apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Ah, I just adopted the sweetest dog and she loves my slipcovered couch. It's a chore to have to wash it more often now than I used to, but to preserve it, I cover it with a bedsheet that is of a similar color. I'm on the lookout for a pretty quilt.

I didn't even read the article but what a great photo!

To solve this problem, my parents' dog has her own armchair. That and thematching ottoman are the only pieces of furniture she's allowed sit on, but it's all hers -- when she's using it, you're not allowed to move her to sit down.

We do what JulesDC's parents do - our dog has her own futon. We're allowed to sit on it with her, provided we rub her belly while we're there.

I'll be in the minority I'm sure, but I'm a "dogs belong on floors" kinda gal. That doesn't mean the sweet poochinis don't get plush cushions that match the rest of the house, tho. ;)

I recognized Polly and Homebug's house immediately!

Can't wait to get a dog. When we move into our new house (we are in the process of buying) I am going to ease my partner into the idea of having Pup inside the house, as well as outside. :)

I totally agree with darcidoodle though - Pup's do not sit on the furniture.

i vaccum like a maniac and use TONS of lint remover rolls. i dont have A piece of FURniture that has no fur on, with 2 super long hair cats its almost impossible. but at least my apt is always clean. gotta be.

by the by.. i found that to remove pet stains from the carpet best thing EVER is Lysol. yeap THE lysol for kitchen. just spary rub a bit and vaccum.

where can I get that fantastic vase??????

When the sofa got long in the tooth... I just couldn't bring myself to spend the cash on a oversize dog bed... SO I now have a beautiful natural linen slipcover which is eminently washable so drool and dribbles don't make me crazy. On my bed -- obviously not a dog on the floor gal -- I have a matching top sheet over the duvet which is laundered frequently thus saving wear and tear on the down.

I am slowly converting to leather. Doesn't hold the fur. Easy to wipe down. Granted the family room sofa has a rustic look to it (well loved couch), however in the years we have had it and the Spaniel, cleans up fine. Dog is bathed a bit and not really doggy smelling so that helps. Sister in law had 4 cockapoos and they lay like cats on her leather couch.

I also do the throw quilt on the bed. Yep, doggie is with us. However next dog gets its own bed. He hogs the bed.

Leather and cats is not so good, however.

I have five dogs (they're small! I swear!) and so my husband and I are obviously not dogs-belong-on-the-floor-type people. We're both big fans of Room & Board couches because of their stain resistance (our last R&B couch still looks brand new after five years, without the use of a slipcover). I've also learned that all throw pillows that go on the couch/chairs must be washable and we keep plenty of doggy beds scattered on the floor (Gordmans/TJ Maxx always seem to have a great selection of solid colored washable beds that don't fight with our modern decor). And, wood floors are a must. Other than that, I decorate how I want and often people who visit have no idea that we have one yorkie, two chihuahuas, and two boston terrorists. :)

I have a dog and a cat, so slipcovered furniture is a must for me, and all my pillows have removeable covers that can be thrown in the wash. I have a Samoyed, and his hair is the biggest problem, luckily my area rug and furniture is white (which matches his fur) and hides it quite well. My doggie is getting older and cannot jump up on my bed anymore, so now he has his own bed at the foot of my bed. I still share my bed with the cat though. I have a microfiber cover on the bed b/c I found that the hairs don't stick to it as much as most fabrics, and what hair does is easy to remove. I do have a leather chair, but luckily the cat doesn't seem to sit on it, so there are no worries about him scratching it up. I'm just thankful that my pets are not the destructive types.

another reminder to get myself a skinnylaminx pillow...

We have three cats and leather furniture. No problems with scratches, and the hair wipes off.

We also have a super cool scratching post (DIY, not tacky, and cats like sisal). The cats here never have to scratch at our furniture.

Its the fur on the bed that drives me mad. I will have to try the microfiber mentioned above.

Keeping a basset OFF the furniture. Hahahahahhahahaha.... oh my....yeah - that happens, just not terribly often. (Sorry, had to get breed specific since Polly looks so adorable on the leather sofa).

Aw, how funny to see my little pooch Polly here on AT! Pretty much every decorating decision we've made reflects the fact that we have two big dogs who get dirty and shed hair A LOT.

