Interior Design Sense

I received an email the other day from fellow Ottawa resident Sacha that I was pretty excited about – another Ottawa reader’s home tour! Sacha and his wife Melissa are a young newlywed couple who, thanks to cash gifts from their wedding, were able to work some magic on their new home (which they received the keys for the day after their wedding – talk about too much excitement in 2 days!). Having lived in a 1 bedroom apartment beforehand, this must have been a bit of a daunting task on a bit of a tight budget, however, Sacha and Melissa did such an awesome job! I love the neutral colour scheme, the funky wallpapers, the modern furnishings and the wall colours (they painted every wall! and grey is my fav!). I am shocked they did not follow a common Ottawa trend of zipping out to Ikea or Leons and buying every single piece of furniture in one trip (UGH). They have launched a new blog and interior decorating business and I foresee much success for this talented couple.

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

This is Margot, my English Bull Terrier. She loves to sleep and eat. All day. All night. If you look closely under the chair, you can see Elmer, one of the three cats Margot lives with. That’s his favorite spot.
- Janne (Tvedestrand, Norway)

I love your Pets on Furniture posts and would love to see my Siamese Wedgehead boys Tyr and Thor on one of them! Here they are snuggled up together on my Womb chair, as they are every afternoon.
- Liv

Her name is Oakley, and this is HER SPOT. You sit there, and she will find a way to kick you out.
- Alex (Massachusetts)

This is our wing chair and our cat Thumper happens to be sitting on it.
- Bill

Penny is a year-old chihuahua terrier mix…the black part of her fur gets all over the couch and her white fur gets all over my black pants!
- Victoria

Our sheepadoodle, Gertie, lounges on the furniture better than most teenagers.
- Ellie & Amy (Chicago)

Photos from Houston pet photographer Robyn (her last bunch were in this post).

cow cat lounging by cow cat pillow (The cat’s name is Emmy)
- Andrea

A typical Monday morning, or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, not on Saturday or Sunday because my husband is home and takes the couch………………….
- Maureen

This is our 4 year old Boxer, Cali.  She is often a ball of energy, however, at this time, she was participating in an activity quite uncommon for her – relaxing!…. but as you can see, she still has one eye opened, just to make sure she doesn’t miss out on any fun!
- Kathy & Rob (Northport, New York)

Siggy, conked out on the couch! so cute.
- Trisha, NYC

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

This is our 2 basset hounds who couldn’t resist but to get in the way of a picture of our bedroom my wife was taking.
- Morgan (Newport Beach, CA)

My Australian Cattle Dog mix, Bailey, enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the couch in Carrboro, North Carolina.
- Kim

Biggie the pug loves coming to G-ma’s on summer vacation spending the day lounging.
- Cheri (Cumberland Beach, Ontario)

Bodi, 15-week-old Vizsla (littermate of William, from previous week), acquainting himself with the new Mitchell Gold club chair while attempting to will his toys to jump up and join him.
- Corrine (Toronto)

The pictures were taken at my house, the dachshunds on the chair are, from left to right, Hazel, Ernie, and Nooner and the Newfoundland is Foyle. They can’t seem to sit on any of our chairs alone, they all have to dog pile onto one. Foyle commandeers the couch and all the dog beds (including the dachshunds’) but seems to turn his nose up at modern furniture. Not comfortable enough? The hounds on the other hand can’t get enough and prefer the Bertoia chair above all. Better to scratch their backs on!
- Robin

This photo was taken awhile ago but remains one of my favorites. I couldn’t believe I caught not one, but two misbehaving pets on furniture! Enjoy Sammie the dog, and Nicky the cat.
- Pam

I thought I would send this to you for your Monday pet feature. 
- Tiffany

This is our 3 month old kitten “Virgola” sitting with nonchalance in our Billy bookcase trying to look like a candle-holder. We found her at the end of July in an irrigation channel. She was so tiny and cute that we had no choice but to adopt her.
-Teresa (Lodi, Italy)

Our cockapoo Ace on his favorite piece of furniture.
This is our other cockapoo Abbie laying on our couch in North Carolina.
-Alyssa (North Carolina)

This is my dog Mozi sitting on the couch that has been designated as his couch. He is a Great Pyranees and weighs about 120 pounds.
- Ian (Santa Rosa, California)

A great summer was had by all!
- Lisa (Nantucket, MA)

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

His name is PONCHO, he’s 2 months old.
- Maggie (Argentina)

