Zebra Sideboard??

In Montecito, CA a client who collected 50's fashion photography and Calder sculpture asked me to take the Jean Michel Frank style of my coffee table and redesign it into a sideboard for her dining room.

After a discussion regarding dimensions and functionality, we came up with a three drawer sideboard that had to be black and white. I was in her apartment at the Brocklebank Tower Apartments in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, we discovered a zebra skin on the floor. The challenge was on to upholster the piece in zebra with the manes going down the legs for maximum drama!

The challenges were interesting in that the skin she had was brown not black and she needed three more skins to match. After research, I found that the Bushnell Zebra has dark brown stripes. The Zebras were imported legally and had died of natural causes.

As you may be aware, the stripes are different on every animal and emanate from the spine. The stripes are smaller on the legs and neck and larger on the body. I tried to match up the sizes as best I could and inset the zebra and apply most of the molding afterwards. The skin was thick and a challenge to work with. When working with leather, there can be no mistakes. For more information contact: mws@mwsdesinghouston.com