Save the blenders and dust busters for birthdays; holiday gifts should be about joy and surprise.

This year, consider taking a walk on the wild side when choosing presents for the home. From beautiful animal graphics to imaginative plays on animal shapes, there are a lot of ways to add a bit of beast-ly style to living spaces.

David Dear’s duck-footed mirror fits the bill, so to speak. The designer, known for whimsical takes on practical products, has placed an oval-shaped glass on pewter casts of duck feet — sublimely silly, yet oddly chic. Find it at allmodern.com.

For the hip yet disorganized people on your list, consider Urban Outfitters’ owl-shaped umbrella stand, or a Labrador’s head wall hook, perfect for holding scarves (www.urbanoutfitters.com). At MollaSpace, Japanese designer Igenoki deconstructs the cuckoo clock with a striking parade of animal silhouettes. His colorful recycled leather trays, imprinted with images of butterflies, tigers, rabbits and deer, would be great for keys and change.

AllModern.com also has Thai designer Supon Phornirunlit’s collection of contemporary graphic Animal Instinct pillows, hand-silkscreened with images of polar bears, deer and a swirling serpent.

Joe Ginsberg’s pillow designs are always amazing. The Kingdom collection for Tempo (www.tempoluxuryhome.com) features jungle and woodland animal photographs printed on shearling; they’re soft and spectacular, worth the splurge for an animal-loving someone special.

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DwellStudio’s Chinoiserie and Peacock pillows manage to look Old World and current at the same time. The bird artwork is painterly, the color accents — azure, citrine, mocha — are right on the minute (www.dwellstudio.com).

West Elm’s got birds, squirrels and rabbits decked out in tiny metallic sequins; while they’re meant as holiday decor, they’d make great tabletop accessories all year (www.westelm.com). A portion of sales goes to support St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Jason Polan’s painted owl and penguin canape plates would be a lovely hostess gift, as would a set of small porcelain plates with winter animals etched in platinum.

Animal-shaped lamps can often look kitschy, but these find a balance between whimsy and great style. Anthropologie (www.anthropologie.com) has a squirrel and bunny lit from the inside — a fun fixture for a child’s room, or an entry foyer. Naked Decor’s Happy Hot Dog Lamp in black or white resin features a dutiful dachshund balancing the lampshade on his nose (www.nakeddecor.com).

 


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