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What Are the Different Types of Deer Decor?
A relevant part of a decorating style known as lodge or cabin style includes a variety of bear, elk, moose, or deer decor. A style not uncommonly found in Midwestern businesses, restaurants, and homes, cabin-style deer décor has become increasingly popular, with some forms of it appreciated more as elegant art than stylish decorating accessories and accents. There are many different types of deer decor, ranging from mounted deer heads to a variety of lighting and accessories made from antlers, as well as everyday household items with deer themes.
The most obvious form of deer decor is a mounted deer head. A professional taxidermist is capable of preserving and mounting deer in very stylish manners, creating both a trophy and a piece of wall art at the same time. While entire deer heads are the most common wall mount, it isn’t unheard of to mount just the deer’s rack, especially if they are an exceptionally large or symmetrical set of antlers. More often though, the antlers are used to create more functional types of furniture and accessories, which may be referred to as antler art.
Antler art is perhaps the most popular form of deer decor that can be purchased from a variety of sources and it blends into many different cabin or lodge styles. Pieces can be traditional, whimsical, or elegant. Antlers are used to make chandeliers, lamps, accent tables, and other practical, functional items. Some pieces may be manufactured with genuine deer antlers and other manufacturers use synthetic materials. Independent artists and some taxidermists often create and sell unique pieces of deer decor made from antlers as well.
For those who are put off by the idea of real deer used as decoration, there are a wide variety of furnishings, accessories, and household items that simply have a deer theme. The selection of items is too varied to list completely, but bedding, wall art, clocks, lamps, window coverings, dishes, and rugs are a hefty start. Deer-themed decorative items, household goods and furniture are available online, at a variety of home stores, and from retailers who specialize in supplies for restaurants and hotels.
While most frequently found complimenting cabin-style decorating, some forms of deer decor can compliment other decorating styles as well. Anyone interested in deer décor or antler art can easily fit it in to their own personal style. Look through decorating books and magazines that focus on traditional, rustic, and country styles to gather ideas for color palettes, accessories and furnishings.
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![Deer decor ranges from a mounted head to antler art.]()
By: awhelinDeer decor ranges from a mounted head to antler art. -
![Antler art is the most common form of deer decor.]()
By: by-studioAntler art is the most common form of deer decor.
Discussion Comments
My favorite fish and steak restaurant has a western theme, and their dining area is full of deer décor. Much of it is in the form of beautiful oil paintings, but there are some items made from antlers, as well.
I suppose that they didn't want to offend anyone or destroy their appetites, because they have a large set of antlers mounted on the wall without the head. I think this was a wise decision.
There are several chandeliers made from several twisted sets of antlers. I think this is a very unique lighting arrangement.
My favorite items are the deer paintings, though. They portray a serene environment, with the deer next to peaceful waters in soft light.
@backdraft – That is funny! This reminds me of a faux deer rug that my friend has in her cabin.
She hates it when people kill deer to display them as trophies. Whenever she would bring people to her cabin in the woods, they would tell her she needed some deer décor. So, she finally decided to give them what they wanted.
She found a deer rug that looks like a deflated stuffed animal. It is obviously fake. It has a head, antlers, hooves, and a tail, and it is completely flat in the middle.
I have a friend who makes many things from animal bones, and he has one room of his house filled with various animal items. He uses deer antlers as tops on canes.
He loves making decorative canes. He will polish and stain the wood that he finds in the forest, and then, he will use leather and glue to attach an antler to the cane. Usually, he will either stain the antler to match or stain it in a complementary color.
He picks pieces of antlers that are curved so that a person could fit their hand in it. It would be pretty awkward to put your hand on top of spiky antlers, so he saws them off accordingly.
He has these canes propped up in corners all over his house. He even has one displayed horizontally across his mantel.
My parents' living room has a brown theme, and when they moved into the house, it already had wallpaper and shelves in there. The wallpaper is beige with scenes of a pond, grass, trees, and deer everywhere.
It's really cool looking, because it's like one giant scene peeking out between the layers of shelving. The entire drawing is done in brown, so it matches the wood and carpet.
The deer are shown grazing, looking up as if they heard a noise, and drinking from the pond. This is my favorite type of deer décor, because it shows them out in the wild, where they are happy.
@sunshined - I am one of those people who don't like to look at dead animals hanging on the wall. I have never understood the fascination of deer decor.
If my husband ever had something like that, he would have to find somewhere else to keep it. Just having antlers mounted would be OK, but I would not want to have the whole deer head on the wall.
They just opened up a big outdoor store close to our house, and my husband was so excited about it. They have all kinds of stuffed and mounted animals in that store, and he could spend hours looking at all of them.
They were kind of interesting to look at and it was easy to imagine how they looked in their natural habitat, but that is as far as it goes for me. I think it's best to keep them where you find them naturally and not in my house!
For someone who likes that look, you could decorate your whole house in deer decor. I have seen everything from bathroom decorations, including towels, to dishes for the kitchen and entertaining.
The only downside I have found with this type of decor is it seems more expensive than a lot of other decorations.
We have a small country cabin we spend time at on the weekends. I ended up decorating most of the cabin in this decor. Because this is a small place, I didn't have to buy a lot of decorations.
The most expensive thing I ordered was a small antler chandelier to hang over the table. It really adds the perfect touch to the rest of the atmosphere in the cabin.
@LisaLou - I would love to live in a log cabin, and have always loved that lodge type of look. My husband is a taxidermist, and he has access to all kinds of deer decor.
He keeps all of it out in his shop so I don't have to deal with it. Even though I would love to live in a log cabin, the house we live in right now has a modern, contemporary look to it.
I don't mind the look of mounted deer heads, but they would not look right in my house at all. My husband keeps all of that out in his shop.
I know some women who won't let their husbands hang deer heads on the wall. They have to keep them out in the garage or somewhere she doesn't have to look at them all the time.
I live in a log home and my husband is a hunter. He has three large mounted deer heads that he brought with him when we moved from our old house.
The next morning I was upstairs and heard pounding like he was hanging something. When I came downstairs, two of the deer heads were mounted on each side of the fireplace.
The first thing my husband did after we moved in was put his deer heads on the wall. I must say they really fit right in with this decor, and look much better here than they did in our old house.
He gets a lot of compliments on them. Even people who don't usually like looking at dead deer hanging on the wall say how well they fit in with the log cabin.
I have a good friend who has been living in a house in the country for most of his adult life. he is an avid hunter and most of the other guys he knows out there are as well. Over the years he has amassed a huge collection of deer antlers that he has mounted in rows on the ceiling of his home.
It is really cool to see because there are so many antlers that you almost don't realize what they are. At first look they seem like some kind of abstract tangle. I think it is a cool way to give a man made touch to natural elements.
A few years ago for Christmas I got my mom what was essentially a gag gift. It was a very large inflatable deer head that was made to look like a mounted deer head you might see on a hunter's wall.
My mom has kind of a strange sense of humor and she loved it. She actually blew it up and put in on the wall of her office. I think she has to explain it a lot and still gets some funny looks but who cares, it makes her laugh.
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