Decorating With Cowhides

Wall

• A small cowhide with hair is attractive enough to serve as a rustic wall hanging for a hallway or living room. Back the hide with red or royal blue felt to give the decoration a punch of color and a framed appearance. Hand paint a scraped cowhide with tribal symbols, and hang the piece on you wall to create a primitive art piece.

Floor

• Cowhide is an expensive rug, but it's also a relatively durable and distinct decorative addition to any room. Moisture and dirt are natural enemies to a tanned animal hide, so cowhide rugs are not an ideal choice for entry or high-traffic areas. Rather, place the rug in a low-traffic area, such as under a coffee table in the living room or in a corner of a bedroom.

Furniture

• Big or small, there are many ways to use cowhide to decorate your furniture. Toss a small, black and white cowhide over a wooden bench to add a dramatic look to the space. Accent a black couch with white cowhide pillows for a modern touch, or upholster barstool seats with mottled brown cowhides for a rustic twist.

Decorations

• Use a large cowhide as a heavy-duty duvet on a western-style bed, and trim curtains with thin cowhides strip to match. Turn scraped cowhide strips into curtain tiebacks for an earthy kitchen, or cover picture frames with cowhide scraps to add an old-world look to hallway walls.

Types

• While mottled black and white is a popular cowhide pattern, it’s not the only type of cowhide available. Cowhides come in a variety of colors, including black, white, tan, brown, gray and rust. The hides may be a single hue, flecked with multiple colors, faintly striped, mottled or spotted. The numerous combinations of color and pattern are what helps make each cowhide unique.

Care

• Caring for cowhide is not difficult, regardless of whether it’s fashioned into a rug or pillow. Gently brush or vacuum hair-covered hides to remove loose dirt. Wipe the hair or leather clean with a damp rag, and then pat it dry with a clean rag to remove stubborn dirt. Never soak the leather in water; excess water softens the leather in the short-term and damages it in the long-term.