More Dead Birds and Cousin Itt Stools

Melanie Turner

An update on my earlier post of today. Here is another dead bird photo from Melanie Turner - this is her profile picture from her Tastemaker Tag Sale on One Kings Lane. Can we tell whether the dog she is holding has been stuffed too? And yes Linda, apparently they do move the dead animals from room to room. And here are more strange furry stools too.

Melanie Turner

More Dead Birds and Chinoiserie

Melanie Turner

I have posted several times before about the growing trend by some interior designers of using dead birds with Chinoiserie. This is bad taste in the extreme. Just because Chinoiserie wallpapers, fabrics, etc. often depict peacocks and other beautiful birds does not mean one should up the decorating ante by incorporating real stuffed ones.

Here are my previous posts on this subject here and here. Here Melanie Turner has tried to be different and has used a taxidermied emu in lieu of a peacock in this foyer. Just say "No" to this awful trend that I take personally because interior designers invariably use these poor birds with Chinoiserie.

And what about those ghastly furry stools that look like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family?

The Addams Family Cousin Itt

Nothing says welcome to your guests like being greeted by a large dead animal

Interior designer Melanie Turner

Creepy Chinoiserie

Deborah Lloyd

And no, I'm not going to post today about Chinoiserie Halloween decorating, but about the growing trend by interior designers using real dead stuffed peacocks. I love peacocks in Chinoiserie decor, but there are so many beautiful peacock fabrics out there. Do we have to have dead ones?

Deborah Lloyd, the President and Creative Director of Kate Spade, has a darling home with lots of preppy pink and green. I love the mantel below. But she has upped the ante with not one but two taxidermied peacocks. One is even wearing a pink Kate Spade necklace. Deborah, I don't think this peacock is going out for a night out on the town. It's dead. Just say "no" to this trend.

Deborah Lloyd

Lonny

Celerie Kemble 

Celerie Kemble

Anna Sui

Jeffrey Bilhuber

Elle Decor

Chinoiserie Taxidermy

Peacocks are iconically Chinoiserie, but this takes things to a new level. From the May/June issue of Lonny, this mantel has a real stuffed peacock. Quite dramatic, but I think it would freak me out. I passed on a beautiful one at a recent flea market for this reason. Any thoughts on this?