apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am on the no-pony, no-cowhide, no-fur side of this question. I am not a vegetarian or vegan by any means but I think having fur or hide hanging around my place would creep me out.

Until civilization falls and I'm forced to live off the land, I prefer not to dress or decorate in animal hides of any kind.

Amen, hessilou & BetterBombshell!

not good

kind of funny, but still tasteless
&essentially very excessive & not 'green'

Um - the cowhides that are used for this purpose are one heck of alot more "Green" than the hides for regular leather upholstery...

...and much moreso than vinyl, since the hides are utilizing a byproduct of the meat industry.

Educate yourself before committing to something as cruel as this. It is really, really disturbing...

oh and pony and cow? what's the diff. Same cruel practices, different slaughterhouse.

As pointed out (though not very well), these items are made of cowhide, not ponyhide.

That may not be much of a difference to some, but as pointed out above, cowhide is a byproduct of the meat industry. So until the day when people no longer eat beef, I think it is better to use as much of the animal as you possibly can rather than wasting parts of it. And it is more environmental than other man-made fabrics and leather substitutes as the cow would have been raised and killed for its meat anyway.

So, perhaps in the future this will be seen as a bad thing, but today, I think it would be worse not to use cowhides.

call it a cowhide couch and everyone hates on it.

turn it inside out and call it a leather sectional and it goes completely undiscussed.

yes, vegans unite! time to boycott such atrocities in the design world. all this talk about "green" design, but what happened to "compassionate" design? sheesh.

Well said cblls!

When will we start using aborted fetuses to upholster our furniture? It seems like such a waste to just toss them in the dumpster.

disgusting. absolutely barbaric.

I don't find any of these pieces particularly attractive but would have no problem with pony, cow, deer or bear hide in my home.

Who knew there were so many vegans on AT?

Hideous.

bepsf - Manufacturing faux hides actually requires less energy and fewer resources than chemically treating real ones enough to make them usable. Ford Motor Company did a study on the subject decades ago.

Tasteless and inappropriate for a pet-themed month. It's about living happily with your -living- and equally happy pets.

PonIES is the plural of pony, not pony's which is possessive. Sorry, I'm an editor, and that is a pet peeve of mine. That said, I dig the look on the Eames chairs.

Hmm, I had a pet goat once. When it was time we ate her. That's life.

Not all cared-for animals fit into your vision of "pet". An animal post is 100% on-topic.

Prettying up a carcass will never work with me. Calling it a "hide" may remove one psychologically a step from what they're truly looking at but thankfully, more people are becoming aware to the facts and adhering to a more 'do not cause harm' lifestyle. It's nice to see more and more folks on AT talking about it.

Signed,
Vegan

Barf.

There are ways to bring the inspiration of animals into your decor without dragging their carcasses into the living room.

The first two posters are brilliant.

How many dead babies does it take to upholster a sectional?

Let's get self-righteous.

There is already an overabundance of pet-themed posts for this month and this didn't need to be one of them. This is about the skins of animals. It just clashes with the theme, and should have avoided mention.

Carry on the stupid hide thing we always fight about.

I like cowhide upholstery and handbags and belts and shoes and coats when used sparingly. The hide with the coffin couch is way fugly. Love the Eames chairs. Whther it's real cowhide or not (which I think is the point right???)

Wish those who have a political or social agenda would just say they don't like it, rather than than use this forum as a place to make comments about abortions, etc. IMO, it's equally facist whether you're in-your-face-rudely adamant about right wing issues or left wing issues.

I'm not religious in any way, but the parable about those who have never sinned being invited to throw the first stone comes to mind. Sheesh.

kimg924, this is the beauty of the 1st amendment: that die-hard vegans or non-vegans with social/political agendas have every right to say whatever they want on a post about FURNITURE. No one is claiming to be perfect and sinless. It's all about each choice made along the way and the repercussions of such choices. Whether it be ecological or ethical or otherwise. We're just expressing our thoughts on the topic. If you're OK with taking the life of a cow so you can use its stuffed skin as a seat, that's your prerogative. And you're 100% welcome to voice that. Intense discussion and viewpoints themselves shouldn't be denounced.

New at Ikea (not in the US yet): Gilbert chair pads

http://www.ikea.com/nl/nl/catalog/products/50141984

davidasposted is my new favorite

completely horrid.

Cow hide is a byproduct of our meat industry and so it's wasteful not to use it.

Besides I totally dig the look on the Eames Chairs.

I do think calling it pony is tacky. Why not call it, Cowhide in pony, or pinto, or paint to suggest the idea of the gorgeous coloring we see on so many horses and ponies?