Friday, November 27, 2015

Zebra Exitus

I remember the day I got it. I had the box delivered to my office, because I was terrified that someone would take it from my porch if I wasn't home. Much smaller a parcel than I had expected, I couldn't wait to open it up. I gently cut away at the tape that held the small box together, and unfolded the cardboard flaps to find my beat up zebra hide, a bargain on eBay, all folded and snug inside.

From April 2010 - November 2015, that old guy made his way around lots of rooms and even three new houses!

Layered over Turkish kilim at CDLV

Featured in Buffalo Spree on Seagrass
 
The dining room at CDLV

The first apartment, with the Swedish pine Armoire and French stools
 
And in the new place
 
Unfortunately, Arlo took a liking to Mr. Zebra, and well, the inevitable happened. What once was a handsome hide, is now sad slivers of what used to be my favorite decorating accessory. The new ottoman is close to being finished, and honestly, it wasn't going to work in the room anymore anyway. So, we wave goodbye to Mr. Zebra, all tattered and torn. He had a good life!
 
The question now becomes, how long will I be able to live without one? I do have a large fawn cowhide that I have been seriously considering dying a bold color. I have no idea how or even if the hide would accept color after the tanning process - but how cool are these:
 
Pretty in pink
 
Gorgeous in Grass Green
 
Outstanding in Orange
 
Yes to Yellow
 
Bold in Blue
 
My cowhide had a very brief, but beautiful moment at the old place in the small bedroom, turned dining room:

 Old Apartment Dining Room
 
Then the rug when to live with a friend who used it to stage a small bedroom in his house before it sold. Now that the house is off the market, the rug is back with me and I have no use for it as is. Dying it might prove to be a huge disaster - but keeping it only means more storage space taken up by a huge cowhide that I don't need, and can't use.
 
The other option of course, is kilim rugs. This is something I already tried with the small kilim rug I took from CDLV. It looked great in the hallway at the old place:
 


But when I first moved into the new place, and I second guessed used the zebra around Arlo, I took the zebra out of the new space and tried the rug under the coffee table. That particular rug was far too small to appreciate.

New place the day I moved in!
 
So, I could get a larger rug, perhaps 7x9 or 8x10, that would eat the bulk of the seagrass and give a little color to the otherwise pretty creamy space. Something along these lines:
 
 
The last option, well beyond living with the seagrass alone of course, is a woven dhurrie or chindi rug - which I'd have to find and buy.
 
 
What are your thoughts? Do you like the layered look? Do you currently have your rugs layered? Which look do you prefer?

11 comments:

  1. It is clear that Arlo likes to chew the animal hides, so please use something else, or you are just in for a repeat performance and back at square one. I love the look of layered rugs, but I have cats, so my rugs are seagrass without my lovely Persian carpets on top. I choose my companion animal over the look. It's Arlo's home, too. You can add color with art, furniture or other items. I cannot wait to see the progress you are making on your new home! I admire what you have done so far!

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  2. Ha , Arlo was chewing on your zebra ! He will do the same on any other new hide .
    Is it all torn or still something left ?
    Can you make a cushion out of it . Even a tiny one will look great on the bed .
    I am not so much a fan of carpets on sea grass .
    I have wall to wall carpeting and the 2 pale Zieglers on it always start to run .
    They are in the attic waiting for a new life ... .

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  3. Layers!! Layering is rich, gives depth, gives your rooms a lived-in, acquired look. Arlo can be taught not to chew on hides. I love them and live with them too. By all means dye it. It may just turn out to be fabulous. Certainly worth a shot. Don’t know about on hides (though I can’t imagine it wouldn’t take) but here are two good dyes for fabric: One is Dylan , they have dye for polyester and for cotton. I’d use the one for cotton on the hide. Dylan is more limited in colors but you can mix to get what you want. The other cold water dye is Procion. It comes in a bit larger quantity and in every color you can imagine. The fixative is separate and you can get it from them or more cheaply from a swimming pool supply store. It is soda ash. With Dylan they have it all in one package, which is easier. When you dye really dark colors, wash and dry them twice after dying. If you don’t wash them an extra time or two, the dye will rub off. Go for it! And of course let us see it when you’re done!

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  4. Layers!! Layering is rich, gives depth, gives your rooms a lived-in, acquired look. Arlo can be taught not to chew on hides. I love them and live with them too. By all means dye it. It may just turn out to be fabulous. Certainly worth a shot. Don’t know about on hides (though I can’t imagine it wouldn’t take) but here are two good dyes for fabric: One is Dylan , they have dye for polyester and for cotton. I’d use the one for cotton on the hide. Dylan is more limited in colors but you can mix to get what you want. The other cold water dye is Procion. It comes in a bit larger quantity and in every color you can imagine. The fixative is separate and you can get it from them or more cheaply from a swimming pool supply store. It is soda ash. With Dylan they have it all in one package, which is easier. When you dye really dark colors, wash and dry them twice after dying. If you don’t wash them an extra time or two, the dye will rub off. Go for it! And of course let us see it when you’re done!

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  5. my dog ate my zebra too! then i gave the new one to my daughter and her dog ate that one! i could die! i took part of the zebra and covered a foot stool. looks great, but I miss it.

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  6. killim for winter....chindi for summer! Bummer on the zebra. I was gonna suggest recovering a stool or small ottoman

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  7. I have a zebra cowhide as well as a teal one. My dog bite holes near the edge of the teal hide. luckily the hide was large that I recut the edge and removed his chew holes.

    I also used an orange hide in a design project I did in a DC condo. The issue I found with the hide rugs is that the don't age as well.

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  8. ...it is Christmas...give the old hide away...to someone who will be totally surprised...and thrilled...you really will be giving yourself a gift...trust me...I am old...blessings laney

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  9. Artie, sorry to hear about your Zebra rug. That said; I think you may experience the same with the cowhide one but then again Arlo may be fine with it so in event you plan to dye it; it might be worth a try to consult a shoemaker for their opinion. (Reason and briefly; for one of my son's fashion collections he required shoes in different colours and the shoemaker ordered the specialized and various dyes he required. ) Also with respect to overlaying carpets; I feel it basically depends upon their purpose and what one is trying to achieve. i.e.: Aesthetics and function. -Brenda-

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  10. Too many layers looks like you tried too hard. Just my opinion. Ann

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  11. Your article and photos are looks spanking and such are my choice , thanks .

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