Live Leatha.

I saw this today on Materia and it was really fascinating.  Studio Art, an Italian-based company, designs unique materials and home accessories composed of natural elements, such as stone, wood, and especially leather.  One of their specialties are leather mosaics, i.e. mosaico in pelle.  I've seen leather used in a lot of unique ways- floor tiles (what's the wear on those?) to bar tops (your glass probably stays in place), but never quite like this.  Leathers are tiled into place on walls, sometimes dyed beforehand.  They are versatile, from really bold styles, with widely varying shades, to muted, tidy mosaics of one tone.  Either way it's a statement wall.  I love that they embraced the texture by applying it to a curved wall in their showroom.  People are going to be trailing their hands all over that.

And yes, while part of me cringes at the thought of using so much animal, I can't forget that leather is a part of Italian culture.  I visited a leather production house in Florence, and the whole process was almost reverent.
It's a celebration of leather, in a way.  Studio Art says it the best:

"...offering ancient emotions, essential fragrances and tactile sensations and showing just how much leather is a live element full of expressive meaning."