Into the Wild with Schumacher

Schumacher recently invited me and two other bloggers to participate in a design challenge.  The task was to select our favorite animal-print fabrics from Schumacher's latest collection and then use that fabric somewhere in our homes.  Those of you who know me know that I love animal prints, so this Schumacher challenge was one I could not turn down.

First, I decided that the animal-print fabric would be used somewhere in my living room, where another prominent animal pattern already existed: my wool leopard-print carpet, which I selected almost a decade ago as a nod to Elsie de Wolfe.  Although the carpet reads as a neutral (at least, it does to me), I knew better than to introduce a bold spotted or striped fabric into the mix.  Instead, I settled on Schumacher's Nakuru, which is a subtly-spotted linen-velvet fabric, in the color Mineral, which works nicely with my living room's blue walls.

Then, I had to figure out what I was going to do with the fabric.  Upholster a stool in it?  Have it made into a pillow?  And then it dawned on me that Alfie, my Cavalier, had been such a good boy lately that he deserved to have his own little upholstered chair.  I searched high and low and finally found a vintage child's chair at a shop in Atlanta.  One speedy upholstery job later (thanks to my upholsterer, Gail of M2M, who is currently working on other jobs for a coterie of pampered pooches), and Alfie now has his very own Schumacher-appointed chair, which he swears is very comfy.

There are so many other great Schumacher animal patterns that have recently been introduced: Kalahari; Animaux; and Glamourpuss are other favorites of mine.  In fact, the range of patterns is such that even if you're not a fan of animal prints, you might find yourself warming up to them.  To see Schumacher's latest animal-print additions, please visit their website.  And if you would like to see what the other bloggers did with their Schumacher fabric, go to Instagram and search for #SchumacherChallenge #GoWildWithSchumacher #Schustagram

All photos by Jennifer Boles for The Peak of Chic