself, I love the ironstone that you have in your home, and I have been tempted multiple times to buy some, but I keep not doing it, because it’s not MY thing, (I love blue and white china, as well as hand painted Italian pottery) and if I bought some just to get a “look” I would be fitting in things that don’t really have a place in my life, and I have to move that stuff every 3-4 years, so do I LOVE it enough to move it year after year? no. So although I may like something, I don’t need to have it.
If one is a hunter or has a log home, deer heads, mounted antlers and animal heads are OK. If one is a rancher, cow heads and skulls are OK. Unfortunately, I personally am not into dead animal parts, so I won’t be jumping on this bandwagon. 🙂
Not thrilled about dead things on the walls myself but grew up vacationing every year in a turn of the century hunting lodge. It had many dusty old decoys around which felt rather sad and creepy thinking about it.
I do like the deer graphics you see on fabrics and papers though. Let’s hope we see something new soon as I think this theme has run its course.
I would never use bones, antlers or animal heads in my decor—-one trend I believe will go out.
Of course, if others like, then they should use. It would not do for all of us to like the same things, same style or same colors. I cannot change what I have when a designer says, “it is not in now”.
I feel the same about angel wings—–very creepy—-wings without an angel???
I think that you should decorate with things that are relevant to your life, not because their trendy. For instance, I think it’s ridiculous that people decorate in beach themes when they don’t live anywhere near the beach or the Western theme when they live in Chicago. I would love to hang a printer’s letterpress tray on my wall because my dad was a printer and he actually used a letterpress at one time.
I would not think of decorating with animals heads unless that was my family’s thing. It just so happens that my 12yo has gotten into hunting (we have a couple of cottontails and a quail in the freezer that he’s waiting patiently for me to get up the courage to cook) and he likes to collect hunting and fishing paraphernalia. We have a couple of sets of antlers lying around but I usually relegate them to his very boyish room. The decor would go with our house since we live in the country and our house has lots of wood and fieldstone, but I just feel it’s kind of weird for overall house decor since the rest of us aren’t into hunting and it does make some people uncomfortable.
Love your talks! Just plain entertaining and fun.
Would enjoy productivity musings. I know you ladies have all kinds of good tips and tricks!
I’ve just been catching up on your recent posts. As far as the antlers go – although being from the south of Germany I’ve never been a huge fan. As somebody said before, if there’s a story going with it then maybe but just because it’s a trend antlers would not find the way into my home.
I was psyched though to see you found a use for my chalk boards 😉
Looking forward to the next Design Ramblings!
Seems I am always late to reply..My husband and I have collected sheds for 28 years walking our 300 acres of timber…such a find when we find one the squirrels haven’t beat us to…I have a huge industrial basket with probably 20-30 sheds and we have them hanging from the beams of our porch…Trendy not at all..just something we have collected forever..I do have 3 bleached skulls hanging around, all found in our timber…again I am not a bit trendy just hate to see something left to the elements…Whether sheds and mounts are trendy, doesn’t matter to me, it fits our very rural farm house…At present I have 2 heads,hanging in trees letting the animals eat the debris until I bleach and bring in this summer…HA…If it isn’t trendy…oh well…it fits our country home just perfect..and we love hiking our timber…On another note I have used and displayed vintage suitcase for 25 years. We do not have alot of storage so we would place off season clothing and stack in their rooms…I have stacks of lovely suitcases in most bedrooms of my home all labels with whatever is in them…again not trendy, just out of need for storage..when the trend came around, I found humor in something I purchase for a buck or even left on an auction wagon for free, years before was now trendy
Not a fan of skulls but shed antlers & deer heads are classic & timeless. I have a deer head from my grandmother. He’s about 130 years old & looks every bit of it! He’s still majestic in his way (a 9 pointer). & at Christmas wears a crown of greens & pinecones. He looks wonderful with my English country decor.
my garage wall is fair near full of mounts. One big deer head and lots of antler mounts, some elk. and antelope and more deer.
in the garage they shall stay.
I am a huge fan of the antlers and deer heads as decor.
I have always loved decorating with nature and natural findings I stumble upon. Such as framing butterflies, dragonflies, leaves. Etc…
My husband has been a deer hunter for many years, and I think the meaning behind his passion for hunting deer, and the way we resource all of the deer is a beautiful thing. Something about the story behind the antlers and the deer mounted is so wholesome and the idea of bringing nature in our home as decor adds such a unique look and it also brings good conversation.
We respect the deer and what it can provide for our family, so we are proud of the beauty it beholds in our home.