When it comes to adding a touch of luxury and rustic charm to your living spaces, nothing quite matches the elegance of cowhide furniture. From hand-stitched cowhide armchairs to bold patchwork benches and natural hide ottomans, these pieces offer texture, depth, and character you just can’t fake.
Each hide is completely unique, making your furniture a one-off — no repeats, no lookalikes. Whether you’re styling an industrial loft, a modern chalet, or a statement-filled city flat, cowhide adds a raw, grounded aesthetic that bridges the gap between wild and refined.
At Smithers, all our cowhide furniture is designed in our London studio, using ethically sourced hides and built with bold, lasting design in mind.
🐾 Animal Print Furniture: Wild, But Make It Classy
Animal print is a tricky beast. One wrong move and your living room starts looking like a leopard-print disaster from a 90s soap opera. Too much, and it’s smutty. Too little, and it’s forgettable.
The secret? Balance.
Done right, animal print furniture doesn’t shout — it purrs. It adds texture, edge, and a bit of tongue-in-cheek luxury. From zebra-stripe bar stools to cowhide benches and leopard-print accent chairs, it’s about making a statement without screaming for attention.
At Smithers, we handpick bold-but-balanced animal print pieces, designed in our London studio to elevate interiors with just the right amount of wild.
🛋️ Putting Interior Skills to Work with Cowhides
I know better than most how tricky it can be to style a space with cowhide. One wrong move and you’re in wild-west cosplay territory. So I’m putting my interior skills to good use and doing the heavy lifting for you.
Below, you’ll find Smithers’ no-nonsense guide to styling with cowhide — how to keep it bold without going overboard, what works where, and how to make your space feel effortlessly layered (not accidentally tacky).
Plus, I’ve dropped in a few favourites from our Shoreditch studio’s Cowhide Furniture Collection to get you started.
You’re welcome.
Cowhide Armchair Accent buy here
🧼 Keep It Simple with Cowhide
I’d love to tell you there’s a complex formula to styling with cowhide — but honestly, simplicity is everything. Animal hides have such a distinctive presence, they naturally become a focal point. The trick? Let them breathe.
Stick to clean lines, uncluttered layouts, and neutral colour palettes. That way, your cowhide piece stands out for the right reasons — adding texture and character without clashing with the rest of the room.
Let the hide do the talking. You just keep everything else calm, cool, and classic.
❌ Please Don’t Overdo It
This should be a hard rule when styling with cowhide furniture: less is more. Animal print already carries serious visual weight — it doesn’t need backup singers.
Go for clean, retro lines that let the hide speak for itself. When the shape of the furniture echoes the boldness of the print, the result is sharp, not shouty.
Avoid overcomplication — no need for studded cushions, cowhide piping, matching ottomans, and sequin overload. That much drama belongs on stage, not in your living room.
Want to get it right? Start with a single standout piece like our Cowhide Chair.
You’re the one Cowhide.
Be choosy. Take your time. You could spend much time in this space – it must be good. Make sure the cowhide piece of furniture you choose is a great one that guarantees to stand the test of time in interior style. One statement chair or two accent pieces will more than accommodate your cowhide needs before slipping into overkill.
🐄 Where to Buy Cowhide Furniture?
Smithers, of course.
Our growing collection of premium cowhides and goat fur rugs is available online — bold, natural, and full of character. You’ll also find a curated selection of cowhide statement pieces at our London studio in Shoreditch.
Shop online or visit us in person to experience the real deal — luxury hides with attitude.
Cowhide Doorstop.
The Leather and Canvas Door Stop makes a trending fashion statement with its genuine Leather. Buy Doorstop here
Where to put your Cowhide Furniture.
ANYWHERE!! Cowhide isn’t limited to one space and offers massive versatility to many spaces. Most clients have incorporated cowhides into their living rooms, but I can confirm it also works superbly in hallways, kitchens and bedrooms.
Smithers Cowhide pieces have also proved hugely popular within the workplace and corporate businesses, particularly the hospitality sector.
Cowhide Bags – Rugged Style Meets Everyday Function
Handcrafted from genuine cowhide and finished with durable leather handles, this cowhide bag brings the wild into your weekday. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, with natural patterns and tones that make it stand out without trying too hard.
Whether you’re commuting, heading to the studio, or escaping the city for the weekend, this is your go-to carryall with serious character — designed in our London studio, built for wherever you’re going next.
Cowhide vs Goatskin.
Ok, so I know this has all been about cowhide, but I promise you goatskin is worth a mention. It is a close call, to be honest. It’s a bit like having to choose between Starsky and Hutch – I love them both, and both will offer the same classic style and benefits. The only difference? Goatskin is more hardwearing, so I have included it in the collection and this cowhide blog.
Goatskin Butterfly Chair.
This Butterfly Chair may not look comfortable, but it is the perfect chair for sinking back and relaxing with your favourite book. Made from genuine leather hide with a natural grain pattern, the leather sling is formed around an iron frame. Buy Butterfly Chair Here
- Comfortable
- Tan Cowhide
- Black Cowhide
- Black Leather
- Brown Leather
Cowhide Leather Butterfly Chair.
