Rooster Decorating Worth Crowing About
Once upon a time, I had the great joy of keeping chickens. And roosters. (After all, we wanted fertile eggs and happy hens.) Cogburn was our lead rooster. He had a red comb, with a maize-colored neck that flowed into gold, milk chocolate and then deep brown scalloped feathers, culminating in an almost-black tail. Sven was Polish. He had long, feathery crests on his golden head that fell over his eyes and made him look like he was having a perpetually bad hair day. Rocky was a tiny bantam, with silky black feathers and white feathered feet that looked like spats. He reminded us ever so much of Katharine Hepburn — all elegance, attitude and style. All three roosters were quite stunning, with color combinations that could instruct the design world. All of which helps explain why roosters are such a popular decorating motif. The trick is to use them in such a way that they complement — but don’t overwhelm — a room.
The lovely mural in this kitchen reminds me of the view outside my country kitchen. But this homeowner shows excellent restraint, resisting the impulse to add more roosters to the kitchen. That is what makes the tile backsplash so impactful.
The temptation with roosters is to assume that if one is good, more is better. So all of a sudden roosters show up on dish towels, mugs, throw pillows and placemats — you get the picture. Before you know it, rooster kitsch reigns.
Did you know that there is an old and true adage that there should be only one rooster per henhouse? We discovered the truth of that when our three caused chaos in our coop. Although more than one rooster — when carefully chosen — can be a wonderful design addition to an interior, that one-per-coop precept definitely has decorating merit.
The same restraint is evidenced in this gorgeous backsplash, which has a rich, dark background that enhances the simple coloring of the rooster and hen. Not repeating the rooster theme makes the one that is used really stand out.
Here the rooster is on the island, and it is just perfect there. I love the basket of multicolored eggs.
Roosters and weather vanes are like peanut butter and jelly. They just work together.
And not just in the kitchen. This weather vane looks perfect over a door in another room; it’s used just as successfully as …
… this weather vane that’s actually put to use.
Roosters make a colorful and striking statement as art, here done in a rustic manner …
… and here more classically executed. Both are wonderful.
A quartet of framed roosters brings color and personality (and a compelling irreverence) to this living room.
Roosters can be used as the centerpiece of a floral arrangement …
… or built into a chandelier …
… or printed on fabric and used as a window treatment.
You can even add them to the curtain rod. I totally love this creative application.
Roosters are also fabulous planted outside. Here a little path meanders through a wondrous garden, culminating in an eye-catching sculpture perched atop a tree stump.
Decorating with roosters kind of fell out of fashion a few years ago, when they seemed to multiply like rabbits. We run that risk with anything we collect, often because well-meaning family members and friends love to augment our collections, and all sorts of critters show up on our doorsteps, whether we like them or not.
One way to keep your collection personal and wonderful, as with the roosters marching across the top of these cupboards, is to not discuss your penchant for collecting them.
My love of roosters wasn’t confined to our country home. This vintage cast iron cock greets guests as they approach our current front door, and you cannot sneak past his welcome. It reminds me of a quotation from major league legend Joe Adcock: “Trying to sneak a fastball past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak the sunrise past a rooster.”
More: Collective Wisdom: Display Ideas for Collections of All Kinds
