Naturally Stylish

The cold austerity of modernism is no stranger to the design shops of New York City, but some boutiques have been blazing a new trend: diorama décor. Where hard lines and minimalism once ruled, there is now an artful clutter of quirkier furnishings, including natural objects suitable for a Victorian curio cabinet.

"Interest in these items has grown tenfold in the past three years," says David Morsa, manager of the design store De Vera, which sells horns, glass insects and other artifacts befitting a zoologist's parlor. Tellingly, Morsa's title is curator, as if the store were a natural history museum. Some items are displayed in original condition, like the taxidermy eland that hangs behind the cash register at John Derian Co., an East Village boutique devoted to sea sponges, shells and other stylish scavengings. Other items have been given a contemporary twist, like botanical patterns reproduced in assertive contemporary colors. "It may be a reaction against clean white modernism," says Marco Pasanella, a New York City–based interior designer, "but it's also about enjoying the richness and elegance and just plain beauty of these objects."

Homer
At Homer, a home-furnishings store near the Whitney Museum of American Art, an anatomically correct lobster, hand-carved from resin, has movable parts. tel: (1-212) 744-7705; www.homerdesign.com

Ochre
This new SoHo store has chandeliers and drawer pulls fashioned from buffalo horns, in black, brown and pale. The pulls are made with hardware of brushed nickel or bronze. tel: (1-212) 414-4332; www.ochre.net

De Vera
A menagerie of glass beetles, flame-worked by Venetian artisan Vittorio Constantini, is at De Vera, a SoHo design boutique. tel: (1-212) 625-0838; www.deveraobjects.com

John Derian Co.
The East Village boutique is a treasure trove of flora and fauna, much of it displayed with a modern wink. Elephants, right, monkeys and other wildlife stampede across a series of square decoupage glass platters. Cache pots display delicate branches, top, and a vibrant crab is the centerpiece of an oval plate, above. tel: (1-212) 677-3917; www.johnderian.com