Taxidermy, anyone? And some good news.

via Country Living

Have you noticed the recent trend of using taxidermy in stylish home decor?  A gorgeous California home featured in a recent Country Home magazine used taxidermied animals in a couple of different rooms.  It no longer seems to belong only to the realm of camouflage-wearing types.  

via Country Living

When my husband were in Texas getting married we visited the lovely town of Fredericksburg and the store of famed designer Carol Hicks-Bolton.  With permission, I whipped out my camera and snapped some photos of their displays.

Every image has some type of taxidermied specimens, from birds...

to mountain lions and foxes,

 and of course, deer.

Some of the displays showed a sense of humor.

I found the use of preserved animals in decorating to be both intriguing and noteworthy; however, I am not sure I would want to live with them.  Something about looking into their hollow eyes disrupts my emotional equilibrium.  As one who loves artifacts from nature, this may not make sense to others, but the things in my house were found objects-- antlers collected while walking in the woods, seed heads gathered from a fall meadow, shells and driftwood amassed while strolling the beach.  They are also things that either died a natural death or were shed, discarded by a living creature.  My house does not contain any specimen collections of insects either.  I have pressed plants and flowers, and one could argue that these were also once living entities, but they do not have dead eyes that would stare back at me.  So, for me I guess it's the eyes that I find to be most disturbing.  

There seems to be a returning to Victorian tastes and sensibilities, with its appreciation of and fascination with natural history.  The use of taxidermy and objects from nature in modern home decor seems to represent this trend.  Living with and close to nature is something that soothes my soul, and bringing little bits of it into my home is one way for me to maintain that connection. 

What do you think?  Do you or would you use taxidermy in your decorating schemes?

On another note... the home-buying saga continues.  Just as we had given up hope that we would be able to purchase the home we have a contract for, 

via Realtor.com

and settled in to the notion that we would stay in our current home, there has been an amazing turn of events.  We now have another extension of the contract and a new closing date!  It seems we might actually get to purchase the home I have been dreaming about for the past 6 months (this entire process began back in September, when we first viewed the home.)  The whole experience has been a test of patience and stamina.  I am hoping there will be a payoff in April when we can actually move in.  Thanks for hanging in with me through this process.  We have bounced back and forth, particularly when we thought there was no chance the sale would actually go through.  My hope has been restored, and my husband said something yesterday about starting to think about packing.  So, it seems that he is regaining hope also.  

The house may look a little tattered at this point, but it is solid and classic.  It has the three original features that define a style and set a tone for the interior spaces-- floors, doors, and trim.  This property has the perfect location for us and is one I could see myself living in for the rest of my life.  After moving three times in as many years, that is a thought I relish!  

With the coming of spring, I am feeling a freshness and a renewal and a sense of possibility.  May the abundance of spring be present in your life.

Until next time...

Anne