My yorkie Cash on a aluminum chair from Interior Express in Illinois, interiorexpress.com
- Kacy

This is a photo of Don (AKA The Don) at a cabin to the south of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
- Wendy

This is our new Vizsla puppy, William. He’s 14 weeks old. He’s our third Vizsla so we know what we’re in for.
Photo #1 – I was folding laundry the other day when I turned my back on William for a second. The camera happened to be close by. I’m thinking that this spot won’t work so well when he’s 60lbs!?!
Photo #2 – We decided that there was no point trying to keep him off the couches so we gave him his own. It’s officially Will’s chair.
- Karen

I’m a big fan of your blog and wanted to share a picture of my dog Pucci with you. She’s fresh out from a trim and i shot her at work today on a chair that i believe is Danish from around the 50´s.
The sofa is a find from second hand store, just got it upholstered.
- Niina (Helsinki, Finland)

Longtime fan of your blog and especially Pets on Furniture. Unfortunately, my Ragdoll kitty Lola doesn’t share my feelings and NEVER lets me take a photo of her, except this one that I managed to snap while she was reclining on my Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair. Aren’t they both so pretty?
- Maggie (Toronto)

Sophie typically isn’t allowed on the furniture, but it was her birthday the day I shot this photo. I think she knew she could get away with it.
- Linda (Reno, Nevada)

This is Miss Kitty in all her obese glory on our vintage “mushroom chair”. It was my grandmothers from the 60′s and I adopted and recovered it in periwikle velvet. Here she is relaxing on our Portica Canopy Bed from Room and Board. She has been our buddy since we found her on the steet while I was in college, much like the rest of our furniture!
- Jessica

Our Short-Legged Wolf (mutt), Jenny, loves to both sit on –and shed on– most of the furniture in our home. These are some of her more common locations.
- Ryann and Alex (Redondo Beach, CA)

  

This is my cat Velcro. Sometimes he likes to appear like an object …
- Ana (Bilbao, Spain)

This is Bridget snoozing on our favorite chair. Love the color, and that the soft material is makes for a fabulous cat nap. Always makes me smile when I see her loving it :: even though I will have to clean off her hair!!
- Lindsey

I’ve sent pictures of Murphy to you before, so I thought I’d send a couple more… I’m way too obsessed with this funny little dog.
- Pia

This is Ebby, my 14-year old Jack Russell Terrier. He loves to sleep on this chair, particularly in the morning….
- Kelly

A little bonus…
The folks at Pet Lounge Studios sent in product shots of their bambu pet hammock. What a great piece of pet furniture!

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

Bootsy on his favourite chair, made by Burke, Inc of Dallas, Texas.
- Krisztina (Vancouver, BC)

This is our new 12 week old puppy Sallly…she seems to love our white, leather chair…I don’t know if that’s a “good” thing or not…I am going with not…
- Niki (Seattle, Washington)

Meet Wally, a sweet handful of Yorkie Terrier. In addition to Wally on furniture, I’ve also included photos of Wally under furniture.
- Tish

  

Attached is a picture of Henry, our 4 month old fox red lab, on “his” couch – the only couch he is welcome. He loves it.
- Erica (Dallas, TX)

Roxie in the sun on the vintage (Heywood Wakefield?) rattan.
- Sharron (Brooklyn NY)

Pippin think she is much more important than anything else on this sofa table.
- Jason

These are my pets: the cocker is called Nacha, and the chocolate labrador is Simon.
- Hugo (Montecarlo Misiones, Argentine)

My Min Pin, Sneak, strikes her best Mid-Century modern pose on a friend’s ottoman in Chicago.
- Aranya

Our three adopted kittens who are 12, 12 and 9 years of age but are forever kittens to us:  Jack on our Ralph Lauren duvet, Joey (Daddy’s little girl) below my abstract painting of her Dad, and Riley on my computer bench which I lean over to work on the computer so that she can have her cat nap.

