Day of the dead

There is a mini design movement around at the moment that borders on the macabre. Blame it on a leaning towards Victorian gothic and the famed British love of pets. Put the two together and you get installations of taxidermied animals, upholstery incorporating roadkill, and Russell Sage’s signature trophy heads at his latest project, the glam getaway Stapleford Park.

It’s all a bit weird, yet visually arresting. The artist Polly Morgan (pollymorgan.co.uk ), whose work has been shown at high-end galleries such as White Cube and Eleven, is at the forefront of the movement.

She removes taxidermy from its traditional context, presenting animals in unexpected settings — the idea being that the viewer does a double take and maybe, just maybe, views, say, a rat in a different light. Alannah Currie, meanwhile (yes, her of the 1980s pop group Thompson Twins), has reinvented herself as an upholsterer. Under the name Miss Pokeno, Currie, a vegetarian, turns the vogue for revamping vintage pieces on its head by incorporating taxidermy in the parts of furniture you normally wouldn’t look at twice. Now, while the Museum of Natural History in Dublin is one of my all-time favourite places, with its floors full of stuffed beasties, I’m not sure I am ready to embrace them as a feature in my front room. Then again, this Miss Pokeno chair would certainly get a dinner-party conversation started.

Chair, from £8,000; misspokeno.com

Animal magic

Bits to buy for those who can’t quite embrace the real deal

1 Couverture & the Garbstore is a rather yum new lifestyle emporium selling fashion for the whole family, as well as some whimsical bits for the home such as this lacquered-resin blackbird storage box. couverture.co.uk

2 These fab trophy heads by the American company Cardboard Safari have just become available over here. The bargain rhinos, deer and moose come in three sizes and would look great displayed in a group. 020 8989 9255, horsfallandwright.co.uk

3 Mathmos, our quirky lighting favourite, has just launched this Revolution tea-light holder — the heat from the candles causes the images to rotate. The first design, Skeleton Carousel, was inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead. mathmos.com

4 Got a taste for the grisly, but not the deep pockets to invest? Then test your style yearnings with this fabulously bonkers life-size plastic crow ornament from Caravan. caravanstyle.com

Outside Chancer

One of my favourite pieces on show on the streets of Milan (quite literally) this year was this fun and fabulous inflatable PVC garden sofa by the Dutch company Blofield.

To prove its outdoor durability, its designer, Jeroen van de Kant, pitched up, guerrilla-style, with a few willing cohorts, laid his patch of Astroturf, inflated his sofas, served up some sparkly and seduced many a passer-by — including Marcel Wanders — with his design.

Not only is the sofa working the button-back upholstery look that is having a resurgence, but it comes in the key cool colours of grass green, charcoal and white. It is also practical (the electric pump means it inflates from flat to full in five minutes) and is really rather comfortable.

Though it has only just gone on sale, van de Kant is already planning to expand the range for next year. In the meantime, be an early adopter — go ahead and treat your garden.

£350; www.design-conscious.co.uk

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