Interior Design Sense

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!)

I’ve come to terms with the fact that my white chaise has become a permanent dog bed. Visiting miniature dachshund Mo enjoys a place in the sun.
- Joanna (Kansas City)

I thought I would pass on this picture of Peanut (on the left) and Olive (on the right) at our Fluevog head office. Olive is just 16 weeks and loves my co-workers pup Peanut (3years), they are the best of buds here at the John Fluevog office. The sofa was an antique that sat in John’s first store, Fox and Fluevog in Gastown over 40 years ago and has seen the backsides of many a famous and non famous fluevoggers. I recently got it restored and recovered in this Peacock colored velvet. It is a perfect place to sit for lunch or to admire these Frenchies general splendor.
- Amie

My fiance picked up this little cat bed to keep out white/black cat off our grey couch.  So far it’s panned out for all of us.  When he’s not getting hair all over my pants.
- Zenon (Calgary, Alberta)

I hope this photo fits…It’s  a pic of a couple of society finches. The cage stands on a piece of furniture I got from my friend , from Ireland. I’m also proud of my book shelf and my plants
- Reda (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Here are a few of my favourite things… my Louis-style chair from Horgans, my screenprinted shoes cushion from La Cerise Sur Le Gateau and my little man, Rascal. He is a Pomeranian x Chihuahua. He is not normally allowed upstairs in the bedroom, but I have been sick, so I guess he caught me at a weak moment.
- Melinda (Rozelle, Australia)

Meet my cat Polo, who besieged my partner’s chair as soon as he moved into my flat in Lille (France).
- Christèle

Marcel the kitten at 8 months, riding her ‘elephant’.
-Julie (Singapore)

this is boris. boris is fluffy (ok, and a bit fat). and he really, really likes hanging out on my glass top dining table, even though he knows he’s not supposed to.
- Sole

The funniest thing about this, is that my grandmother was looking for her and she was in silence and acting like a real statue!
- Merx (Barcelona, Spain)

My sister sent me this photo this morning of her Mastiff, Bo napping on the couch. I thought it was perfect for Pets on Furniture. 
- Kara

Sophie LOVES this Cynthia Rowley throw on top of my black leather couch.
Here is another picture of my cat- can you see her? She is on the TV stand. ( It’s an IKEA tv stand)
- Meri (NYC)

here are two of our cavelier king charles when he was a puppy. he loves to climb everywhere on furniture!
- John

This is my rescued German Shepherd, Jet, on our new sofa. Fortunately he actually prefers the old sofa which we still have! There’s also one of him when he’d waited for me to make tea before sneaking up to bed.
- Sonia

This next entry had me tearing up. I’d like to dedicate this post to the memory of Sam. Jessica and her husband are very special people to have given Sam the care he needed.

Sadly our dog Sam passed away on June 11th. Sam had a disease called mega-esophagus which means that his esophagus did not function properly and he was unable to eat or drink anything unless sitting in a special chair my husband made for him, allowing gravity to get the food down into his stomach. He was diagnosed last summer and we were able to have an extra year of life with him, but unfortunately he did not win his battle with this terrible disease. We had rescued him about two years ago and he would have been five in September. I am so sad he is gone and miss him so much, but thought seeing his photos on your site in his memory might help a little bit.
The first photo is Sam, a Wheaten Terrier mix on one of his favourite chairs, the second is Sam in his “Bailey chair” where he had to eat all of his meals, and the third is a photo of Sam in his chair after I painted it and put fabric on the pads.
- Jessica (San Diego, CA)

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!)

