According to the Chinese Zodiac 2017 is the year of the rooster. People born this year are said to be beautiful, kind, and hard-working not to mention punctual (and they probably wake everyone else in the house up too). The rooster is also making a splash in Minnesota, with the installation of Hahn/Cock, the popular and much Instagrammed piece in the new Walker Sculpture Garden. Sebastion Joe’s has gotten in on the fun with their own blue rooster pictured above and a new ice cream flavor, Cock-A-Doodle-Blue. Could a reawakened interest in rooster motifs for home decor be far behind? Country/cottage french style has always favored chickens and other barnyard themes but feels a little tired and out-of-place among today’s more spare, contemporary spaces and cool color palettes. But the Walkers bold ultramarine blue version presents a male chicken in a new light—modern, unfussy, and kind of badass. This is no barnyard rooster skittering away when the dog comes barking. Here are some ways to welcome this new-attitude rooster into your home.
This fresh, contemporary pattern from illustrator Samarra Khaja is available as fabric or wallpaper and features a stylized, even mythological looking rooster. It would be fun behind a bookcase or in a cheerful powder room. Fabric, $17.50 per yard. Wallpaper, $60 per roll at Spoonflower
A ceramic dish with a plump fowl at its center in brilliant yellow is a fun piece to display, use as a catchall or as a conversation starting chip bowl. John centerpiece in glossy yellow by Italian designers Luciano and Alberto Tellatin. $329 at Houzz
Eli Halpin is an Austin, Texas-based artist whose paintings pay special attention to animal facial expressions and celebrating their unique physical attributes. The eyes of these roosters make you wonder what they’re talking about and the colorful combs make you wonder what barbershop they go to. $126.99 at AllModern
Staub cast iron enameled cookware has such a heritage look that you may think its been around for hundreds of years. In fact, it’s been manufactured only since 1974 in the Alsace region of France (where it’s still made today). This classic 5 3/4 quart oven is big enough for a crowd pleasing quantity of mussels, coq au vin or chicken and dumplings. $325 at Williams Sonoma.
This friendly looking rooster has a plump belly that serves as a good grasp for kitchen or dresser drawers. Vintage polished aluminum knobs $5.50 each at Etsy
by Laurie Junker