When we got our second dog Polly (pictured above) we became familiar with a canine behaviour we'd never encountered before - chewing cables. Thankfully, she didn't do herself any harm but now we keep all of our cables sealed away in a drawer when they're not in use. It keeps the place free from cable clutter as well as keeping her safe, so it's a good development.

Our primary sofa is a leather-effect one - the animal lover in me couldn't do leather, so I ended up spending a lot extra on a high quality leather-effect fabric designed to be extra robust - perfect for pets. It's easy to clean and pet hairs just brushes off. We have another small wool/linen sofa that our dogs aren't allowed on. Not that they understand the politics of being allowed on one sofa and not the other. We leave a sweeping brush across the wool/linen sofa when we're not around, because otherwise they get up on it as soon as we leave the house.

All of our sofa pillows are covered in washable cotton covers that get cleaned every couple of weeks.

Mangabanga - I'm always asked about that vase! Unfortunately I got it in a thrift store and it has no maker's mark on it. Sorry!!!

Could you share where your couch is from? I love it....and so would my bulldog!

Polly is a cutie!

When I first got my dog, I thought I'd keep her off the furniture. But the thing is, she's little (10 lb) and honestly, if I'm sitting on the sofa, I still have to leeeaan way over towards the floor to pet her--who needs all that extra work to pet your dog?!! So she's allowed on the furniture now.

I scored this awesome dog pillow that happens to match our decor perfectly. The dog bed lives on the sofa and, maybe I'm crazy, but I actually think it looks nice there. My dog sleeps on top of it and no fur gets on the sofa. Before guests arrive (or if I want to stretch out), I move it to the floor, and the dog moves too.

I am a FLOR carpet tile covert. With pets, I will only ever have these for area rugs - so easy to clean and inexpensive to replace individual tiles. Get the type that is for medium to heavy traffic.

Doggies not allowed on the furniture?! How is that even possible?! I have 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and I love that they are always in my lap or lounging along side me and my boyfriend on the sofa. The do shed a bit so I have a big cotton throw that I use to cover the seat cushions on my beige sofa and it works great. All of my dog-owning friends have some sort of throw on their sofas and for me it's SOP as the owner of 2 such loving and couch-lounging furbabies.

P.S. Polly is adorable! I love Bassets but every one that I've ever know drools quite a bit. The leatherette sofa is an awesome idea. Polly, I give you big kisses on the muzzlepuff!

Muff - the sofa is from a store here in Dublin, Ireland. I'm going to guess you're not close by..? :-)

Monica - Polly doesn't drool but what she does do is worse: she shakes her head and sends slobber flying around the room. Before we got her I might have had to clean a spot or stain off a wall once in a blue moon, but these days....

I'm lucky that my boston terrier doesn't shed much at all, but I do deal with not-so-clean paws, etc. I have a fleece blanket that matches my couch tightly tucked in around it. As long as I have an extra blanket just for him on the couch, it seems to stay in place.

We have a beautiful, 55-pound mutt who's got short black hair from head to tail. She sheds like crazy (especially in the spring) and we DO let her on the furniture. The best thing for us has been the FURMINATOR--a super de-shedding tool. Its website is true: it eliminates a ton of shedding, and Fin (our dog) loves to get brushed with it. My boyfriend's parents also gave us an Oreck vacuum that works wonders. Of course, we had to change our sofa slipcovers to black (they were off-white) and get an easily-washable coverlet for the bed. Now, Fin has her own bed--but we're too accommodating...so she still hangs out on the bed once in a while. Life with a dog is never that clean, but it's getting cleaner. It definitely changes any and all decorating decisions!

While potty training puppies...microfiber is your friend!

Our now 14-yr-old Lab has always been very well-behaved, not allowed on furniture, content with comfy dog beds. Except one thing: from the round warmish spot in the center of the bed with a few black hairs, we had an idea that when we left the apt, she climbed onto the bed. Didn't catch her for years, until one evening, when my bf said goodbye and left and I stayed, reading downstairs. As I came up the stairs to get a sweater, I saw the dog arcing through the air. Shocked, I called out her name, she turned her head, and Scout's honor, froze midair with her eyes popped open like a cartoon dog. She ended up somersaulting onto the bed, landing booty first with a yelp. Funniest thing ever. Haven't caught her since.