Here are three pictures of my Italian greyhound Bailey and my mutt Henny on my antique daybed… or should I say THEIR daybed.  We had a feeling this would happen, so we also bought a Mitchell and Gold sectional for us humans.
- Rica (Manhattan, NY)
  

This is Freddie and Mittens on a sheepskin clad Wegner lounge chair @ their home in North East London
- Robin

Attached is an image of my cat playing around in my new ikea expedit shelves!
- Claire

This is Cole in one of his favorite lounging spots in my mens clothing store in Toronto
- Joseph

The first picture is Radar & Buster inspecting Herman Miller’s new Sayl chair, the second is Radar being a ham in the Setu lounge chair, and the final is Buster in one of his favorite nap chairs.
- Teresa (Milwaukee, WI)
  

Ramsey pounces around my small victorian apartment in San Francisco.  I found this Thonet chair at a small estate sale in Napa.  
- Katharine

This is a pic of our new cat, Don Carlos, in our new ranch style house in SLC, UT.
- Jon

Our dear Shirley – built for comfort, not for speed
- Colleen (Pittsburgh, PA)

This is my cat Mika stretching after a nap. He is a 4 years old Main Coon mix.
- Marie-Michelle (Ottawa, ON)

This is Summer whose finds the greatest comfort is sleeping on a clean white towel lain on a animal print chair.  We try to explain her that it’s not a real animal’s skin, but, she seems to feel differently.
- Collette (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!)

Meet Madison. She’s a 9 week old (absolutely adorable) West Highland Terrier puppy! Here’s Madi on a steel grey button back chair with a Florence Broadhurst ‘Aubury’ cushion.
- Annabel (Sydney, Australia)

I live in Torrance, CA with my husband and two cats Harris and Flynn.  The picture is of Flynn on our dining room table and Harris on the windowsill.  There is usually a nice sunny spot on the dining room table that both cats love lounging in. And the window ledge is great for watching birds at the bird feeder.
- Christine

my French bulldog Edwin on chair.
- Tone

Franklin loves his Wishbone chair!
- Sandy (San Francisco, CA)

Once again, puppy Jack is not allowed on the furniture, though little Gordie is. Jack dislikes our double standards, and protests by getting only halfway on the furniture. (He says he is not really on the furniture if his feet are on the floor). Jack has been watching too many I Love Lucy reruns.
- Priscilla

Olive makes herself at home wherever she goes.  She’s seen her at her Grandma’s house in Brooklyn!
- Dennis (NY, NY)

Hmmm. not sure I like pets on furniture.But , I love to decorate as much as I love my dog.
- Theresa

This is ‘Tilly’, who started life on a dairy, but now enjoys the life of a spoilt, indoor cat.
- Zara (NSW Australia)

This is one of my 4 kitties, Penelope. She is on a 4-drawer chest in my entryway.
- Lana

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 lovely, little Doris, who arrived at my house today. She is absolutely beautiful, woolen like a sheep. Very playful and cuddly.
- Janne (Tvedestrand, Norway)

This is” Homie” in our home back in UK. He used to rock the chair while he is grooming himself
- Tuba

I am attaching here the pictures of our cats – Tigra (female Tiger and Zorro.
- Belma

Zac
German Shorthaired Pointer cross?
Rescued at 3months old in 2005 after being dumped in a park with his 3 sisters.
Loved and Adored by Nick & Dave of Sydney Australia.
Later a (younger) big brother to Chloe, our German Wirehaired Pointer rescued in 2008 age 5.
Zac unfortunately was hit by a car 12 months ago.
R.I.P young man. Xxo
- David

This is my Addy enjoying our new couch I didn’t realize how much she would love the couch, but apparently it now belongs to her…..not me!
- Dani (Sunset Beach, CA)

This comforter I just finished – Indonesian Batiks called the ‘Circle in the Square’. The dog is my toy poodle – who actually owns the bed.
- Shannon (Denver, Colorado)

This is Yorkie who is half Fox Terrier/half Jack Russell. He is having a regal moment!
- Dinah (Auckland, New Zealand)

This is my dog Buddy with his toy dog on the couch on board our boat.
- Liz (Dublin, Ireland)

Last year somewhere in August I was going through your pets on furniture pictures and that same day I went to a shelter and came home with Droopy a few hours later
- Elfya