From our Logan Furniture Range comes the minimalistic low-seated Cowhide Butterfly Chair – great for sinking back and relaxing in with your favourite book. This iconic-shaped chair is available in Black or Brown Genuine Cowhide fur. As previously mentioned, less is more, and these chairs are an easy example to follow that theory.
If you don’t want to overdo the whole animal print effect, you’ll be pleased to know the Butterflies are also available in black or brown leathers. Mixing animal hides with genuine leather will keep your style strong but subtle. Neutral tones, along with a pop of colour thrown in for good measure, is an excellent way to compliment the look and achieve maximum effect. I am a big fan of minimalism as long as it is realistic within the home, and this is a style that sits well in the cowhide, along with some industrial decor to add a drop of oomph.
Cowhide Storage Trunk.
These eye-catching Chest of Drawers feature three stainless steel plated drawers for all your storage needs. The drawers are dressed in genuine cowhide and are finished with a soft leather strap handle with reflective stud detailing. Three steel clasps secure the lid, revealing two generous storage compartments. The sides of the trunk are trimmed with genuine brown leather to compliment the cowhide. This stunning Storage Trunk is made from genuine cowhide, is also available in black and guarantees to gain attention in any space.
Whether it’s a spacious hallway, cosy living room or masculine bedroom, our Cowhide Storage Trunk offers excellent versatility and style.
Cowhide Dining Chairs.
Dining should be two things – comfortable and stylish. Thankfully, our Cowhide Dining Chairs tick both those boxes. Available in either brown and black cowhide or vintage tan, black or dark brown industrial leather, these classic chairs look their best when displayed as a mixture.
The Cowhide Dining Chairs are also part of the Logan Collection – one of our best-selling ranges to date, which we put down to their classic style. Whether your dining decor is traditional, modern or industrial, these versatile chairs will complement every look.
Cowhide Bar Chairs.
These Cowhide And Leather Stools are the latest additions to our Logan Bar Furniture Range. No need to restrict the cowhide to your dining room – these look great on a kitchen island. The Logan Bar Chairs has also proved equally popular within the hospitality sector – bars and restaurants in particular.
Our new bar stool designs are available in two sizes a large Cowhide Bar Stools sitting at 80cm and also Medium at 65cm, which is a suitable sitting height for most breakfast bars. Just like the dining chairs above, they work very well as a mix of fabrics for a look that is subtle and effortless.
Real Cowhide Rug.
Smithers is too young to remember the TV series that launched Clint Eastwood’s career, but this real cowhide rug oozes Western charm — the kind that brings rugged luxury to any space.
Shop online or visit us to experience the real deal — luxury cowhide rug hides with attitude.
Cowhide Dining Room Chair
Meet the Logan Furniture Range — featuring our all-new Industrial Leather Dining Chair. Available in a bold Carver shape and finished in your choice of distressed Tan, Dark Brown, or Black Leather — or go wilder with Brown and Black cowhide.
These cowhide dining room chairs are built for statement-makers who like to sit at the head of the table. Strong, stylish, and handcrafted for impact.
Black Cowhide Butterfly Chair.
Cowhide Stool.
The Cowhide stool makes a trending fashion statement with it’s genuine cowhide. This universal design, can be used as a footstool thanks to the hardwearing fabric.
Not only is the stool a modern design, the craftsmanship is second to none. Our Cowhide Stools work well amongst interior styles.
Capra Rocking Cowhide Chair
It may look like cowhide but it is, in fact made from genuine goats skin fur hide, which is much more hard wearing and longer lasting than real cowhides. This on trend Rocking Chair is a limited edition piece and comes with a very comfortable square shaped seat. The chair is upholstered with genuine goats fur for added luxury. These eye-catching rockers are perfect for the living room, bedroom, kitchen diner and are even strong enough for business contract furniture.
Cowhide Footstool
The patterns of brown and white cowhides can vary from nearly all black, to nearly all white, to more equally divided with brown and white patches throughout. These can be bought from Smithers click here
Cowhide Armchair
Modern cowhide armchair and with plenty of room to curl up and relax, this chair makes a great feature in your living space. Buy Here
- Cowhide Armchair
- Brown Multi
- Prints will vary
Cowhide Stool
This stylish little stool guarantees to add a drop of urban style to any space.
- Fully Assembled
- Black & White
- Brown & White
Coming Soon: The Billy Goat Chair.
A fur chair with goat skin offers an exceptional blend of durability and comfort.
The Cowhide furniture Collection
I cannot recommend this new collection enough, and I hope my advice has been more helpful than hindering. If in doubt, shout in the comments – it will be interesting to get your thoughts on our new astonishing Cowhide Furniture range – despite my whereabouts, you can guarantee some form of electronic device will be attached to me, enabling Smithers contact!!
If you want to see more of our cowhide furniture, please click here to our store
Mr Smithers.