Animal prints

Dear Sandi: My daughter will be turning 10 years old soon, and for her birthday present, we are going to re-do her bedroom in a “wild animals” motif. She is so interested in animals, especially African ones. I have promised her we would do this together for her birthday. She is so excited, and I could sure use some ideas. —Heidi W. Salem

Hi Heidi: Sounds like you have a young designer developing! Actually, this is a really popular design choice, more commonly called safari style.

There are whole books devoted to the look, and it can get quite elaborate. Fortunately, there are all kinds of things that you can do that are easy, fun and relatively inexpensive.

Nothing else is so dramatic or mood changing as wall color and texture, and both are relatively inexpensive. Although you can pull off the safari look with white walls, there are a number of other colors you might want to consider. I probably would go for a soft taupe or sage color, the shades seen on the African savanna. I won’t go into a lot of detail about creating wall texture since there are more books written on that subject and faux-paint effects than probably any other in the do-it-yourself decorating genre, but it is something to consider if you are really going to change the look.

Whether you're looking for handmade paper, furniture, fabric or accessories, you will find it at loose ends. If it is unusual, organic and fabulous, then loose ends is the place. Showroom hours are 8 am to 5 pm weekdays and the first Saturday of each month 10 am - 3pm at 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, or visit us online at www.looseends.com Questions? Give us a call at (503) 390-2348.

My next step would be to transform some everyday objects into African artifacts with paper. We have a number of realistic-looking animal skin prints that we produce on recycled craft paper that are great for this type of application. You also could check out the local fabric store for animal-skin prints.

Regardless of whether you are using paper or fabric, the process is quite similar.

Find some old jars, bottles, flowerpots, vases or whatever and play around with grouping two to five of them together. Go for different shapes and heights to create spatial interest.

Make up a batch of gluter (about 60 percent white glue and 40 percent water) and dip your cut or torn pieces of fabric or paper into the mixture, wring them out and begin to cover your collected pieces. If you are using fabric, you will have to cut workable-sized pieces. If you are using paper, tearing is preferable to create a raw, unfinished look. Plus, straight paper edges always detract.

We used an old mayonnaise jar and an empty wine bottle (we like to bring new meaning to the term recycled). If you have a favorite old vase that has a chip or crack, that would be a great choice because the imperfections will be totally covered up.

Sandi Reinke is an author, frequent television guest and lead designer for loose ends (www.loosends.com), a Salem-based interior décor, garden, and casual lifestyle company. To ask Reinke a decorating question, e-mail info@looseends.com or mail her at the showroom address, 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Phone: 503-390-2348.

After everything is dry, apply a couple coats of matte sealer to protect the paper or fabric.

Using the same glue technique, we also covered a few salvaged twigs from our winter garden and turned them into zebra sticks, the perfect arrangement for the tiger and jaguar vase.

You can use this technique on virtually anything you might want to give an animal skin look to. Lamp bases, picture frames, even drawer fronts are good candidates.

If you are using a lightweight paper, consider covering a lampshade with one of the patterns, especially if it is on a lamp that is only providing mood lighting.

Another quick and easy idea is to give her bed a “thatched” dust ruffle. Using a long piece of raffia skirting (similar to the old raffia hula skirts but in a much longer length), sew the top edge of it around the edge of the flat part of a fitted sheet (before you get to the corners and the part that goes down the side of the mattress). Trim the raffia so that it doesn’t quite touch the floor (for ease of vacuuming, etc.), and you have a really cool bedding accent.

For final touches, add wall art. National Geographic is a great place to find some superb animal shots. Just cut them out and frame them. Check out the junk shops and antique stores for interesting looking pieces that might fit in, too.
January 7, 2005