Here is a picture of my dog Pinky enjoying our living room in San Diego, CA!
- Leslie

Ginger, half Siamese half Rag Doll, about to jump down from an antique chest of drawers purchased in Hyde Park, New York.
- Nancy

Ranger
- Nan (Bowling Green, KY)

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 a recent picture of our new home and our cat, cookie, on our bed… The background print is a taste of a new product we are working on to follow the success of our sticker…
- Fabien (France)

Iman loves lounging on this sofa.
- Adrian (Antipolo City, Philippines)

Here are my dogs in my Brooklyn brownstone. The boxer is Mugsy and the puggle is Klaus. Mugsy is on the sofa and Klaus is looking down a very dramatic stair. (Photos: Peter Margonelli)
- Jessica

The images show our kitchen in Oslo, Norway. Our cat, Ferdinand loves the kitchen table! *smile*
- Lidyll
  

Attached is my rescue pup. Her name is Little and she loves to snuggle up and nap on the bed.
- Jen (Scottsdale, AZ)

Sparky sure loves dominating and hanging out on our couch when it’s time for us to catch our favourite TV show.
- Joanne (Geneva)

I’ve found a great – well, I think it’s great – photo of Achilles for you. He sure loved that bowl. As soon as he saw it, he jumped right in – despite it looking like the most uncomfortable place to nap.
- Meghan

Lydia and Ui Maka in their favorite place. Bed.
Booger Kitty contemplating the papasan (thru a very dirty window) in her My Little Pony T-shirt. 
- Kelly (Claremont California)

Cole is on our sofa which we try to cover to protect to no avail!‏
- Cecilia

I live in SW colorado in a small town along the river…my dog is an 8 year old maltese named Misha…I love to decorate and work in fiber making clothing and accessories for the home…
- Rosalyn (Colorado)

Scout
- Kristin

After yesterday’s amazing renovation I thought I’d share another. This time though it’s teeny tiny and on a shoe string budget. Alexey emailed to share this soviet era apartment re-do by interior decorator Natalja Radchenko in the Latvian capital of Riga.

The apartment belongs to a middle aged Russian literature teacher who has inherited it from his parents and who had quite an utopian idea to transform a one bedroom 40 sq m living space located in a depressing soviet project building into something at least slightly resembling Riga old town last century apartments with high ceilings and wooden floors. Her main goals were to create (an illusion) of space and not to lose apartment’s functionality.

What she did:

- Eliminated all the doors, leaving only one – to the bathroom;
- Created wide openings;
- Optically expanded space with wide cornices and plinths;
- Chose neutral tones for walls and black varnish for the floor.

The result:

- Dining room/space with kitchen work space;
- Living room, semi-integrated into bedroom (owner’s requirement);
- Small dark corridor transformed into wide hall leading to dining/kitchen, where wall is turned into a kind of gallery of owner’s family relics;
- Tiny wardrobe between bedroom and entrance hall.
In addition to small size, another obstacle was that the owner had a very limited budget. Hence, not a single piece of furniture is just bought (except for kitchen appliances and bathroom); almost every item is redone and redesigned. For example, a sofa in a living room is bought in a second hand furniture store (and was originally disgustingly pink), bed – on the closing hotel auction, dinner table is inherited from owner’s parents, and almost all of the lamps are found on furniture dumps. Visual appearance of every item was changed via being repainted, overlayed with another fabric, accessorized. It was not a classical restoration, rather an ironical one – e.g. chair in the hall is overlayed with canvas bag fabric.

First time visitors claim that the effect of entering the apartment from a dark claustrophobic staircase is probably similar to entering Narnia chronicles wardrobe – the contrast is astonishing.

So much more after the jump! Definitely not what comes to mind when the words “soviet era” are used. Inspiring renovation. Natalja’s website is under construction but I’m sure Alexey will let us know when it’s live.

