Having your own place means you get to decorate it to reflect your personal style. For some people, this might include showcasing a hobby or collection. But while hanging framed art on the walls and displaying precious figurines in a glass china cabinet is a common way to decorate, hunters and collectors alike have popularized using taxidermy animal mounts to add to the aesthetics of a room. Before moving forward, here are five important things to consider when decorating your home or trophy room with animal mounts:
- Don’t overdo it: Sure, you want your mounts to stand out in a room, but they should not be the room’s focal point. What they should do is flow with the rest of the decor and accentuate the theme of or furniture in a room. In a trophy room, you don’t want a single mount to cast a shadow over the rest of your trophies. Because every piece tells a different story, each deserves equal attention.
- Use size-appropriate pieces: The reason why many folks hire professional trophy room designers is to avoid overcrowding a space and decorating with mounts that are too large or too small for a space. Trying to cram a giant standing bear into a room with a low ceiling is not going to work, and neither will putting a floor mount with two lions battling it out in a small home office. If space is limited, consider smaller taxidermy game like waterfowl and rabbits or larger animals as head or shoulder wall mounts.
- Avoid displaying in certain rooms: Of course a trophy room is the perfect place to display your trophies, but hanging a big deer bust above the dining room table, for example, may be less appealing to your visitors. Good taxidermy will be lifelike, so consider that some guests might not appreciate looking into the eyes of a once live animal while sitting down to dinner. Also avoid hanging heads in bedrooms—it can be unnerving to sleepers. Instead, stick to decorating in more social areas to spur conversation.
- Use good lighting: Walking into a dark room decorated with animal mounts can be a bit spooky, and poor lighting is likely to create a terrifying scene instead of spurring interest. This is why it’s important to plan your layout, complete with lighting, before permanently displaying your trophies in any room. Get spotlights that will highlight certain pieces or parts of animals and install proper ceiling lights to emphasize the beauty of your mounts.
- Keep them clean and cared for: Proper maintenance and placement is key to long lasting animal mounts, and cleaning them couldn’t be simpler. If you want to steer clear of permanent damage, regularly maintain mounts with dry feather dusting or gentle vacuuming and keep them out of the sunlight and humidity.
If you need help hanging your animal mounts or designing your trophy room, look no further than the pros at Nature’s Design Taxidermy.