Cow Hide Rug - Do or Don't?

Emily A Clark

I am a city girl at heart - I love to be in nature but I also like to come home to my blow dryer and cozy bed - but while I might be slightly scared of horses, and would never wrangle a cow in a million years, I am really into the idea of a cow hide rug!

I keep seeing cow hides pop up in some really refined, contemporary spaces, and they look really cool - not cowgirl.  I've been drawn to the lighter dyed versions (cow spots are not really my thing), but I've even seen a few with a zebra print on them that looks SO cool.


Stephmodo
One time, I told Kris that I loved the look of zebra print, and he gave me his "Who-is-this-crazy-person-and-where-did-my-completely-sane-girlfriend-go" look, but I SWEAR, if done right, zebra print can look classic!  I need to print out this photo from Stephmodo's blog, and put it on the fridge for him to see.  This room is actually a nook off the hallway of a Southern California home, that the family made into a functional office space. Genius!

 
willowdecor
Look at how these light cow hide rugs blend into these rooms!  The rest of the decor is relatively simple - clean lines, and not a lot of color.  Aside from the irregular edges on the rugs, nothing about them looks "risky" - the first word that comes to mind when I think about purchasing a cow hide rug.  Maybe simplicity is the best way to ease into it?


DecorPad
Ok, this room is just awesome, right?  Those icy blue walls with the vibrant yellow Louis XIV chairs?? If I had an office, this is the color scheme I'd want to go with.  It's bright and light all at the same time, and somehow it doesn't feel like too much.  Dare I say it, the rug is the safest choice in this room!

Eclectic Living Room design by Los Angeles Interior Designer Elizabeth Gordon

So... this room is very "styled".  I actually hate the ceiling from the sunburst light fixture to the bamboo wallpaper (sorry homeowners), BUT what I do love is how the zebra print cow hide is positioned underneath a glass coffee table (so as not to obscure the pattern), and that when laid lengthwise, it mirrors the symmetry of the two sofa's that are facing one another.  I'll ignore the ceiling, the screens, and the complicated sconces, because the rest of the room is spot on perfection.


Create Girl
And... the cow print.  Not my taste, but I'll admit that it brings some much needed life into a totally neutral oatmeal colored room.  This rug also looks a bit furry, which creeps me out a bit too much.  How do you find a rug with minimal "fur" - I really do not want to imagine my rug in it's former life... aka eating grass and chilling on a hill in the sun.