Leopard print has an impressive habit of being declared “back” every few years.
Back from where, exactly?
It never left. It was lounging on a velvet chair, looking fabulous and waiting for everybody else to catch up.
From fashion and film sets to boutique hotels and brilliantly individual homes, leopard print has remained one of design’s great survivors. It is bold without being bossy, glamorous without taking itself too seriously and surprisingly easy to live with. Use a little and it adds intrigue. Use a lot and it becomes a full interiors personality.
At Love Frankie, we are firmly in the second camp.
Our new The Pride collection brings together leopard-print lampshades, artwork, glassware, candles, tea towels and plenty of other big-cat beauties. Consider it your invitation to let the wild things into the house.
Is leopard print still in style?
Yes. Completely, gloriously and indefinitely.
Leopard print is often treated as an interiors trend, but its staying power makes it closer to a classic. Like stripes, florals and checks, it can be reinvented through colour, scale and material without losing its identity.
Traditional tan and black leopard print feels warm and timeless. Black and white spots create crisp graphic contrast. Jewel-coloured versions feel rich and dramatic, while pink neon leopard print brings the party before you have even located the glasses.
That versatility is precisely why leopard print never goes out of fashion. It can feel glamorous, rock ’n’ roll, vintage, contemporary or deliciously maximalist depending on what surrounds it.
In other words: leopard adapts. Leopard endures. Leopard looks excellent under flattering lighting.
Why Leopard Print is the ultimate decorating neutral
We realise “leopard print is a neutral” sounds like something said shortly before buying an enormous fringed lampshade.
Nevertheless, it is true.
Classic leopard contains a naturally balanced mixture of tan, caramel, cream, brown and black. These shades already appear in wood, leather, rattan and other materials found throughout the home, allowing leopard print to slip surprisingly easily into an existing colour scheme.
Unlike a plain beige, however, it brings movement and energy. It bridges colours, breaks up solid blocks and makes a room feel collected rather than cautiously coordinated.
Try leopard print with:
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Rich greens and botanical shades
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Hot pink, raspberry and blush
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Cobalt, navy and powder blue
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Mustard, ochre and burnt orange
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Black and white
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Warm woods, brass and gold
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Deep plum, red and burgundy
The better question is not “What goes with leopard print?” It is “What shall we introduce it to first?”
Begin with a Leopard Print Lampshade
A lampshade is one of the quickest ways to transform a room. It occupies relatively little space but sits right in your sightline, spreads pattern vertically and changes the atmosphere when illuminated.
Which makes a leopard-print lampshade an excellent place to start.
Place one on a bedside table to wake up a calm bedroom. Add one to a vintage standard lamp in the living room. Hang an oversized leopard shade above a dining table and allow it to become the main event.
Then there are the choices. A classic Luxe Leopard velvet lampshade with gold lining brings warmth and grown-up glamour. An Electric Leopard velvet lampshade turns up the colour. A Pink Neon Leopard portable lamp makes a shelf, side table or previously neglected corner considerably more exciting. A black or crisp white Wild Leopard silhouette lampshade delivers graphic spots with an extra reveal when the light goes on.
And if restraint has left the building entirely, choose an oversized cone, a vintage-inspired dome or fringing. Frankly, the leopard deserves a flourish.
Love Frankie lampshades are handmade to order in the UK, with sizes and fitting options for table lamps, floor lamps and ceiling pendants. That means the pattern can prowl into almost any corner of the house.
How To Mix Leopard Print With Other Patterns
Pattern mixing should look confident, not accidental. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to make a maximalist room feel connected.
1. Repeat a colour
Choose one colour from your leopard print and echo it elsewhere. A tan leopard shade might pick up the warmth of a rust sofa. Pink spots could speak to a stripe, cushion or piece of artwork across the room.
The patterns do not need to match. The repeated colour introduces them properly.
