trophy room furnishings

[Green Chile]

For those who have built some trophy rooms and furnished them with interesting items, what are some of your sources for trophy room furniture and misc additions of art, culture, etc? I'm in the beginning stages of planning a new home and would like some resource ideas. Feel free to share photos. Thanks!

 

[318AE]

The Makonde in northern Mozambique do some incredible carvings on ebony tree trunks. I prefer the ones that are not polished. I have a few Masai spears I traded for a leatherman in 2000. The little Masai short swords can be an interesting addition as well. Look around and see what is local to where you are hunting etc.

 

[Jason Miller]

Collect art and artifacts from when you hunt, every trip to Africa I bring home a ton of cool items to decorate with. Furniture? Hemingway edition looks great in a game room.

 

[mdwest]

We’ve got limited edition prints of the big 5 by Anet Kruger (award winning South African artist) upstairs in our game/trophy room… I think they compliment things nicely and are super affordable… a handful of other AH members have them as well…

We gave away a set last year at our TTHA party (you might have seen them there?) and will be giving away another set this year as a door prize…

 

[Altitude sickness]

I don’t know what style your looking for but 1st dibs has high quality furniture. It’s marked high initially but they will haggle.

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/bookcases/?_gl=1*16v7eiw*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5uDIBhDAARIsAOxj0CETypI_yg4PQJata8DfFCD2iDHo7HtSdZ-2bhvOqKUb3bwljm4A_ngaAp-REALw_wcB&gbraid=0AAAAADhpJtVUNwT_CeNb9hoCjIQ4g_UVq

You can also enter a search for the particular style furniture, cabinets or bookshelves on Facebook marketplace. There is a huge selection of fine antique European furniture, cabinets and bookshelves. Cheap

You can get an armoire that would cost $30k to make today for $400-$800 because no one wants ornate Veneer wood furniture

1st Dibs and any high end antique store prices are high. It’s best to find a large volume antique store that sells everything. They usually have furniture at a ridiculously low price. I have a town an hour from here that has 10 or so large and small antique stores and a few antique malls. There could be a rusty axe or bucket sitting next to a 300 year old cabinet or book shelf made in Europe for asking price of $600 and they’ll sell it for $400

 

[Green Chile]

We’ve got limited edition prints of the big 5 by Anet Kruger (award winning South African artist) upstairs in our game/trophy room… I think they compliment things nicely and are super affordable… a handful of other AH members have them as well…

We gave away a set last year at our TTHA party (you might have seen them there?) and will be giving away another set this year as a door prize…

I remember the give away but I've been in your home 2x and have never been upstairs. I didn't realize you had a trophy room. I will pay more attention next time! I would be interested in looking at the prints again.

 

[Rare Breed]

Melvin & Moon in SA is the main supplier to just about every US supplier of Africa furniture and crafts. They are one third the price coming in about half the price of US even after shipping cost. Most people just don’t know this. @Kevin Peacocke put me onto them

 

[Flipper Dude]

A couple of old photos. Have been a few changes. The Roorkhe chairs add a nice touch, I’m thinking.

 

[Wiley64]

There is “African Trading Port” in Capetown that is the only time I have ever enjoyed shopping in my 40 years of life. It’s actually worth a trip to Capetown by itself! I was in there for 4 hours and some of the items I acquired are absolutely priceless to me.

 

[buffybr]

We’ve got limited edition prints of the big 5 ...

Years ago I was a big fan of Nancy Glaizer's North American wildlife paintings and I was able to buy #29/100 of 9 of her Artist Proof prints. When she still lived here in SW Montana, I had her sign several of them. I had 8 of these prints framed and on the walls of my Trophy Room and Living Room.

In the last 25 years, I've had to move 7 these prints to the walls in my lower lever to make room for my taxidermy mounts. I still have a mountin lion print of hers on a wall in my living room, but it will move downstairs when I remodel and raise the ceiling of that room so that I can put my mountain lion full mount up on that wall.

As for other furnishings in my Trophy Room, I have 3 huge plants, a pool table, some pottery that I bought in Mexico, and some old American Indian pottery that my Grandparents colllected 60-100 years ago. The walls in that room are full of my taxidermy along with 8 floor pedestal mounts.

 

[Nyati]

My whole house is my trophy room, so I like to decorate it with real african artifacts, not the type you usually find in tourist stores.

So far I have a ceremonial knife from the Kuba tribe in Congo, and two masks from the Bambara tribe in Mali.

 

[Rare Breed]

A couple of old photos. Have been a few changes. The Roorkhe chairs add a nice touch, I’m thinking.View attachment 726704

View attachment 726705

Without question they do!!!!! love them!!!

 

[Tintin]

What an exciting time for you Bryan.

I very much enjoy these trophy room threads.

I've posted this link for campaign furniture previously, IIRC someone here had dealt with them and been happy.

https://www.gurams.com/

Rigby have an expanding collection of art pieces.

Rigby Art - John Rigby & Co.

www.johnrigbyandco.com

In my view, the small embellishments really help make the space.

My recently completed trophy room was very much a shoestring budget project.

A few of the little finishing touches, that suited my 'rustic hobo' look might be of interest to any who havn't seen them;

^ The cabinetry (hand me downs from a friend) handles I made up from old 12 bore shells.

^ Laser engraved timber quotes - only one at present, but plan to add a couple more.