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 Queso, laying on an ikea chair in our cozy New York city apartment
- Nicole

Here’s “Kittie” on our guest bed.  The minute I put that orange pillow on there she made it her new sleeping spot.
- Stacey (Beaumont, TX)

Hope these might work!!  All in Birmingham Alabama, with the Boston Terriers from a house in Alys Beach Florida!
- Jean

My husband and I are vinyl junkies (we own a record store) and we found this BEAUTIFUL record player cabinet in perfect working condition on our five year wedding anniversary at one of our favorite thrift stores. uhhh meant to be or what?! Anyway, one of our kitties, Tiny, loves to take a nap there…I’m sure it helps that her new friend (our bird Pacino) is right nearby.
- Ashley

Attached are 2 photos of my rescued Miniature Pinscher, Canon, lounging on my furniture.  He has free reign of the whole house and he will sleep wherever he lands. 
- Ryan (Joliet, IL)

This is Olive, our Jack Russell Terrier. When we have our coffee she makes sure she is at eye level while giving us accusatory looks: “Enough about you – back to me!”
- Marjan

This is Morkie the morkie (maltese and yorkie mix)
- Kendall and Thomas (Springfield, Virginia)

He is not my cat. But he sometimes visit my house in the middle of his walk. He would still be pleasant to sit on a soft cloth.
- Rie (Yokohama, Japan)

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!)

I am sending you some photos from an interior design job I did in Santa Monica, CA.  I brought my dog George along for the photo shoot and my photographer, (who I wanted to focus on the room!) just could not get enough of him!!  He actually took a whole slew of pictures of just my dog (of which I have spared you!)
- Emily

I don’t have a pet of my own (yet – a grey staffy is on the wishlist!) but couldn’t resist sending in this photo of Ruby, the house cat at the amazing Araucaria house in Byron Bay, NSW. The owners operate the house as a B&B, my partner and I stayed there over the Easter break and fell in love with Ruby who went to sleep at the foot of the bed each night. The house was pretty spectacular as well!
- Kim (Sydney, Australia)

This is Lollipop lounging on a beautiful LA day. I picked up this piece at a flea market in Austin, Texas. The seller, a woman in her 50s had retrieved it from her parents’ belongings. She took off the original green upholstery (ouch, I always wished I had it with the original cover). At first I didn’t like the print but I’ve worked it into my belongings.
- Leslie

Bonnie on Ikea Kramfors and a world market chair‏
- Erika

She is Zoe, and I send this pictures from Italy.
- Roberta

This is our cat Minnie, soaking up the sun on my grandmother’s hope chest that I topped with a little cushioning a number of years ago.
- Cheryl (Halifax, NS)

Ike on an $8 estate sale find. His favorite spot for deep and serious thinking.
- Huong (San Jose)

This picture features our bedroom after redecoration, bed is from IKEA (not available anymore), Bailey, our Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier is still convinced its all hers
- Christina and Roland (Berlin, Germany)

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!)

Before I begin with the photos, I had to mention how excited I am that my pets of furniture series was mentioned in the latest issue of Modern Dog magazine!

So keep sending in those entries people!!! Ok, now on with the show.

Meet Max, my gorgeous red tomcat, fast a sleep after “a night on the town” on my round wicker chair. When it is not taken, this is the perfect place to lounge with a good book and a cup of cappuccino.
- Sandra

This is Grigio enjoying some late afternoon sun.
- Linnea

Baylee cozy on her leather sofa…enjoying her afternoon.
- Debra (Seattle)

I have two cats, Tulip and Nigella. In the first photo they are lying on “their” chair. Tough life…

The second photo only includes Tulip.
- Anne

Here is Vassourinha again! this morning before i left home i was searching for her and i couldn’t find her… suddently i see something between the photos and the monkeys.
- Vilma (Portugal)

These are brothers by adoption, Seamus and Ronan, doing what they do best on a summer day following a romp in the foothills.
- Rai (Salt Lake City, UT)

