You know what I'm really feeling for interiors right now? Feathers. If thinking of feathers in interior design immediately conjures up for you images of tacky lampshades, perhaps some of these tasteful feathered decorations are just the thing to change your mind.
To me the appeal of feathers is obvious -- they're delicate and pretty, and their organic quality brings warmth and interest to a room. And although decorating with feathers isn't a new idea, using a bunch of them layered together (as in the pillows and shades you see here) creates a fascinating texture that feels very now. Whether you're looking to embrace this trend in a big way or in a very small way, here are some fun feathered ideas.
Top Row:
1. Feathered decor is particularly lovely on a textured tabletop from Kara Rosenlund via At Home in Love.
2. A fun (and easily executed!) idea for using feathers from Spell & The Gypsy.
3. This. pillow. is. fabulous. And it has a neat story, too -- blogger Patricia Sund of Parrot Nation creates these from naturally shed feathers people send her, and then donates them to auctions to raise money for parrot rescue.
4. This feather wall is in a baby's room, but I think it would be equally lovely for grown-ups. DIY from Land of Nod.
5. Glam up a boring ceiling fixture with feathers! I can't decide if this DIY from love Maegan is the perfect amount of dark drama, or a little over the top. Either way, I love it.
Middle Row:
6. This pillow. Love, want, need. A good alternative if you don't have a reliable source of parrot feathers. $420.00 from Bloom. Comes in emerald and black, but clearly the green one is better.
7. These feather pens from Design*Sponge are so pretty. And even if you're not in the market for a pen, the DIY includes instructions for dyeing feathers in the colors of your choice -- you can then use them for any of the other projects featured here.
8. A feather mobile from 100 Layer Cake.
9. For those without a reliable source of parrot feathers and also without $420, this neon feathers pillowcase is only $40 from Maybe Sparrow on Etsy.
10. Feathered pendant lamps by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz.
Bottom Row:
11. Another feather pillow, this one from Jayson Home.
12. How much do I love these black and gold feathers? Arranged in a vase, they're like flowers but more permanent. Black and gold feathers, approx. $1.62 ea, from Gwen de la Haye on Etsy.
13. I love the delicacy of these watercolor feathers -- you could almost imagine that you could reach out and touch them. Watercolor feathers print, $35.00 from Amber Alexander on Etsy.
14. Searching for pretty feathers for your various DIYs? These guinea fowl feathers are only $2.49 on Etsy, and the Feather Craft Shop has plenty of other styles and colors to choose from.
15. Feather pendant from Rockett St. George, approx. $227.
(Images: as linked above)
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Beautiful, but feathers on a plate? I can't have been the only one to hear "put that feather down, they carry disease" when I was a kid.
Must agree. My first thought was I really hope those feathers are fake.
It's illegal to own the feathers of certian wild birds in the US. Fish and Game can confiscate them or anything made from them -- I know of artists at craft fairs whose products were taken because they used feathers they found on the ground.
That said, and since I never invite Fish and Game officials into my house, I have a small collection of feathers I found on the ground in a Japanese bowl filled with small zebra shells (from a shell shop). The shells are pretty in and of themselves and are small, so they hold the feathers upright like flower stems or something.
I am very allergic to all feathers and down :( boooo.
I'm glad I'm not the only one concerned about feathers on a plate. It looks gorgeous, but the germaphobe in me just can't get past it. Even if they were fake. Even if they were real and had been "cleaned" thoroughly.
Really a beautiful idea. And I love the kraft tape used for the name.
I've cleaned my fair share of game birds: dove, quail, turkey, pheasant. So please, no feathers on my dinner plate, or the table for that matter. No.
I'm gonna go ahead and agree with most of everyone else here. It looks pretty I immediately thought Feathers on a plate? Disgusting!!!
Children reared in farmyards are more robust and healthy than city children wrapped in cotton wool - the normal things of nature are not a hostile environment, they are part of life! Just saying...
Gorgeous table settings but I agree - when I saw the feathers I was thinking oh no ... yuck.
I wouldn't eat from a plate decorated with real feathers...
No, you've got it backwards, it's the country/farm raised children who were appropriately tought from a young age that the feathers your mom just ripped out of the Thanksgiving turkey are dirty so wash your hands after you play with them and don't use them to decorate your freaking dinner plate. Pretty simple.
Good ignorance though, enjoy your ensuing comment flames.
Tricia - I guess I'm a soft city kid for not wanting something on my plate that has at one (maybe very recent) stage been seething with avian mites? I hope you happily eat hairs you find on your food in restaurants, after all they're likely to be physically cleaner than a bird feather.
It's not some over-sanatized anti-biotic fear, it's actually really quite nasty.
gross on the plate
Even healthy feathers are crawling with mites. As a biologist, I would never put this on a plate ... And I stopped being afraid of germs years ago, I just own a microscope ;)
Besides that, when I see the feather lamp, I just think dust central :D even if it is beautiful.
Yeah, count me in the non-feather licking crowd.
Tricia rose, people who understand and respect their environment, whatever it is, are more likely to be robust.
Old Arab expression: trust in God and tie up your camel!
Then wash your hands. (I added that last bit).
A very robust paediatrician in the