- Sue (Naperville, IL)

That’s my cat Bambi. I was setting the table for lunch and she decided she wanted to be part of the menu, haha.
- Milla

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

This is my little angel Maggot, (goes by “Maggie” for short), she is a two year old Maltese Poodle X. Here she is having an (interrupted) nap in the afternoon light of the master bedroom.
- Tiffany

This is Lucy. She’s the newest addition to our family, but as you can see she’s quickly made herself at home. Here she’s sprawled our on our sectional in the den, flat on her back & snoozing the day away.
- Lara

Eddie, my 2.5 month old basset hound‏
- Maxwell

I came downstairs to find my two year old boxer, Vash, sunbathing on this chair.
- Arianne (Utah)

There’s Ginger, my fifteen year old kitty, nesting in an afghan knitted by my late grandmother on my sleek and incredibly comfortable white leather sofa. Ginger joined Me’me’ (french for grandma) in the great beyond on wednesday. She always was a very stylish girl.
- Krista

This is our 9 months old Beagle, Mario from Brazil. It’s Winter here so we have this king size blanket thrown on the couch to fit us all ( me, hubs, 12, & 8 year old sons), but Mario seems to believe it’s one owner only… Yep! 6 months of pure joy and hard laughing!
- Angela

This is Lelo. He lives with us here in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He loves to stay in the stairs… or to sleep at the entrance of the hallway!
- Liliana & Marcelo

I have always used animals in my advertisements for my products!  Here are a few
1 – My 2 yr old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Gunga always finds a chair to sit in no matter what kind! He really believes he is a person.
2 – Bono and Edge love to take naps on the mexican Otomi bedspread! They love the animal designs!
- Stefany (Los Angeles)

Pino the cat on a vintage chair.
- Hannah

This is my border terrier Otti enjoying a snooze on the sofa.
- Hellen (Brooklyn)

This is what Ricky does when we are away. I guess you wouldn’t want to be invited to my house for dinner!
- Jill

***** A little something extra ******

My name is Irene and I’m an italian artist. I’m a great animal lover and this is my passion is the principal inspiration of my art! You can find all my original paintings here: dimdi.etsy.com

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

Attached please find a photo of our beloved house mate, Stripey Cat, curled up in our bedroom. Stripey always seems to find the prettiest places to sleep – making sure the all surrounding colours match her stripes completely. Such a princess!
- Joanne & Alexis

Here are a few pictures of Toby, our 16 ¾ year old Yorkshire Terrier – an old man now but still the light of our lives. Of course at his age he is allowed on all our furniture (although sadly can’t jump up any more) and can be seen here relaxing on our leather bean bag and resplendent on the cowhide lounger!
- Rachel

This is typically where I find our Persian cat, Daisy, when I leave and return from work each day.  She’s sporting her annual lion haircut in this photo.
- Rachel (Somerville, Massachusetts)

This is Elvis, the only one in the family who ever sits on our retro chair.
- Vanessa (Cape Town, South Africa)

This is Yager, my 7 year old Ridgeback and Lab mix in Chicago.
- Daniel

Our greyhound Hawk cooling his lollies on our Dino Mark Anthony custom sofa. Hawk turns 10 on August 21.
- Sara Young (Austin, TX)

A few weeks ago, I was thumbing through the photos of the day section of The Guardian online, when I stumbled across a photo of this little cutie.  If you don’t know who Larry the Cat is, you probably don’t live in England or read lighthearted, non-serious articles in European newspapers (I fall into the latter category).  Larry is the British Prime Minister’s newly acquired white tabby cat.  He resides in Number 10 Downing Street which is where the Prime Minister lives and works and where important political meetings take place.  When he is not busy chasing and killing rats in Her Majesty’s Headquarters, he can be found perched on a windowsill contemplating grave economic matters, bounding down staircases in hot pursuit of thugs and criminals, or patiently waiting for the distinguished, political, bipeds to arrive at the conference room. (Photos: The Guardian)
- Kiana

Here’s my little Char Siu Bao (loosely translated to Barbecue Pork Buns) who is a 10 yo pekingese. I recently fostered her but just couldn’t let her go. She has one eye, buck teeth but is super sweet.
- Anna (Central Hong Kong)

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

This is our cat Greta from Spain. She is in our chair (her chair) looking for reading some book of the shelves.
- Virginia

Since I have no animals of my own (currently living a gypsy-student-life), I thought I’d submit a photo of this wonderfully colorful cat I found outside a shop in Lillehammer, Norway.
- Silje

Our pug enjoying a little bit of Seattle sun!
- Heather and Greg

In picture is my 3,5 months old frenchie Bella chillin’ on my bed.
- Sandra (Zagreb, Croatia)

When my dog-girl, Pumpkin, jumped up on the table this morning (free-pile find with a sheet aluminum top with hand-crimped edges!) I couldn’t resist taking the photos and sending them to you. (My husband made two of the adirondack chairs by copying the third one.)
- Melissa (El Cajon, CA)

Please find my two kitties, they are siblings and 18 weeks old now. The one on the lucite chair is Aslan The Kuching (‘Kuching’ means ‘cat’ in Malay language) and the one on the coffee table is Suri. They practically do not walk on the floor or rugs, they chase each other, hop and fly from one couch to another, to side table to my breakfast nook chair and table and to the kitchen stool. Quite a handful, they are my babies.
- J.

