Zebra Home Decor

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The living room is one of the most used rooms in the home, therefore it is important, possibly more than any other to get right as far as the Zebra home decor theme goes. The Living Room is also the main focal point of the home where guests are seated and where the family come together in the evenings and weekends. It is a place where entertainment occurs, whether through the act of watching television or the arena where chatting, boardgames and various other forms of social interaction most take place.

Further considerations must also be taken into account. The size of the household and its age ranges. A younger family will have different requirements than an older one and most definitely different tastes when it comes to the interior decor. Depending on the size of the living room, the number of family members will also be important. For one or two people, there can afford to be more space taken up with decorative furniture pieces and accents. However, for a family with two children or more and perhaps an elderly relative, then the space has to be thought out with more attention to detail.

Depending on where the television is located, it's ideal to have the near surrounding area free from any black and white zebra print. This will prevent the stripes adding a visual burden to the act of watching television which could well cause headaches, eye strain and even sickness. Think instead of smaller accents such as a small framed painting of zebras or a colorful interpretation of the stripes that does not hold so many tonal contrasts.

Furniture and accessories will play a key role in creating a zebra home decor ambiance to your living room. There are many types of zebra print fabrics and covers that can highlight a part of the room or an item of furniture. Whilst one might not find it difficult to acquire a multitude of zebra print fabrics and coverings for chairs and floors etc, it is wise not to go overboard in filling the living room up with black and white contrasting stripes. This is bound to cause headaches, dizziness and perhaps nausea. As with many home decor themes, in personal view, understatement is the best way to go.

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You will spend around one third of your year, or if you want to think more long term about it, one third of your life, in your new zebra themed bedroom so it is an important interior to achieve your desired effect. It needs to be as attractive and as comfortable, both visually and physically, as possible. The bedroom is the one room in the entire home that will the most attention when it comes to mixing and matching colors, shapes and in the case of the zebra home decor theme, stripes! Let me say now, a room filled with black and white stripes is not conducive to relaxation and restful sleep.

However, that does not mean you should forget about a zebra style for the bedroom, absolutely not. What I am merely saying is that of all the rooms you design, the bedroom needs to be the most understated and carefully arranged.

When it comes to bedding, there are a multitude of zebra print designs, one of which you can see in the picture to the right. This particular zebra bedding can be found here: Zebra Bed-in-a-Bag Set.

If you choose a zebra print for the bed, it would then be wise to then use the bed area as the main zebra focal point and avoid zebra wallpaper and carpeting. Too much zebra print will make the room look messy. You can still add smaller accents around the bedroom.

Alternatively, there is the Charmeuse Zebra Print Waterbed Sheet Set which you can see in the first polaroid below.

In the second polaroid you can see the Zebra Lavender Bed-in-a-Bag Set.

If you go for regular bedding, then the zebra stripe focus can be elsewhere in the bedroom such as on the walls or floor.

Lighting in the bedroom should remain low and this will also give the feeling of being in the wild and the natural habitat of the zebra. Circular lights that are reminiscent of a full or crescent moon will add to the ambiance. Think also of dried branches and grasses that you can put in pots in the corner of the bedroom.

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You've probably seen in magazines, interior design television shows and in films, zebra themed bedrooms with wallpaper, carpets and bedding all in black and white stripped patterns. Well, consider this:

If you look at the top designers and those at the leading front of Interior Design, you will notice they don't pile in a whole load of themed accessories and decorative features of the same type into one interior. To do so would be to overload the room so much so as to create a visual mess and gigantic headache. The television designers may do it but more often than not they are going for audience ratings and fun visual feasts. To be truthful, they give real Interior Designers a bad name.

The key to designing any themed room, including a zebra theme bedroom, is to start simple and aim for understated (yes, my favorite word) accents that as a group or collection, gently shine forth from the background. This will prevent disaster and sleepless nights when it comes to the bedroom whilst at the same time allowing an obvious zebra theme to emerge.

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The majority of Zebra are black and white. Some species have a third brown color also known as "shadow stripes" which occur in between the white and black markings. There are no other color combinations to be had. This can make it daunting therefore when wanting to add a touch of color to a zebra print fabric or zebra home decor living room or bedroom. That is of course, if you take the black and white markings literally.

As with many home decor themes and subjects, there is a certain amount of artistic licence allowed in order to achieve the best design possible for an interior. Whilst it's important to maintain the zebra black and white design in most cases, there is nothing wrong in merging together various other colors in the zebra stripe format. There are a number of decorative accents, sculptures, bedding and children's accessories that combine black with red, black with green, black with blue or many other combinations such as pink and white.

You will have to judge whether these colorful zebra striped designs will fit into your interior decor and how much you want to stray from the literal interpretation of the traditional black and white designs. There is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing either way. One must however make sure whatever you choose fits into the overall space and does not detract from your original aim.

The domestic kitchen is another major gathering area in the home. Families usually gather in the mornings before school and work, and in the evenings when the day is done and dinner is being prepared and eaten. Some homes will have one space that acts as both the kitchen and dining room, whilst others will have two separate rooms. Either way, the importance of creating a relaxing atmosphere conducive to preparing and eating food is paramount.

Colors play a large role in the kitchen environment. Reds, oranges and even greens increase the hunger levels and are used by professional restaurants and eateries to increase the customer's appetites. On the other hand, browns, blues and purples often have the reverse effect. With the zebra home decor theme, these colors are unlikely to pose a problem in themselves but the same types of rules that apply to color also apply to shapes. Too many stripes will create an environment that is not very helpful to your eating enjoyment.

In my experience, it is best to keep the kitchen simple, with large swathes or blocks of a single color. You can gently break up these blocks with decor features, cabinets and kitchen accessories. For the kitchen interior, the zebra home decor theme can come in the shape of the cooking utensils and tableware as well as perhaps decorative art. I've collected together a few examples you can use below.

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The Zebra home decor theme for kids will mostly center around the child's bedroom. If your children also have a playroom, then this can also be included in the suggestions that follow. Kid's have rich and wonderful imaginations as all parents will have realised early on. From experience, these qualities mean the decorating of a child's room is one of the most fun decor activities you will have. You can incorporate zebra themes that you wouldn't dare consider for the living room or master bedroom.

If your child is very young, then you will decide on what is appropriate for the interior, whether a nursery room or playroom. For older kids, it's wise to involve them in the design process somewhat. This has two benefits when it comes to designing zebra home decor themes. First the child will be able to have a say on what he or she likes, which could prevent unwanted choices down the line. The second and most important aspect, is that you'll be able to educate your child on the subject of zebras, where they live, their habitat and about the countries where they are found.

A child's imagination and natural inquisitive nature needs to be considered when designing a zebra themed bedroom or playroom. Children like to explore, to climb and to hide. This can be catered for in various types of furniture including bunk beds which have in-built writing desks and/or themed tents underneath. Moveable furniture can also play apart such as soft bean bag chairs, foam chairs and small tables. All these can be found in various designs, including safari themes. For example, you will have noticed the zebra chair in the image at the very top of this page, that can be found here: Zebra Themed Kid's Chair.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to decorating a zebra themed bedroom for kids. Think also of stuffed toys, wall murals, rugs, cartoon zebras, informational posters, bedding and zebra window treatments.

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For more Interior Decor related products, advice and inspiration, visit the popular website: Home Interior Design Themes.

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