Back to nature

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Published: 12:00am, 27 Jul 2008

In a nod to environmental concern, a sweet trend in interior decor is emerging that uses all things rustic as inspiration. Outdoor motifs such as owls, leaves and mushrooms are popping up in unexpected ways in the home, be they in the form of kitchen accessories or in much more substantial pieces.

Kathy Taslitz (ktaslitz.com), a Chicago-based designer, was inspired by fallen foliage to create Old Leaf (right), a table with fluid lines fashioned from blackened bronze. Another table, Calm, has a bronze base in the shape of branches and is topped with a sleek surface. Her collectable pieces cost several thousand US dollars and nature is a key component. For instance, a 14-item project called Pieces of Ourselves turns the shapes of roots and leaves into sublime articles of furniture. Taslitz retails in fine galleries and high-end furniture stores in the US, but will ship her products around the world.

Philippe Starck for Kartell can make even garden gnomes (available through US retailers such as Unica; www.unicahome.com) look appealing. The little bearded men, holding trays atop their heads, double as tables or stools. The standard gnomes are in garish colours but a limited number in gold (below) are almost elegant. Unica Home ships worldwide.

Mushrooms are becoming a popular motif and feature on cute and clunky magnets and name-card holders at www.loloko.com. For the time being, however, Loloko doesn't ship outside the US.

Those more serious about nature might be interested in prints restored from 19th-century botanical drawings from Charting Nature (www.chartingnature.com), which ships internationally. Depictions of owls, fawns and squirrels are all available.

Urban Outfitters (www. urbanoutfitters.com), meanwhile, has an entire line of lamps inspired by forests. The You Can Call Me Flower lamp base is in the shape of a skunk and made from black porcelain while Hoot features a white owl. There is also a pale yellow fawn and a neon pink deer. Products can be sourced through Urban Outfitters in Japan.