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On our radar: Animal instincts
From leopard print and zebra stripes to ceramic creatures and sculptural animals, interiors are embracing their wild side. We explore the enduring appeal of animal motifs, and why they feel particularly at home right now.
Interiors are embracing their playful side, and the animal kingdom is coming with them.
After years of pared-back spaces and perfectly coordinated rooms, things are getting a little less serious. Pattern is creeping back in. Objects are getting stranger. Homes are feeling more collected, more personal and, importantly, more fun. And somewhere amongst it all, there are a lot of animals.
From leopard-print upholstery and zebra stripes to ceramic birds, brass horses and creatures of the slightly harder-to-identify variety, animal motifs are appearing everywhere. But calling them a trend doesn’t quite tell the whole story.
A familiar species
Animals have been wandering through interiors for centuries. They’ve appeared woven into textiles, painted onto ceramics, carved into furniture and immortalised in bronze, brass and glass.
Animal print has proved particularly difficult to tame. Leopard became a recurring feature of 20th-century interiors and fashion, moving between maximalist, glamorous and decidedly rebellious settings without ever disappearing completely.
That longevity is part of the appeal. A leopard-print chair might feel particularly relevant right now, but it isn’t dependent on this particular moment to work.
Rooms with a sense of humour
Perhaps what feels most current isn’t the animal motif itself, but the way we’re using it. The most interesting interiors increasingly feel assembled rather than designed within an inch of their lives. Different periods sit together. Pattern meets pattern. Objects are kept simply because their owner loves them.
And you don’t need to turn your living room into a safari. One unexpected object can be enough to make an otherwise sensible room feel considerably more interesting.
Earn your stripes
Leopard, zebra, tiger - these patterns have the unusual ability to behave as both statement and almost-neutral. Against wood, chrome, velvet or a particularly good antique, they bring another layer without necessarily dictating the rest of the room.
Start small with a cushion or footstool, or abandon restraint entirely with a patterned armchair. Both approaches have our support.
Follow your instincts
Ultimately, the appeal of animal motifs is much the same as the appeal of vintage itself: character.
They’re expressive, occasionally eccentric and rarely interested in blending quietly into the background. Which feels particularly right for a moment when our homes are becoming less about following a formula and more about surrounding ourselves with things we actually like.
So yes, animal instincts are firmly on our radar. Although, if we’re being technical, a very good leopard never really went anywhere.
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