Hanging a Zebra Skin

We bought a zebra skin. I had it on the floor as a rug in the living room but I became too afraid the dogs would do something (pee) on it.



 







So I moved it and draped it over the living room / dining room divider railing.


But then I missed the open view of the old floor plan.


So I decided we needed to hang it.







At this point, I feel I should explain why a staunch anti-poaching quasi-vegetarian person would even want to own a zebra hide.

First of all, the Burchell Zebra is not an endangered species and it is not illegal to export their skins to any country in the world. I repeat, Burchell Zebra is not endangered. In fact, they are quite prolific. The Burchell Zebra run in herds on the plains of Africa and far outnumber the predators who hunt them for food. Therefore, the hides are legally taken from culled zebras who are hunted for legal export. Just like the deer who have overtaken the woodland and suburban sprawl in NJ, they are control-culled through systematic hunting.

And they look really cool! Sorry, but they do. And I am not opposed to decorating with or wearing furs that have been grown on a ranch or legally culled in the wild for that express purpose. I do own several mink coats, a few shearlings, a sheared beaver jacket and a few other fur-trimmed pieces of clothing. I get cold and fur is warmer than wool. Full stop. And as a very wise women whom I overheard once talking to her husband in the lobby of a Broadway show during intermission said, "Life is too short and winter is too long not to own a fur!" I always take the advice of women strangers I eavesdrop on in theater lobbies. Always.

Anyway, back to hanging the zebra skin. I decided the best place to display it is in the bedroom corridor along a wall between the office and guest bathroom. There are picture frame holes there already so no need to add more and hanging there now are two hideous paintings the apartment owners most likely bought at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ (I swear I've seen them there.) They need to go.

As it turns out, it is not too easy to hang a hide. If you want it to look good and not damage it, that is. We considered attaching carpet tacking strips, mounting it to plywood, devising some kind of intricate wiring and / or having it sandwiched between two pieces of plexiglass.

We are still thinking about it. In the meantime, I am kinda getting used to it hanging over the living room  / dining room divider. And just in case, I am looking for new art work to hang in the corridor.