If you are a pet owner than you know that your animal probably feels more at home than you do. One of the best delights of shooting Apartment Therapy House Tours and store profiles is meeting the pets! Whether or not they perch themselves up on tables like statues or burrow at night in your bed — your cat or dog is just as stylish of an accent in your home as any table or vase.
1. Peaches stole my heart during the photoshoot at. She enjoyed playing my trusty assistant.
2. Gracie was very eager to distract me from the bright and colorful details at Emily’s house.
3. Olivia Newton is my kitty and this is her favorite place to cuddle.
4. I took this photo of Rosie showing off her Jonathan Adler blanket while visiting Harriet’s condo.
5. Yancy is the captain of Jeff + Joe’s home, but she’s really a big softy at heart
6. Ivy is one of four puppies that lounge around the Interior Illusions showroom as owner Mike offers up stylish décor.
7. Libby posed perfectly for just one second, as we absorbed the details of Leia + Jesse’s cottage.
8. Jack is one of two cats, that owners Kara + Ken share their sleek modern condo with.
9. Paris with her long feet and big eyes will greet you happily as you walk into the Cisco Home showroom.
10. Bug is another adorable pet, that appropriately posed for nearly every shot, as I shot Evan + Greg’s downtown loft.
When I decorate a home I like to believe each detail has style and purpose. Some of us embrace certain feng shui to guide our home into a balanced blissful environment. In my own experience, having a cat is not only a challenge to taking care of furniture but it has also taught me that no object or place in the apartment is off limits.
Actually, come to think of it, if you do have a cat or dog, then your home’s design is even that much more important. You may wish to have a backyard or a closed off front lawn. You may need to live in a private house versus a close-knit apartment complex. I know that when it’s time to move again, I want to find a place with a porch or balcony so Olivia can have somewhere to catch some sun and to do her people watching.
Question: Are you a pet owner? If so, where is their favorite place in the house?
Images: Bethany Nauert
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Namcha and Sumi love the chair by the window in the morning-sunshine and fresh air! http://bit.ly/gjiSln Namcha and Goober also like to hang out on the dining table/chairs: http://bit.ly/hTB0Rt
I have three dogs. All of them love my bed, although one gets too hot there on most nights and moves to the hardwood floor. But their other favorite spots are:
Maddy (a sweet, very mixed-breed shelter doggie--we had her DNA tested and they found traces of six breeds): an ottoman in the living room.
Pippi (a wonderful cattle dog/boxer mix shelter dog that we by chance discovered had been named Ginger by whoever lost her or put her on the street): a big, soft armchair.
Bailey (a 105-pound springer/golden retriever mix) and a real beauty: the holy cathedral of the kitchen. If you could only see the look of reverence in his eyes when I'm preparing meals....
Appearance is last on my list of important attributes in a pet. That said, Ivy is a drop-dead stunner.
I loved seeing all the animals in their homes. Our 2 dogs, Emily & Yoda, definitely delight in our house much more than their humans--they take full advantage of the open floor plan to chase each other and play fetch; they use the wall of windows to keep a watchful eye on the birds and other would-be invaders; on warm days, they chill out on the tile in the entry. Oh to be a dog.
i hope we aren't REALLY comparing animals to tables and/or vases.
Pets are NOT accents. Other than that, good post!
My Australian cattle dog likes lounging on my faux Eames lounge chair. I know I should make her get down, but she's so content there.
Here's a picture:
thedearhouse.blogspot.com
My Shi-Tzu likes to be just about anywhere he can see me. Sometimes it's right next to me on the couch, other times it's at the top of the stairs (if he's too lazy to come down them!). But the kitchen/dining area is completely, 100%, no exceptions, off limits. I saw that picture of the dog with his head on the table and gagged. Can't, and won't.
i love animals but i'm allergic to anything with dander ;-( Where's the pic of the Frenchie Bacon?
My beautiful cat Charlotte likes to sit on her kitty skyscraper and look out the window at the East Village. The skyscraper hardly compliments my decor, but it was the least ugly one I saw, and I know it makes her happy.
My husky loves to be near us - so his usual spot is in his crate (disguised as stylish side table) beside the sofa when we're in the living room, beside us on the floor while we're eating or cooking, and just outside the master on his bed while we sleep. Fluffy's not allowed on the furniture, which helps with my allergies.
I love seeing the pets in the home tours, too. It's true they aren't accents in our homes, but they sure are fixtures in our lives.
I have three Italian Greyhounds, and they probably appreciate the furniture more than I do. They are always either snuggled on the couch or under the covers.
I must clarify, I never meant to imply that our animals are accessories, rather that they add 100% even more charm to your life and home.
I know for me, if I didn't have my kitty, my apartment wouldn't be nearly as nice to live in.
I'm with Bridget, Bacon needs to be in this list. :)
I actually chose my interior colour scheme to complement my cats...its all white with cherrywood pieces.
Puss (ginger & white - my main inspiration) likes my LC4.
Lucky (all white) - owns my white IKEA sofa
my two foster cats, Aslan (a tortie), likes wherever I am, and Jesse (a tabby) lives on any bookshelf she can get on to.
I chose to buy an apartment with a large terrace purely for my kitties, and paid a princely sum extra for the pleasure.
"Houses should be lived in.
Dogs should be on sofas."
Mulder, my corgi/chihuahua mix but probably half fox!) loves to tuck himself between the sofa and the wall. If I'm working at the dining room table, though, he's right at my feet.
When it's couch time, he likes to alternate between snuggling between me and my boyfriend and sitting on "his" chair.
He's been at his "grandparents" this week because I've been sick, and I can't wait to have him home! This place isn't the same without him.
My dog Sparky.....loves, loves to lay in the clean laundry right out of the dryer I deposit on my bed for folding. In fact, I take the items that don't need folding right away and make him his own pile. As soon as I come in my apartment door with my rolling hamper he heads to the bedroom and waits on the bed. He knows!
i have five pets (i know): three cats (sophia, silvestre, and david bowie) and two chihuahuas (henry james and bea arthur) and they've all decided that the best place to sit in the house is on top of the back cushions of the couch, which, unfortunately, has not been easy on the couch.
Would love to have a pet..but have four kids instead... I won't lie there are so many dogs on here that I go aww I want one..then I hear a kid breaking something....and :(
The first sentence makes no sense :
"If you are a pet owner than (sic) you know that your animal probably feels more at home than you do."
What??
also, again please suspend quzhao's membership (above)
Feel good feed...
I wish my cats were more fussy, but they will sleep on anything that I wear and love to be in the closet leaving me with nice fluffy clothing :)