We make rustic furniture (benches, coatracks, bookshelves, pet feeders, consoles, etc) and of course ‘harvest tables’ in a very small home-based business called Rustic Benches located just outside Perth, Ontario, just about 40 minutes outside Ottawa. We always ask our clients to send photos of the pieces we make once it’s settled into their home. This was a great one we got back. Obviously the cat approved of the new purchase.
- Star

And because I did not get many photos for this week’s pet post, I snapped one this morning that I thought I’d include. Now that it’s warm out I always have all the windows open and the cats LOVE it. Here are 3 of my herd, Phoebe, Felix and Edgar, enjoying the warm air from the front window. (I had to remove all my knick knacks off that wooden shelf as it is now the favourite hang out to watch for birds).

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!)

Lex just loves sitting on top of this rustic buffet where he can enjoy a nice courtyard view… or simply sleep and dream of being at least as high as we are
- Nelly

Here is our dog Ouray on our vintage green reading chairs. We found these chairs at a garage sale for $30, and immediately shaped our living room around them. And as you can see Ouray agrees on how comfortable they are.
- Sam & Candace (Pella, Iowa)

JD the 7 month old Phalene lounging in our Cotswold Cottage.  The couch is from Finland.  JD fancies himself more French than Scandinavian, or English, for that matter.
- Karena

This is a day in the life of Atticus. When he is not looking out the window watching for birds, playing with his little brother, or scarfing down “good boy treats”, you’ll find him doing this. The dog needs his rest.
- Cassi Lanie (Salt Lake City, UT)

I took this photo yesterday and thought I should include it (cause it meets all my rules listed above!). Felix, the beached whale (and #6 of my 7 kitties), sitting on my leather Eames chair next to the front door (it’s his favourite spot).

This is my dog Elliott on my Molded Plastic Eames Chair that my boyfriend bought me for my birthday.  I often come home from work to find little paw print on my favourite piece of furniture, but with a face like that how can I be mad? 
- Lindsey (Toronto, Ontario)

Our best pal, old shep taking a siesta on one of my recent projects.
- Matt

George hanging out on my micro-fiber SOFA-U-LOVE couch.
- Jen

This is Mammah. She is a Dogue de Bordeaux that I rescued 4 yrs ago. We joke that we should have named her Puddle or Gravy instead of Mammah. The chair is my favorite black leather Mitchell Gold chair bought at Midnight Farm here on Martha’s Vineyard where I live year round with my husband, stepson, and three Bordeauxs.
- Melissa

Attached you find a picture of my two cats, “Gato” (white&grey) and “Itchi” (brown). The picture was taken the day Itchi came home from the animal shelter three weeks ago and it seems they both
liked that chair! The chair itself used to be my husband granfather’s armchair. Its ca. 80 years old, very creaking, but we bought some Ikea cushions and I have to say…it´s really comfortable.
- Cris

This is my cat Kydd on his favorite Italian hand carved chair. He seems to love posing for the camera. What a ham!
- Tony (Minneapolis, MN)

The black dog is “Bella” my 12 year old Lab-Rott mix on the look out post that was once one of my Grandma’s chairs.   I can’t get them upholstered because my dogs use them to sit in a look out the window.  The brown dog is “Kimbo” a Boxer-Rott mix.  He is still a puppy, and is obviously ready for a nap!
- Dayle
  

Please see attached my parent’s youngest ‘child’ Buddy, a Bichon Frise. He’s very much a part of our family and thinks he’s human. From the vantage point on the back of the white couch he can easily watch for any dogs that may pass by on the street or see when Mum and Dad come home. His hand-knit purple blanket is a newly acquired gift from a lady who recently dog-sat him. They all live in Vernon, British Columbia!
- Glenda (Seattle, Washington)

This is Tabby No Bones Lazzarro. She’s resting on the couch after a long day. She really likes to watch MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. 
- Erin (Los Angeles, CA)