Decorating Ideas for Dinosaur Lovers (and Not Just Kids)
Pros weigh in on the draw of prehistorically-inspired decor and how to use these majestic creatures in the home
Whether it’s mounting a model skeleton as a conversation piece, playing up the whimsy in a kid’s bedroom with T-Rex wallpaper or displaying a found fossil, incorporating ancient life into your everyday life can give your space personality and a sense of history, provided your pieces are legally obtained and displayed.
With input from an interior designer and experts at Chicago’s Field Museum and Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History, here’s some inspiration and advice on responsibly decking your halls with dinos and other complementary finds.
With input from an interior designer and experts at Chicago’s Field Museum and Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History, here’s some inspiration and advice on responsibly decking your halls with dinos and other complementary finds.
The lasting appeal of dinosaurs
“Dinosaurs are still compelling to people because they are larger than life, controversial, fierce and a major part of our natural history,” says Trang Tran, museum store buyer at the dino-centric Fernbank Museum of Natural History. “We have evidence from fossils and bones and have a general idea of what the dinosaurs look like, but nobody knows what they actually look like,” Tran says. “They have feathers; they don’t have feathers. They are green; they weren’t green. The mystery behind the dinosaur fascinates people.”
At institutions like Fernbank and the Field Museum, that fascination can be almost palpable as visitors take in the models and real skeletons of the creatures towering above them. At home, that experience is usually more subdued, but palaeontology fans can still re-create an air of discovery, history and wonder.
“Dinosaurs are still compelling to people because they are larger than life, controversial, fierce and a major part of our natural history,” says Trang Tran, museum store buyer at the dino-centric Fernbank Museum of Natural History. “We have evidence from fossils and bones and have a general idea of what the dinosaurs look like, but nobody knows what they actually look like,” Tran says. “They have feathers; they don’t have feathers. They are green; they weren’t green. The mystery behind the dinosaur fascinates people.”
At institutions like Fernbank and the Field Museum, that fascination can be almost palpable as visitors take in the models and real skeletons of the creatures towering above them. At home, that experience is usually more subdued, but palaeontology fans can still re-create an air of discovery, history and wonder.
Not just for kids
Dinosaurs are often dismissed as a fandom exclusively for little ones, but Arizona-based interior designer Amanda Rademacher of Fox Den Designs says with the right decor choices, that doesn’t have to be the case. In the bedroom shown here, Rademacher was designing for a 5-year-old boy, but the concept behind the understated dinosaur-themed space was to allow for flexibility.
“Dinosaurs can be whimsical or a little more grown up, depending on how they’re executed in a space,” Rademacher says. “For this, we wanted to find a middle ground that would be age appropriate for this little boy but something that he could also grow with.”
The playful but restrained laser-cut dino busts above the bed by then-16-year-old artisan Josh Durham create a striking focal point against the room’s faux wood wall.
“This Art Deco-style display gives that nod to a more refined dinosaur concept than cartoon – something that we were working toward avoiding in this space,” Rademacher says.
Dinosaurs are often dismissed as a fandom exclusively for little ones, but Arizona-based interior designer Amanda Rademacher of Fox Den Designs says with the right decor choices, that doesn’t have to be the case. In the bedroom shown here, Rademacher was designing for a 5-year-old boy, but the concept behind the understated dinosaur-themed space was to allow for flexibility.
“Dinosaurs can be whimsical or a little more grown up, depending on how they’re executed in a space,” Rademacher says. “For this, we wanted to find a middle ground that would be age appropriate for this little boy but something that he could also grow with.”
The playful but restrained laser-cut dino busts above the bed by then-16-year-old artisan Josh Durham create a striking focal point against the room’s faux wood wall.
“This Art Deco-style display gives that nod to a more refined dinosaur concept than cartoon – something that we were working toward avoiding in this space,” Rademacher says.
More ways with dino decor
Sophisticated fun
To put a more mature spin on dinosaurs at home, Rademacher suggests playing with metallics. The gold dinos roaming this Boston dining table air plant centrepiece, for example, feel charming instead of childish.
“The first thing to focus on is the medium the dino item is made out of,” Rademacher says. “A polished metal T-Rex bookend on a shelf can set off a really cool industrial vibe in an adult space.”
Sophisticated fun
To put a more mature spin on dinosaurs at home, Rademacher suggests playing with metallics. The gold dinos roaming this Boston dining table air plant centrepiece, for example, feel charming instead of childish.
“The first thing to focus on is the medium the dino item is made out of,” Rademacher says. “A polished metal T-Rex bookend on a shelf can set off a really cool industrial vibe in an adult space.”
Frame it
Dinosaurs get the grown-up treatment in this Los Angeles guest bedroom too. By combining retro dino imagery with bold bedding and a funky swing, H3K Design plays up dinosaurs’ kitschy cool vibe.
Dinosaurs get the grown-up treatment in this Los Angeles guest bedroom too. By combining retro dino imagery with bold bedding and a funky swing, H3K Design plays up dinosaurs’ kitschy cool vibe.
Whatever a homeowner’s style, wall art offers a chance to incorporate the theme. These string-art dinosaur silhouettes are a more abstract, refined take.
