Believe it or not, this superfluous weed once resigned to cinematic Wild West shoot-outs is having it's moment in the design spotlight. During a recent visit to the trendy Playland Motel in Rockaway Beach, New York, I was taken by the organic sculptures found throughout the guest suite designed by Shanan Campanaro & Michelle Zacks. The tumbleweed they stationed above the upholstered headboard (above right) felt akin to the age-old practice of mounted taxidermy and horns, and it got me thinking: are tumbleweeds the new taxidermy?
Similarly to its horned alternative, the humble tumbleweed can provide 3D interest in a gallery wall arrangement, and its light weight makes it easy to mount. Photographer Megan Buchanan (above) captures a lovely incarnation, in which the tangled plant adds a sculptural note to a fireplace vignette, layered atop an antiqued mirror with a simple nail and string.
In a slightly less home-friendly, but no less dramatic move, Calvin Klein Home created an artful stack in its minimalist Highpoint, North Carolina, showroom (below), snapped by Lonny's own @CatDash.
The fossil-like plant has also been translated to a wallpaper motif by designers Cy and Genevieve Carter of Carter Design—a sure sign of big things to come for this alt-flora. Keep a look out for the sculptural trend and share your finds with us @LonnyMag.
