Love It Or List It's Hilary & David Agree That One Home Trend Is Not For Them

Realtor David Visentin and designer Hilary Farr star together in HGTV's popular series, "Love It or List It," where they present homeowners with a challenging decision: remodel their current home into everything they need, or sell and move into a new one that matches all their desires. While they're no strangers to odd and unusual homes, Hilary and David are sometimes squarely reminded of one harsh truth: you can pick your friends and you can pick your house, but you can't pick your friend's house — or the distasteful décor they put in it. In the witty series, the two stars are often seen butting heads, but if there's one thing they can agree on, it's that heads have no place in the home — taxidermy heads, that is.  

Their mutual disdain for taxidermy is one of the little-known facts about "Love It or List It's" Hilary and David. Seeing a preserved animal on the wall is enough to make their skin crawl, and in one episode of "Love It or List It," they couldn't help but emote their disgust for the dead animal décor. Here's how the duo reacted to the sudden appearance of a deer head on their show, and the reasoning behind their beef with this beastly aesthetic.

In Season 12, Episode 12 of "Love It or List It," (via HGTV on YouTube) Hilary Farr and David Visentin stepped into their clients' grand entryway will beautiful tall ceilings, only to look up and find a large deer head staring out over the room. "Oh dear," muttered David, "Literally, oh deer." Hillary stepped back in disgust and both cringed at the sight of the animal on the wall. Quickly ushering themselves out of the space, Hilary covered her eyes while David said, "Let's go. Adios," to their dear new friend. By the end of the episode, the couple ultimately decided to "love it" and stay in their current home, but the decapitated deer was certainly a "list it" level reaction from Hilary and David. 

In an article for HuffPost, Hilary wrote, "I can just about handle a giant trophy fish tacked onto a wall, but the abundance of cowhide rugs under coffee tables makes me queasy and I am positively pukey when I see a set of goat antlers resting on a side table or used as bookends." Hilary's nauseated reaction might seem extreme to some, but for animal lovers and those who know that taxidermy in the home can present a sneaky pest control problem, it makes total sense. David isn't quite so outspoken about his feelings toward animal preservation, but he has dabbled in the vegetarian diet, so finding venison on the wall may disgust him more than encountering it on his plate. 

To Hilary Farr and David Visentin, the idea of taxidermied animals as décor is totally unappealing, but Farr still recognizes that animals have played a big role in inspiring interior design for centuries. While she wouldn't have any herself, Hilary suggests that fans of taxidermy explore the faux taxidermy trend. In her HuffPost article, Hilary Farr writes, "These creations, like the cardboard busts of deer, elephant, rhino, and moose mimic the realism of the animals in shape and form but are fashioned in a variety of materials, creating an abstract look and feel."

However, overall, the stars of "Love It or List It" would probably prefer that the three-dimensional dead animal aesthetic phase out entirely or that people will find other ways to appreciate wildlife in their homes. Wall art, photographs, sculptures, or animal prints are just a few ways to incorporate animal themes without harming any real wildlife. If you simply can't resist the allure of an authentic animal piece, a singular, subtle item of tasteful taxidermy might be acceptable in Farr's eyes, so long as it's not an endangered species and has been harvested in a way that's humane and responsible for the planet.