Cool creatures adorn stylish gifts for the home this holiday season
December 20, 2010
Kim Cook
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Save the blenders and dust busters for birthdays; holiday gifts should be about joy and surprise.
This year, consider taking a walk on the wild side when choosing presents for the home. From beautiful animal graphics to imaginative plays on animal shapes, there are a lot of ways to add a bit of beast-ly style to living spaces.
David Dear’s duckfooted mirror fits the bill, so to speak. The designer, known for whimsical takes on practical products, has placed an oval-shaped glass on pewter casts of duck feet — sublimely silly, yet oddly chic.
For the hip yet disorganized people on your list, consider Urban Outfitters’ owl-shaped umbrella stand, or a Labrador’s head wall hook, perfect for holding scarves. At MollaSpace, Japanese designer Igenoki deconstructs the cuckoo clock with a striking parade of animal silhouettes. His colourful recycled leather trays, imprinted with images of butterflies, tigers, rabbits and deer, would be great for keys and change.
Online retailer AllModern.com has Thai designer Supon Phornirunlit’s collection of contemporary graphic Animal Instinct pillows, hand-silkscreened with images of polar bears, deer and a swirling serpent.
Joe Ginsberg’s pillow designs are always amazing. The Kingdom collection for Tempo features jungle and woodland animal photographs printed on shearling; they’re soft and spectacular, worth the splurge for an animal-loving someone special.
DwellStudio’s Chinoiserie and Peacock pillows manage to look Old World and current at the same time. The bird artwork is painterly, the colour accents — azure, citrine, mocha — are right on the minute.
West Elm has birds, squirrels and rabbits decked out in tiny metallic sequins; while they’re meant as holiday decor, they’d make great tabletop accessories all year. Jason Polan’s painted owl and penguin canape plates would be a lovely hostess gift, as would a set of small porcelain plates with winter animals etched in platinum.
Animal-shaped lamps can often look kitschy, but these find a balance between whimsy and great style. Anthropologie has a squirrel and bunny lit from the inside — a fun fixture for a child’s room, or an entry foyer. Naked Decor’s Happy Hot Dog Lamp in black or white resin features a dutiful dachshund balancing the lampshade on his nose. And while he won’t fetch your newspaper, he will hold your fruit; he’s also available with a bowl attached to his back, Sherpa-style. Look for him on serving trays, coasters, napkin rings and even as a clock in this cleverly designed collection.
Finally, designer Stephen Johnson takes us into Alice’s Wonderland of animals with his collection of white and silver candlesticks cast from antique moulds of rabbits, birds and horses. The creatures create a surreal balancing act, stacked upon other animals and objects before culminating in the candle holder. One or two of these would be a guaranteed dinner party conversation starter, and thus a perfect gift for entertainers.
Sourcebook (all prices U.S.):
www.anthropologie.com — Squirrel Lamp and Bunny Lamp, bone china, $88 each
www.artecnica.com — Stephen Johnson’s Wonderland candlesticks, $68-$89
www.allmodern.com — Naked Decor’s Fibreglass Happy Hot Dog lamp, $350; Hog Dog Display Tray, $325; Animal Instinct silkscreened canvas graphic throw pillows, including Totally Polar Bear, Oh, Deer and Ultimate Temptation, $49.95 each; David Dear’s Duck mirror for Kikkerland, $85
www.westelm.com — Sequined bird, squirrel, rabbit, $25 each; a portion of sales goes to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital; Jason Polan’s Sketch Icon porcelain canape plates, set of 3, $22; Winter Animal porcelain plates, set of 4, $22
www.urbanoutfitters.com — Owl umbrella stand, $128; Labrador wall hook, $38.
www.tempoluxuryhome.com — Joe Ginsberg’s Kingdom collection of soft shearling pillows printed with jungle and woodland animals, $375 each
www.dwellstudio.com — Chinoiserie long pillow, $58; Peacock azure pillow, $58
www.mollaspace.com — animal clock, $130; leather trays, $20