^ A bullet board - picked up cheap from a deceased estate sale. Would love to do a Woodleigh version one day.

^ some old frames, accommodating print outs on fancy rustic paper of some vintage advertising / catalogue pages.

^An eclectic arrangement of side tables. The top one belonged to an amazing local lady I knew who passed away last year - during the war she served on anti-aircraft guns defending London in the Blitz, once telling me 'I'm not sure if I killed any enemy aircrew, but I certainly tried hard'. The other is a WW2 hand grenade crate I found for $25 at a local antique shop.

^ My first dodgy attempt at making a cartridge display - a bit rough, hopefully a more refined Mark II will eventuate one day. Primer pockets drilled and tapped and cases attached with screws from below so they can be removed.

^ I'm fortunate to have views from the room, so have just set up my little Leupold spotting scope to keep an eye on nature. There are a couple of 'spotted and stalked' foxes that didn't care much for this idea. ;-)

^ I added a couple of little 'trinket shelves' that gave me some much needed space and were a great way to free up book shelf and wall space. I discovered that what I first thought was ample space ... was not. If doing it again, I'd seriously consider this style of shleving / ledge around the entire room as is sometimes seen in old homes.

^ I've vacillated on whether to put a small table and chairs in the room. Recently scored this one for nothing and made a new timber and glass top to accomodate the Game of Africa poster that many here would have seen. If it stays, the seats may be re-covered with faux zebra or leopard. Perfect for a spot of backgammon.

^ Some old suitcases and take-down gun cases. And as @Kevin Peacocke will no doubt attest - no trophy room is complete without a pith helmet or two. ;-)

^ There are certainly classier gun racks adorning the homes of many here, but this is my home made, redneck, pallet wood special.

All a bit of fun.

Apologies for the image bombardment - and not sure how well my ideas qualify as art or culture.

 

[Ravensview]

Love the term “rustic hobo” decorating style!

 

[Uncharted_NT]

"Vestiges of my odyssey" as I like to call them are what adorn my trophy room. Aside from mounts and skins and usual its all the random things from the journey - Family stuff from WW1 and 2 (medals, helmets, bringbacks etc), axe from zim, handmade machete from East Timor, Beer cans from the various African countries, gifts from the PM of a certain country etc. Old pith helmets from Ebay are a great one thats easy and adds a vibe.

 

[Firebird]

Have you checked with Red Leg? He has some nice furniture and decor items and might be able to offer some sourcing info-

 

[Red Leg]

Euros being, well European and so mounted since the 16th century, they tend to work well with antique furniture and a 18th/19th century style. In turn, both tend to work well with the same period art and collectables (in my case militaria) seamlessly.

We subscribe to at least half a dozen auction houses and have a friend in the business whose tastes tend to parallel ours. Africana can go very reasonably on auction sites that focus on estates rather than a that particular genre. There, you can often find pre-tourism pieces of tribal art for tourist art prices. In the top photo, acting as a coffee table, is a lead-lined Victorian cooler that could have found its way on safari, or more likely a field grade officer's tent as part of his campaign kit. Old travel posters pop up occasionally (also the top picture) and a hunting themed one often will go for pennies on the dollar in a non hunting related auction (this one came out of such an auction in the UK). Stained glass can also add a focal point of interest. The Fleur de Lis is also the symbol for our piece of ground. Original art and prints are where you find them. The large elephant "sundowner event" is a limited edition print on canvas by the late John Seerey-Lester. Next to it is an original painting of a roe deer by a German artist that we found in a tiny antique shop in the Shenandoah valley. The Texas landscape painting is an original by Morris Walton Leader who was born in Marshall, Texas in 1877. We have collected a number of Texas artists over the years. At the end of the bar in the first phot, you can see one of my paintings peeking around the side of the stool.

Admittedly, we are at the point when something comes in the front door something has to go out the back. Keep your eyes open, the kids will have an interesting yard sale one of these days.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

The Lions Den Butchery outside Harare had the most beautiful custom benches, tables and picnic tables, all for sale. I didn’t snap photos of the benches or separate tables sadly, but they also had various polished slabs of wood one could use for custom bar or long coffee tables, countertops, or more bespoke loading bench. The picnic tables was so incredibly heavy, barely lifted one side. Beautiful stuff though and would make for heirloom quality additions.

 

[BGGMKLR]

For those who have built some trophy rooms and furnished them with interesting items, what are some of your sources for trophy room furniture and misc additions of art, culture, etc? I'm in the beginning stages of planning a new home and would like some resource ideas. Feel free to share photos. Thanks!

The annual conventions (SCI, DSC, et al).
My amigo and I have picked up some very nice pieces at them throughout the years.
It can be a win/win deal. You...can actually see, touch, sit...and the outfitter doesn't have to pack, insure, ship it back.
I had 2 large Zambezi Tigerfish mounted on oval slabs of Mukwa that were irreparably damaged in an earthquake. Saw an outfitter with 5 of them on display in his booth at SCI.
I asked if he would be interested in selling one and he said:
"How many do you want, I'd rather sell them than take the chance of having them go missing or be damaged in transit".
I bought all five...at $50/per.
Replaced mine, and gave the others to pals who had always admired them for Christmas.
For reference...I pd. $400 each for my Tigerfish mounts in 1990.
I have also purchased pottery, primitive weapons, furniture, and area rugs the same way... by simply asking.
Best
Spike