In the wardrobe, the black cat is Petit Coeur (little heart in French). On the bench, Miss and on the by the kitchen sink, Lipton her son.
- Maria and Co (Switzerland)

Below is a picture of Pony on the couch at home in beautiful City Heights, San Diego.
- John

Here is a photo of our dog Polly sitting on a vintage leather chair with a Madeline Weinrib pillow and purple cashmere blanket. 
- Melissa (Los Angeles, CA)

This is “Rosie” Biscuit…she loves to sneak onto the sofa!! Rosie lives in Merritt, British Columbia, Canada with her loyal family…The McCormacks
- Lynne

Attached is a picture of our rabbit, Otis. He is sitting on our family room chair, wanting to be part of things, as the rest of the family sat on the couch.
- Catherine (Warrenton, Virginia)

This is my college apartment bedroom. There’s actually 2 kittens in the photo, Beau and Lola, both just 4 months old!
- Alysia (San Jose, CA)

When I weary of telling my dog Walker that, no, it’s not necessary to alert me whenever someone walks by, I pile the couch pillows on the chair by the window where he likes to perch while “on duty.” Yesterday I walked in and he had burrowed into the pillows, and I was so charmed I couldn’t even yell at him. Dang!
- Kathleen

Coco and Daisy on an antique French lyre-back chair in the living room
- Sharon (San Francisco)

A few weeks ago Nancy Chwiecko (interior design professor) contacted me about a book she wrote with Amy Fernandez, noted dog expert and author. It’s called There’s a Dog in the House, and focuses on designing homes with dogs in mind, which I think is a very important topic as I always think of my 7 cats when I make design choices for my home. Many of you who have made it this far into this post have a dog and appreciate decor, and know it’s sometimes difficult to blend the two worlds. This book provides practical advice to design solutions to make life with your dog more harmonious. There are tips like choosing plastic chair (I’d suggest a Panton S chair) for dogs who enjoy a little nibble on a wooden chair leg, what type of flooring is dog-friendliest, how to design a dog shower, and there is a huge resource list at the end of the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to have peace in their home with their 4 legged children. (The book can be purchased HERE and Nancy also has a website).

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

This is our new 15-week old French Bulldog, Luna, on our bed (where she really isn’t allowed yet)…I love her smushed-nose profile. =)
- Kate

This is Jimmy! I work for an interior design store and my employer recently had her home photographed. She couldn’t leave her bud Jimmy out of the pictures!! 
- Alisa

I’m sending some photos of Miroslav, my adopted hyperactive stray cat. I think he has a thing for design chairs because he’s always chilling on our Eames or on our Sergio Rodrigues inspired… Here’s a capture of one of these downtempo moments!
- Miri

This is our Royal Cat who acts like a queen and treats her kitties like unworthy subjects. We kind of like her anyway, especially when she’s sleeping on our veranda like this.
- Linnéa

This is our cute cat Turtle lounging on our lovely vintage table and industrial Sebel chairs. Apparently it’s more comfortable than it looks!
- Jana & Nic (Melbourne Australia)

This is Agnes who loves to lie on the soft long-pile rug from late 60′s/early 70′s. The rug is from my grandparents home. The chair is called Mademoiselle and is designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara in 1956 for the Swedish factory Edsbyverken. The fabric on the pillow is called Pottery and is designed by the famous Stig Lindberg and the bookshelves in the background are the Ikea-classics called Billy.
- Sara (Trelleborg, Sweden)

I know the pet is supposed to be ON the furniture but Cosmo (an 11 year old female Border Collie/Lab cross with ideas of her own mostly) feels the best place to lie is always UNDER furniture -here she is partly under a salvage job bench (I found this awful looking wooden bench with great metal legs on the curb. I took it apart, repainted the legs matte black, ran the wood through the planer, sanded, stained, and varathaned it…and voila! Another Rustic Benches salvage job!
- Star

Attached are photos of our dog Winnie, a 10-year-old rescued spaniel/Golden retriever mix. She’s a sweet girl who loves to cuddle.
- Claudia (NC)