Trendlet Alert: Jungle Look

By Marni Elyse Katz
June 16, 2010

The Look: Leopard print and zebra skins, lots of texture, neutral tones mixed with rich greens, big leafy fronds, and not-too-cutesy accessories featuring monkeys, lions and jaguars.

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Home office by M. Design
Den designed by Sara Gilbane
Photo Credit: Zach Desart
A book of artist Ben Norris' works.
Powder room by M. Design
Nursery designed by Fawn Galli
Photo Credit: Josh Gibson
Designer Amanda Essex upholstered chairs for a client in "Jembala" by Clarence House.
Table designed by TK at Shreve, Crump & Low (Designed by Eric Steven Jacobs of ESJ Designs)
Palm Beach patio designed by Ross Rose at Kemble Interiors.
Anthropologie, Boston

Seen In: Always on top of the trends, Anthropologie recently featured a bed topped with realistic animal photo pillows and a canopy of leafy vines. The store window was also plastered with leafy decals highlighting sarongs in exotic prints. There’s currently a daybed and table display done up with a “Jungle Leaves” tablecloth and corresponding “Island Time, Leaves” juice glasses.

Speaking of jungle-themed dining, this past winter, at the Shreve, Crump & Low, "Festive Table" event, Eric Steven Jacobs of ESJ Designs turned out a spectacular jungle-themed table. He pulled up the zebra skin rug from the floor of his study to use as the tablecloth, topping it with Scott Potter “Fern” plates and Herend china elephant and monkey figurines.

Fabric houses, too, have long reveled in jungle imagery. Two favorites include Clarence House "Jebmbala," a playful linen print, and Cowtan & Tout "Tahiti," a more moody design.

American landscape painter Ben Norris (1910-2006), who was influential in shaping the course of modern art in Hawaii, created a body of work that includes numerous watercolors of the untamed rain forest, celebrating its lush greenery. And of course, French impressionist Paul Gaughin is celebrated for his paintings of the tropical paradise of Tahiti. But most representative of the jungle aesthetic is Henri Rousseau’s work, like "Tiger in a Tropical Storm, (Surprised!)."

Loved By: Designer Fawn Galli recently completed a nursery with a jungle theme, choosing wallpaper, Cole and Son “Palm Leaves” in taupe/green about which she says, "We tried to merge wildlife and fantasy with mature patterns that are playful but not juvenile. The child can grow with these patterns."

On creating a jungle-inspired room, designer Sara Gilbane has this to say, “Everyone has a wild side and your library or den is the perfect room to delve into it. A big leafy tree (bird of paradise or fiddle leaf fig trees are my favorites) adds life to the room. Then adding a bold glossy color on the walls or a texture (thick woven grasscloth), a deeply tufted leather ottoman, and some wild print throw pillows and you have a sultry retreat.”

Molly Luetkemeyer of M. Design admits, “I totally have jungle fever these days.” She papered a powder room in “Martinique BH”, famous for lining the walls at the Beverly Hills Hotel. But she did it with a twist. “We had the wallpaper installer cut out around the leaves to create the effect of them crawling up the wall. It took a little planning but was well worth the effort.” In her home office, Luetkemeyer commissioned her friend, artist Jeff Robinson, to create a wall mural inspired by Henri Rousseau’s painting from his jungles in Paris series. The result is fabulous.

Ross Rose, a designer at Kemble Interiors did up the terrace of her Palm Beach house to a total tropical jungle effect. When we questioned Celerie Kemble about the jungle aesthetic, she gave us this advice, “Even though I live in New York, I'm a Palm Beach girl through and through. There is nothing like having cocktails on the patio with the sun setting through the palm leaves and the vivid colors you see. If you can't find them in the garden and the flowers around you, use them in your tableware and accessories. I can tire quickly of a strict geometric, but animal patterns and prints derived from nature somehow never go out of style and don't feel quite as fatiguing on the eye."