With so many species of dinosaur, the creatures lend themselves to visually interesting sets of art, such as these skeleton prints. Hanging over a more muted bed, they feel academic and artsy.
Plant-osauruses
Considering the major role both have played in the history of the natural world, dinosaurs and plants seem like a logical decorative pair. Colourful prehistoric planters made from plastic toys like these add a jolt of fun to your windowsill, and making them is an easy DIY project.
See the complete prehistoric planter project directions
Considering the major role both have played in the history of the natural world, dinosaurs and plants seem like a logical decorative pair. Colourful prehistoric planters made from plastic toys like these add a jolt of fun to your windowsill, and making them is an easy DIY project.
See the complete prehistoric planter project directions
If you don’t want to drill and drain the toys, tuck them in a garden instead. London garden designer Simon Orchard crafted this mini landscape exclusively for his young son and his son’s collection of dino toys.
See more about this project
See more about this project
Unexpected accent
Dinosaurs have a way of keeping things interesting. While too many bright brontosauruses and T-Rexes can create a cartoonish aesthetic, using one or two as a focal point or statement piece in an otherwise low-key room comes across as bold.
Dinosaurs have a way of keeping things interesting. While too many bright brontosauruses and T-Rexes can create a cartoonish aesthetic, using one or two as a focal point or statement piece in an otherwise low-key room comes across as bold.
Of course, if you want to take the unexpected aspect a booming step further, there’s always room for a dino with a sense of humour, like this creative toilet paper roll holder in a vintage Portland, Oregon, apartment.
The real deal
And then there’s decorating with actual dinosaur bones or other fossilised remains. The practice can be controversial and legally complicated – scientifically significant and vertebrate fossils can be collected from federal lands only with a permit, for example, and vertebrate fossils exported from China are illegal, among other restrictions – but it can be handled responsibly, experts say.
A few general pointers for amateur fossil collectors courtesy of the Field Museum:
And then there’s decorating with actual dinosaur bones or other fossilised remains. The practice can be controversial and legally complicated – scientifically significant and vertebrate fossils can be collected from federal lands only with a permit, for example, and vertebrate fossils exported from China are illegal, among other restrictions – but it can be handled responsibly, experts say.
A few general pointers for amateur fossil collectors courtesy of the Field Museum:
- Any fossils on private land belong to the owner.
- Common plant and invertebrate fossils can be collected for personal use from public land.
- It is illegal to keep any part of a bird in a private collection no matter where it was found (there are some exceptions for hunted birds).
- It may not be legally required, but asking permission before collecting anywhere is always smart.
- When collecting a specimen or artifact, make sure to thoroughly document field data, such as location.
- Laws vary by country.
“Fossils are kind of like Pet Rocks, but instead of coming from the ’70s, they may come from the Cretaceous Period,” says Sheila Evans, a spokesperson for the Field Museum who consulted with the museum’s scientists. “Unlike your houseplants, they won’t die because they already died millions of years ago.”
To care for fossils or shells at home, Evans says simply dusting with a soft toothbrush should be sufficient. “But if an artefact seems especially fragile, it is best to consult a local museum,” Evans says.
Responsible collecting
If you’re looking to showcase a major fossil in your home, do your homework (and prepare to spend thousands to millions of dollars for authentic specimens).
“There are reputable sources for material, and very disreputable sources as well, and it’s difficult to tell them apart sometimes,” says Wil Grewe-Mullins, Fernbank Museum registrar. “No one advertises that their specimens are from a ‘sketchy’ source.”
Grewe-Mullins recommends checking with resources like the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora with specific questions.
“Dinosaurs evoke a wide range of emotion in all of us. Some have fear from childhood experiences of watching Jurassic Park too young. Others find awe and wonder in these giant beasts who used to walk where we now walk but have been gone for such a long time. There is a certain fascination with them from all ages, so they remain relevant,” Rademacher says. “From a design standpoint, so much can be done with them.”
TELL US
Do decorative dinos roam your halls? Share your photos in the Comments.
To care for fossils or shells at home, Evans says simply dusting with a soft toothbrush should be sufficient. “But if an artefact seems especially fragile, it is best to consult a local museum,” Evans says.
Responsible collecting
If you’re looking to showcase a major fossil in your home, do your homework (and prepare to spend thousands to millions of dollars for authentic specimens).
“There are reputable sources for material, and very disreputable sources as well, and it’s difficult to tell them apart sometimes,” says Wil Grewe-Mullins, Fernbank Museum registrar. “No one advertises that their specimens are from a ‘sketchy’ source.”
Grewe-Mullins recommends checking with resources like the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora with specific questions.
“Dinosaurs evoke a wide range of emotion in all of us. Some have fear from childhood experiences of watching Jurassic Park too young. Others find awe and wonder in these giant beasts who used to walk where we now walk but have been gone for such a long time. There is a certain fascination with them from all ages, so they remain relevant,” Rademacher says. “From a design standpoint, so much can be done with them.”
TELL US
Do decorative dinos roam your halls? Share your photos in the Comments.
And while many of us encounter the early reptiles only in the movie theater or at the natural history museum, their larger-than-modern-life appeal has long made them, and other prehistoric plants and animals, a favorite theme to touch on in home decor for some collectors and fans.