2. Mix different scales
Pair small leopard spots with a broad stripe, oversized floral or bold checkerboard. Patterns of identical scale can compete; varying the scale gives each one room to perform.
A leopard-print lampshade above a wide striped rug? Very good. Add a large botanical cushion? Even better.
3. Include a graphic pattern
Stripes and checks are exceptionally good companions for animal print. Their structure balances leopard’s organic shape and stops a layered scheme becoming visually woolly.
Black-and-white stripes make leopard feel sharper. Colourful stripes push it towards joyful maximalism. Checks add a pleasingly retro edge.
4. Give the eye somewhere to rest
Maximalism does not mean covering every visible millimetre. Plain walls, blocks of rich velvet, natural wood and areas of solid colour give your patterns definition.
Think of these calmer moments as punctuation. Not silence...just a dramatic pause.
5. Trust your instincts
If two things make you happy when placed together, that matters more than an imaginary decorating rule. The most memorable interiors rarely come from following a formula perfectly. They come from choosing things you love and giving them enough confidence to become friends.
Decorating With Different Colours Of Leopard Print
There is no law stating that leopard print must resemble an actual leopard. Nature started the pattern. Interiors have run off with it.
Classic leopard print
Tan, caramel, black and cream leopard print is warm, timeless and wonderfully versatile. Pair it with olive green, dark wood, antique brass and velvet for a layered, luxurious room.
Pink leopard print
Pink leopard is playful, glamorous and incapable of fading politely into the background. Use it with red for a fabulous tonal clash, green for strong contrast or powder blue for something unexpected.
A pink neon leopard lamp is particularly good when a room needs one slightly outrageous object. Every room does.
Electric and jewel-coloured leopard
Saturated blues, purples and vibrant mixed colours give leopard print a more contemporary mood. They look magnificent against deeply painted walls and alongside gold, glossy lacquer or colourful glass.
Black-and-white leopard
Monochrome leopard print is clean, graphic and deceptively easy to style. It can sharpen a colourful room or add pattern to a simpler scheme without introducing another hue.
Try it with emerald green, lipstick red or bright yellow. Subtle colours are also available, presumably.
Take leopard print beyond the lampshade
We adore a statement lampshade and have made enough of them to illuminate a small, extremely glamorous country, but leopard need not stop at the light fitting.
Leopard artwork brings feline drama to a gallery wall and works particularly well amongst typography, vintage finds and colourful frames. Tea towels put the pattern into the kitchen without requiring a complete decorating overhaul. Candles and glassware add smaller flashes across shelves, tables and drinks trolleys.
The secret is repetition. One leopard piece is an accent. Two begin a conversation. Three make the room feel intentional.
Choose pieces at different heights and in different materials: artwork on the wall, a velvet lampshade at eye level and glassware or a candle on the table. The pattern travels around the room without everything becoming too matched.
Because a perfectly coordinated room can feel like a furniture showroom. A home should feel as though an interesting person lives there.
Ready for the rest of The Pride?
Perhaps leopard print has already won you over. Excellent. Come straight into The Pride, where bold interiors roam free and the spots are plentiful.
If you are not quite ready to commit to leopard, introduce some Big Cat magic instead. Look for tigers prowling through velvet foliage, mysterious panthers, dramatic animal artwork and statement shades that bring the jungle indoors without anybody having to water it.
A tiger lamp, panther print or big-cat lampshade adds the same sense of movement, confidence and character. It is an easy route into animal-inspired interiors, and may lead to leopard eventually. These things have a habit of escalating.
Let your home go a little wild
The best interiors reveal something about the people who live in them. They do not apologise, blend obediently into the background or panic about whether everything “goes”.
Leopard print brings instant personality. It loves colour. It mixes brilliantly with other patterns. It can transform a forgotten corner or take command of an entire room. Most importantly, it makes decorating feel fun.
Start with a tea towel. Add the glassware. Find yourself considering a fringed leopard-print lampshade at midnight.
Perfectly normal.
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