Friday, 10 June 2022 | 15.7°C Dublin

Fabulous Flamingo Feathers Wallpaper from Wallsauce

Glorious Gloria Saffron Feather Pendant from The French Bedroom Company

EOS Feather lamp from Umage

Brass Tripod Floor Lamp Feather Shade. from Audenza

Ostrich feather lamp by A Modern Grand Tour

Ostrich feather lamp by A Modern Grand Tour

In any home, you’re probably no more than two metres from a feather. Most are hidden in cushions, pillows and duvets, but there is also a resurgence in decorative feathers: both feather motifs in wallpaper and printed fabric and real feathers, many of which originated in an ostrich.

T his magnificent flightless bird is native to the savannahs and woodlands of Africa. Their feathers have been used in fashion and interior decoration for centuries and are prized above the plumage of other birds both for their size and their beautiful floaty quality (the feathers of flying birds have barbs that hook onto each other, but ostrich feathers are loose and floppy).

Once, they were more valuable per weight than gold or diamonds. In Plumes: Ostrich Feathers, Jews, and a Lost World of Global Commerce (2008) Sarah Abrevaya Stein writes of the extraordinary ostrich feather bubble.

Over a 20-year period that ended in 1914, ostrich feathers tripled in value. The demand was generated by the fashion industry — one was nothing without a plume or two — and supplied by Jewish immigrant farmers on the Western Cape of Africa.

These farmers, she writes, built themselves “feather mansions” with “panelled walls, tiled bathrooms, hand-painted friezes; the finest mahogany, walnut, and oak furniture... gilt concave mirrors, silver and Sheffield plate, the best Irish linen.”

Then, the fashion changed and the bubble burst. Some blamed the automobile industry (you can’t drive a car in an ostrich feather hat). The farmers were left without a feather to fly with and ostrich feathers were relegated to the feather duster.

This utilitarian item never went out of fashion and is still used by high end car brands to clean their vehicles before painting. Nothing, they say, can shift dust like an ostrich feather duster. Some claim this relates to the static charge of the feathers; others believe it’s because of the structure of the barbs. You can buy ostrich feather dusters from The Old Mill Stores, and elsewhere, for between €25 and €65 depending on size and the length of the handle.

In decorative terms, ostrich feathers are making a magnificent comeback in interiors. The most flamboyant of these is the iconic ostrich feather lamp designed by A Modern Grand Tour.

Ostrich feather lamp by A Modern Grand Tour

The basic format is a base in the shape of an ostrich leg, made in cast resin with a metallic finish, surmounted by a droopy drift of hand-dyed ostrich feathers. The colours are glorious.

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As a design, the lamp ticks a lot of boxes: irony, elegance, glamour, and an ability to get along with a wide range of decorative styles. There’s also something a little shady about them. I’ve seen them in villain’s houses in modern TV dramas and they fit right in. The catch is the price, which ranges from €2,253 for a mini (85 cm high) to €5,810 for a 2-metre-high floor lamp. Also, there’s no Irish supplier. These prices are from Sweetpea & Willow in the UK, who will deliver to Ireland.

Ostrich feather lamp by A Modern Grand Tour

There are ethical issues around the use of feathers and have been ever since the snowy egret was hunted to the brink of extinction in 1880s America. The culprit was the millinery trade. Now, almost all the feathers used in décor come from farmed birds, which brings a new set of problems including horrific reports of the live plucking of geese in Asia.

As with all these things, it’s a matter of checking for certification and making a personal choice. Ostrich feathers are either taken from dead birds as by-product of the meat industry or clipped from live birds at certain times of year. Most come from farms in Africa, which are subject to different regulations than European farms.

The statement from A Modern Grand Tour is: “All our feathers are sourced sustainably from suppliers who ethically raise the Ostriches. All feathers are supplied with a sustainability certificate.” It’s hard to know how the ostriches feel about it. The vegan movement eschews feathers, along with all animal products and there’s a strong argument that feathers look best on living birds.

The certification around goose feathers is easier to understand and the range of Eos lamps, made from natural goose feathers by the Danish company Umage, proudly boasts Responsible Down Standard (RDS) certification.

For those that choose to feather their nests, this seems like a fairly solid cert in terms of animal welfare. Goose feathers are aesthetically different from those of the ostrich, being smaller and puffier, and the Eos lamp designs are full-on Scandi minimal. The feathers are dyed, mostly in muted colours, and the frames are plain aluminium. Prices from lights.ie range from €119.90 for a mini pendant lamp to €529.90 for a large tripod standard lamp.

EOS Feather lamp from Umage

The latter is 154 cm high and the fluffy feathers diffuse the light beautifully. If you need to clean it, use a hairdryer. Other feather lamps include the Ruffled feather brass bird’s leg table lamp (around €183 from Audenza which revisits the bird’s leg concept but with turkey feathers).

“Feathers are a great way to lighten a room,” says Julianne Kelly, interior designer. “Their texture provokes thoughts of softness and whimsicalness, creating texture without adding heaviness.

Brass Tripod Floor Lamp Feather Shade. from Audenza

“We use it a lot on printed fabrics and wallpaper. It’s been around a while but as an add-on to butterfly and dragonfly patterns. Now it’s more about the feather alone. Peacocks tails are great for the intricacies of the design and for adding colour. We use it in printed fabrics on cushions, headboards and seating and I love it for wallpaper in bedrooms and small bathrooms. It’s been around for so long can’t really call it a trend – it just keeps evolving in shape and style.”

The Plumo collection of decorative prints from Romo combines birds with swirling florals, while a range of wallpapers from Casamance (from €70 per roll from Julianne Kelly interiors ) uses the feather motif in abstract and sophisticated patterns. The best of these are almost hypnotic and would work well in a bedroom.

There’s an obvious association between feathers and sleep. Another interpretation of feather print comes from Claire Luxton, an artist who designed a teaware collection for Wedgwood. It’s a magnificent medley of florals, botanicals, birds, animals and feathers.

The design has been plucked from the ceramics by the wallpaper brand Feathr and translated into a ginormous wallpaper mural (from €60 per metre). It probably doesn’t belong in a bedroom. You wouldn’t sleep a wink.

See sweetpeaandwillow.com, juliannekellyinteriors.ie, feathr.com, audenza.com, theoldmillstores.ie

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