apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

love this! Great job :-)

i have that same ugly thing. Thanks for the inspiration!

It looks beautiful right now, but I can't see it withstanding even minimal use without quickly looking like crap. Carpeted scratchers hide wear pretty well.

Also, seriously? In the last five years or so, there have been tons of cat furniture pieces and accessories developed that are stylish, unusual, and fit into different kinds of homes. If anything, I'd say there are too many choices out there! [I don't actually believe you can have too many choices, but there are SO MANY!]

Very cool idea... but I'd be more tempted to recover it in a better looking carpet since that will really wear a lot better (unless your cat is declawed...then I suppose it doesn't matter as much)

Somewhere out there, there is a cat that would prefer this, but ours seems to really like digging his nails into carpet and rope. (And foam yoga blocks, but that's a different story.) It does look lovely though...I wonder if Flor tiles would work, or if they're not bendy enough.

visuallingual... i think that the reason it appears there aren't stylish choices is because the VAST majority of stylish pet furniture is so out of reach for most of us, in terms of cost.

Closertotheocean, I definitely agree with that sentiment, but to say that there aren't any seems disingenuous. There are many, and they've been covered on AT. I do hope that this month brings more DIY ideas that are within the reach of more pet-loving people.

Hmm. Cool idea, but I have to agree that cats really like to scratch carpet. A kitty condo made of Flor tiles would be awesome! You should get working on that, thursday. :D

Thank you for the comments. I agree. This solution isn't right for those of you who have condo-scratchers. In my case, Frances just sleeps on her condo. I'd love to see a scratch-proof solution as well.

Sarah

very cool! im inspired to cover the base of our two scratching posts in the same way (not the part where they scratch, just hte ugly carpet)

as for one good for scratching, i remember some months ago there was a great attractive DIY scratching posts on AT. Maybe a flickr search would turn it up?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/southof290/sets/72157603822221605/

found it!

SUPER cute! What a great room!

Ended up making my own condo for our cat with the help of AT: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/pets-dogs-cats-snakes-etc/petfriendly-furniture-customizable-cat-cubes-052505

Covered it in woven polyester (similar to the fabric on patio chair cushions) which I hope holds up to the scratching:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30160010@N07/

Wow spinningscreen that looks great, do you mind posting how you made it?

Had a friend build the frame out of plywood using the sketch I made:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30160010@N07/

Put a piece of 1" foam on the plywood top with a layer of Dacron. The top cover is made using a box cushion style, and is stapled to the underside of the plywood top. Then I cut and seamed the 4 sides together making a template by laying each box side on the fabric. I made these pieces longer than needed as I could then slide it up the frame and have it fit snug. The sides have no filler, just stapled directly to the plywood on the bottom and insides. Finally I cut an 'X' at the cat opening and stapled the tabs to the inside. Using woven polyester is great - no seaming or fraying!

A piano hinge to connect the top to the bottom was the final step. Really quite easy but did have some blisters from all the stapling!

Oh that looks great!

Thanks spinningscreen, it really does look good, did it take you very long to make?

A full day to upholster - I have a bit of an advantage in that department as my Father owned a custom upholstery business for 25 years (which I was obligated to work at on Saturdays). I'm guessing my carpenter friend only needed an hour or 2 to make the frame.