Black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

“I’m ten years old. My life is half over and I don’t even know if I’m black with white stripes or white with black stripes!”

~ Marty the Zebra, Madagascar ~

Poor Marty, suffering a serious zebra identity crisis… is he black or is he white? Does he belong in a kid’s playful bedroom or an adult’s glamourous living room? Is he cool and hip or oh-so-passé? Is he hot or is he cold? (no, wait, that’s Katy Perry).

To answer these all-important questions…

1. Is a zebra black or white? Well, it really depends on the zebra—their stripes come in patterns that are unique to each individual, just like our fingerprints. Some are more black, and some are more white. And fake zebras can come in any colour—even multi-coloured!!

Zebras can also be brown & cream or black & tan and shaped like a chair:

Or like a bench:

2. Where does a zebra belong? Well, preferably roaming the plains of Africa. But if you want a zebra in your house—preferably the fake kind—you can put it anywhere you want! It looks fab in this funky turquoise, black, and white bedroom designed by Angelica Grace Designs for her daughter:

What is it about black & white zebra print with turquoise that’s so hot?! From Design by Cathleen:

A bunny hanging out with a zebra in a kid’s room:

These lovely vignettes were designed by Porchlight Interiors:

You can put zebra on your stairs:

You could light your zebra on fire if you really wanted to (FAKE zebras only!! Please don’t light REAL zebras on fire!!)

And finally, my absolute most favourite room ever—Monique Lhuillier’s gorgeous living room. It was featured on the cover of the January/February 2008 issue of Elle Decor. I keep this issue at the top of a stack of magazines on the bottom shelf of my coffee table. I put it on top of the table to take this picture, so you can see some of the similarities between Monique’s living room and my living room…

I LOVE absolutely EVERYTHING about Monique’s room. The gorgeous gray sofa and chairs… the organic wood side table… the geometric carpet… the mirrored coffee table… the touch of purple… and the zebra prints!!

The use of zebra print in Monique’s home is just perfect—there’s not too much of it, just enough to have impact… proof that zebra print can be glam!!

3. Is zebra hip & cool or oh-so-passé? Well, that’s really up to you to decide!! Do you like what you see in these pictures? Or are you rolling your eyes at the thought of zebra? For me, I go with what I love, regardless of whether or not it’s the trendy thing to do. And I love the touches of zebra print in my house. I even have a zebra painting too, which I bought about 6 or 7 years ago. I had no particular reason for buying it. There was just something about the look on the zebra’s face that appealed to me…

And as for Marty… let’s call him black with white stripes AND white with black stripes :-)

My personal little disclaimer… As much as I love zebra print, I don’t use real zebra (or animal of any kind) in my decorating. It’s faux all the way!! That’s just my own personal thing. Of course, everyone is free to decorate their homes using whatever materials they want :-)