Guide · For the trade
Zebra rug, leopard rug or antelope carpet: the animal print guide for designers
A zebra rug for a client's room is one of three things: a zebra-printed cowhide, 6 to 7 feet by 7 to 8 feet with the hide's natural outline; a woven zebra in wool or polyester, Wilton or Axminster, in rug sizes from 5x8 to 9x12 and as broadloom for runners and wall-to-wall; or an actual zebra skin, which we do not sell and do not recommend specifying. Leopard follows the same three routes and antelope carpet is a woven broadloom pattern, a small-scale hoofprint in ivory, tan and brown, that has been a stair runner and hall standard for 60 years. We carry 199 animal print styles, 70 of them Wilton woven.
This guide is for the designer putting an animal print into a scheme and the junior sourcing it: which construction gives which look, how much print a room can carry, the colorways beyond black and white, the stair and hall uses and what to tell the client who asks for the real thing. Hides themselves, sizing and care, are in the cowhide and sheepskin guide; this page is the print.
Three ways to get a zebra rug
| Route | What it is | Sizes | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printed cowhide | A natural hide stenciled with zebra, tiger or leopard on the hair; from Pampas Leather, 44 animal print hides | One hide, 30 to 45 sq ft; patchwork to 9x12 | An accent under a coffee table or desk, a layer over sisal, the organic outline is the point |
| Woven rug | Wilton or Axminster in wool, wool blend or polyester; Bellbridge Kraal Leopard and Kraal Tigress, Stanton, Prestige Mills, Kane lines | 5x8 to 9x12 standard; any size cut and bound from the broadloom | A room rug with furniture on it, a dining room, a bedroom, a runner |
| Broadloom | The same Wilton lines sold by the roll, 12 ft and 13 ft 2 in wide | Runners 27 to 36 in; wall-to-wall | A stair runner, a hall, a dressing room or a powder room wall-to-wall |
The printed hide reads as an object; the woven rug is a pattern that sits under a sofa and vacuums like any wool rug. For most living rooms the woven piece is the spec and the hide is the layer on top of something plainer.
How much animal print a room can take
Treat an animal print as a neutral with a pulse. Zebra is a two-color graphic and a 9x12 of it is the room; everything else goes quiet, solid upholstery, plain drapery, one pattern on a pillow at most. Leopard is a three-color small-scale all-over and behaves like a textured neutral: it takes a floral, a stripe and a plaid in the same room, which is why it is the traditionalist's print. Antelope is smaller still, a 1 to 2 inch hoofprint that reads from across a room as a warm tan texture; it is the print for the client who says no to animal print. Zebra works as a 5x8 accent or a full 9x12, never a 6x9 that stops mid-sofa; leopard and antelope work in any size, including wall-to-wall.
Leopard rug: the construction decides the look
A Wilton leopard in wool is woven with the rosettes in the yarn, so the spots are crisp and the pile is a dense 1/4 to 3/8 inch cut; it is the leopard for a library, a dressing room and a stair. A hand-tufted leopard has softer spots and a deeper pile, for a bedroom. A printed polyester leopard is a budget rug for a rental and should not be presented as the same product. Colorways: the classic tan and black, an ivory and grey snow leopard for a pale room and overdyes in blue, green or plum from the custom programs; Bellbridge's Kraal line recolors to order in 8 to 16 weeks.
Antelope carpet: the stair and hall standard
Antelope broadloom is a Wilton in wool or wool and nylon, usually 80 percent wool and 20 percent nylon for the stair, with a 1/4 inch pile and a pattern repeat of about 9 by 11 inches. Its small scale means a runner cut from it at 27 or 32 inches shows the full pattern across the width with no awkward crop and the brown and tan hide a hall's soil better than a solid. Specify it waterfall or Hollywood over a 1/4 to 3/8 inch dense pad, with a serged edge in a matching brown or a 1 inch cotton binding; the patterned stair runner guide covers the pattern-match on the treads. As wall-to-wall, antelope is a classic in a dressing room, a study and a powder room, where the 12 foot width covers most rooms seam-free.
Zebra rug runner and the other animal runners
A zebra runner is cut from the broadloom, 27 to 36 inches wide and any length, with the stripes across the width so the hall reads as a sequence of bands; it belongs in a hall with plain walls. Leopard and antelope runners are the quieter alternatives and the ones we cut most. All are cut and bound in 3 to 5 weeks and a matching rug for the landing comes from the same roll so the dye lot matches.
Colorways beyond black and white
Brown zebra, the chocolate-and-cream version, is the most-asked variant and the easier one to live with; it reads as a warm neutral and sits with oak and leather. Grey and ivory zebra for a cool room. Zebra on a colored ground, blue, pink or red, is a custom recolor on a Wilton program or a dyed hide and the one to render before the client commits.
What to tell the client who wants a real zebra skin
We do not sell them. Zebra skins come from culled or farmed animals under permits that vary by species and country, cost many times a printed hide and are fragile under traffic and in sun; a printed cowhide or a woven wool rug gives the room the same graphic with none of the questions. Say it once, plainly and offer the printed hide.
Questions designers ask
Is a zebra rug still in style?
Zebra, leopard and antelope have been in continuous use in decorated rooms since the 1930s and are not a trend to be in or out of. What dates is the quantity: one animal print per room, sized as an accent or as the whole floor, with the rest of the room quiet.
What size zebra rug for a living room?
Either a single printed hide, about 6 by 7 feet, under the coffee table with the sofa legs off it, or a woven 8x10 or 9x12 with the front legs of all the seating on it. A 5x8 woven zebra under a coffee table reads as a mat; use the hide for that job.
Can an animal print rug go on a stair?
Yes and antelope and leopard are two of the most specified stair runners there are. Use the woven broadloom version, not a hide, at 27 to 32 inches wide over a dense 1/4 to 3/8 inch pad and let the installer plan the pattern repeat so the same part of the print lands on each tread.
Does a printed cowhide fade?
The stencil is a dye on the hair and like the hair it fades in direct sun over years. Keep it out of a south window, rotate it twice a year and it holds its contrast for a decade or more. A woven wool zebra in solution-dyed or vat-dyed yarn fades more slowly.
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