The 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth has inspired a multitude of exhibitions, books and documentaries. By now, we’re familiar with most of his exploits: the voyage on HMS Beagle, his early interest in fossils and his study of the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands, which led to The Big Idea: that those best suited to their environment survive and pass on their characteristics. Yet many people are unaware of the beardy old cove’s influence on the evolution of contemporary interiors: Darwin-mania has inspired a host of homewares. Here’s our natural selection.

My favourite design is a delicate motif, based on fossilised footprints, from Graham & Brown’s Eco Collection. Fossils, by Andrea Sallee, a timeless pattern in a subtle aqua tone, is part of G&B’s collaboration with students at Central St Martins (£30 a roll; 0800 328 8452, grahambrown.com).

Osborne & Little has just unveiled a lovely new range of wallpapers called Onyx. It features beautiful subdued greens and earthy hues, with patterns evoking fossilised timber and dinosaur hide (£39 per roll; 020 7352 1456, www.osborneandlittle.com). And dealers and designers, including Candy & Candy, are snapping up real fossils to display, mounted on plinths and dramatically lit, as natural works of art (Jurassic ammonites; £1,900, from Ammonite 2000; 020 7881 0592, ammonite2000.com).

The natural history theme is one of the most popular trends in interiors stores this year. A quirky menagerie of ceramics by the American interior and product designer Jonathan Adler has just launched at Heal’s. Adler’s style tends towards the maximalist (“over-the-top majesty”, as he puts it), but these stoneware animals, though packed with character, take simple forms. Highlights include a white turtle box (£93) and a beautiful curvy jade bird bowl (£73; 0870 024 0780, heals.co.uk).

Thomas Paul is another American designer turning out beautiful wildlife-inspired homewares. His melamine Sea Life collection includes trays (£16), dinner plates (£32 for set of four), side plates (£24 for set of four) and coasters (£12.95 for set of four), with motifs from turtles to sea horses (pictured far right; from Supernice; 020 7613 3890, www.supernice.co.uk). Another new product from Graham & Brown, bringing nature to the nursery, is the Dwell-Studio collection of animal canvases (£40; as above).

We – I mean kids of all ages – have an endless fascination with extinct species. Dinosaurs are cropping up on all sorts of homewares, such as Emma Bridgewater’s lunch box (£8; 020 7371 5489, emmabridgewater.co.uk). Best dino buys include a children’s bedroom kit from Next: a bed-linen set costs from £25; the matching cotton rug is £20 (0844 844 8000, next.co.uk). Aimed at a more grown-up market is the hand-embroidered needlepoint Dodo cushion, from Fine Cell Work, based on an Arts and Crafts pattern by William De Morgan (£65; 020 7931 9998, finecellwork.co.uk).

The snippet that every schoolchild remembers from Darwin’s The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection is the bit about being descended from the apes, and the monkey motif is popping up in plenty of designs this year. There’s a colourful hand-embroidered monkey pouffe in brushed cotton flannel at Bobo Kids (28cm by 31cm, £75; 020 7838 1020, www.bobokids.net). And Alessi, the Italian firm known for its witty kitchen equipment, is releasing a “tribe” of monkey gadgets, available later this month; family members start at £11. Captain Banana is the corkscrew, a cheery-looking ape with a parrot perched on his head (£34; 020 8576 6100, alessi.com). The final word on the primate theme goes to Syd TV, a street artist whose canvas Darwin was Wrong shows a progression from gun-toting human to well-balanced ape (100cm by 60cm, from £42.50, from Art by People; artbypeople.co.uk).

At the top of the evolutionary tree is Vivienne Westwood’s wall hanging for The Rug Company. Like its revered designer, the piece scores a 10 for style and lasting appeal. The 125cm-square needlepoint, entitled Adventure, looks like the scrapbook of a 19th-century explorer and communicates the wonder of the natural world seen through the eyes of a Victorian scientist. Dozens of images of flora and fauna overlay one another: a palm frond, a camel and a rhino horn, a leopard and an exceptionally well-endowed mandrill (£1,995; 020 7229 5148, therugcompany.info). The Rug Company is also stocking Paul Smith’s Birdie Blossom hand-woven tapestry cushion (56cm square, £275).

If a three- or four-figure outlay threatens your budget with extinction, the thrifty alternative is the Open University’s Tree of Life poster. So popular is this free wall art, keen evolutionists are facing a 28-day wait. Still, if we learnt anything from Darwin’s study of life on earth, it’s that some things are worth waiting for. Sign up for yours at open2.net/darwin/poster.html.

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