And I still think they're for a certain person, so I always suggest home owners put them away.  They won't appeal to the masses.

Cindy - I too have noticed this horn phenomenon that's been going on lately.

Donna-You're right, they're used for decorating, not staging, as they don't appeal to everyone.

Michelle-I dind'nt think much about them at first, but I've noticed more too.

I think heads and trophies are a turn off for some buyers.  Sure hunters love them, but buyers get side tracked if they are a hunter and get turned off if the are anti-hunting or animal lovers.

Russ-I agree, thanks for your comment.

Michael-Interesting isn't it.  You never know what will be next!

Boy, those horns on the coffee table kind of give me the creeps. This is a trend I don't plan on partaking in. There have been a lot of animal prints out there recently, too. I guess this is a logical following trend.

Lol. We just finished a redesign - w/ horns a-plenty! There is a time and place for everything. In The Sportsman's Paradise, where every little boy has a gun and many, many wives go to the hunting in camo alongside their spouses, our Louisiana market may be the exception to the rule. 

People here do not have the same feelings about dead things. Dead things are indicative of the ability to provide, protect, and to be self-reliant  & resourceful, which are all actually positive messages for a home, absolutely. But it depends on your market. 

And talk about green design. You kill it, eat it, and then it becomes decor. Horns are probably the humankind's oldest tchotchkie.

I've had to adjust my own personal feelings about hunting (I am 100% CITY CHICK who now lives in the country on a farm), and I have found that while it still makes my stomach roll to see taxidermy, I assure you this morning I had sausage with my eggs and tonight it's chicken in the pot, while I stand in my leather shoes and  look out the window at the cattle and know where they will ultimately end up - in my freezer.

It depends on how close your market is to ground zero. Death and the natural cycles are not strangers here. The culture, the livelihood, and the daily conversation are all full of it.

Aversion to hunting and related items is largely seen as a pure silliness by those who actually provide these products, and indicative of a the lack of respect for the people who allow you to have meat under your cellophane wrapping with the cute picture of the happy chicken on the sticker.

Vegans aside, MOST PEOPLE EAT MEAT. And somethings gotta die for you to have it. And that is not sad. It is an honorable professional, to feed people. We grow the rice, we cut it down. We raise healthy livestock, and kill it in it's prime. We feed the crawfish in the ponds, and boil them alive.

Having lived on both sides of the fence. I know the feelings, but I also know the truth. Life isn't about keeping things alive, It's actually about killing them, so you can live.

Staging with overt animal products may not fly in most markets, but in my specific market, it's not only fasionable, practical,  & green, but it also portrays a lifestyle that is safe, abundant, desirable, earthy, real, practical, and full of vitality.

~Michelle

Aloha Cindy,

Speaking as a Real Estate Merchandiser, Horns and Antlers are par for the coarse design elements in frontier and ranch cultures like Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Alaska. As antlers are shed yearly and horns require the death of an animal I think it best to avoid the later but finding animal skeletons in the wilderness as a result of a natural death is not unheard of and wild game "parts" are ubiquitous accessories in these areas. In fact most homes have some animal product as decoration.

Peace,

Laurie-I think animal prints are always around in some form or fashion.

Michelle-Interesting most of these were in NYC, and we know there's not hunting there.  It's purely for looks.  I went into a big game hunters place here close to downtown.  I think he had more than the Museum of Natural History.  They were all very exotic, and they were on every single wall all the way to the ceiling.  These were the stuffed variety, not the fabricated decor variety. 

Kimo-We have some land in the "Hill Country", over by Austin, and yes, there was the skeleton of some small wild looking animal that I almost stepped on, and then I saw a skeleton head on the same piece.  It's just natures way.  It made me wonder what had killed these animals, and I knew I didn't want to run into it whatever it was!

Even up here in Canada we are experiencing the same horn popularity. Some of the pieces look amazingly unique, while others just look plan tacky. I think that perhaps it is part of this eco movement  and baby boomers returning to earlier grass roots in both  decors and fashion. (But I could be way off on this).

Kimberley, I don't know, but they are unique, not like the antler heads of old.