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 both pet and furniture takes center stage. (Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture…and your pet happens to be sitting on it). And second, the photo must be of decent quality. For example, if it’s REALLY dark or fuzzy (camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks!

“This is our family Shih Tzu, Coconut, propped on grandma’s couch in her sitting room. One of the few times you won’t see her in someone’s arms. They work well together, don’t you think?”
– Nicole

“I wanted to send along a photo of my little one – Javier Mascherano (my husband’s a big, big Liverpool football fan). Javier (a pug/beagle mix) has been such a naughty little climbing monkey these days, constantly climbing on laps, sofas and even the mantle! (OK, he had a little help with that one…)”
– Sharalee

“I saw the pics of cat on chair etc..it’s why I hope you’ll like my cat Keshi on my old orange EMU i did in pink now.”
– MadameBidule

“Pets on furniture submission!”
– Evonne

“Here is Gatsby, our mini-dachshund, on his 2nd birthday sitting on our Thonet bentwood chair.”
– Chelsea

“We have two wonderful cats – Suess (the one on the top of the cushions) and Esperanza. These are their favorite sleeping spots in the entire house – in the sun room in the front of our eastern facing bungalow.”
– Cheryl

“I’d like to share these two pictures of Scratchy and my sparkly stool. I love them both!”
– Helen

“Here is a photo of my beautiful Irish Wolfhound Fergus trying very hard to pretend he doesn’t take up much room on my 2 ½ seater sofa!”
–  Alexandra

“This is my mum’s chihuahua Kara taking a nap.”
– Kim

“I know I have missed this week’s post but maybe you can post Chen for next week.”
– Keith-yin

“I have been reading your blog for ages now, and I am a true fan of “Pets on furniture”. So now I finally decided to send you a mail with pictures of the two most adorable dogs! First, meet Cindy. She is a 4 year old wirehaired dachshund. She lives with my brother, his fiancé and their little daughter. And her favorite spot at the time is in the firewood basket on top of a fluffy carpet. Since the new baby came there is not room for Cindy on the couch anymore, and this is the nearest she’ll get 🙂 She LOVES it in there! And then you can meet the love of my life, Lilo. She is a 2 1/2 year old Staffordshire bull terrier. The most loving, cuddling and big hearted dog there is! You will never meet a dog quite like her<3 She unfortunately does not live me anymore, but there isn’t a day when I don’t think about her! On the first picture with her ears up she is just “chillin” on the couch – that she is not allowed to be on – while I am in the other room. Picture two; baby gets busted and puts her cute face on.”
– Caroline

“This is my smooth English cream mini dachshund Shira, who was raised with our cats and has some identity issues – and her son Frisco, who seems to understand the purpose of a sofa better than his mom does!”
– Clarice

“About an hour after my gorgeous new wingback chair was delivered, Olivia staked her claim to it.”
– Averill

“My photo is of our recent addition to the household, Dangercat. A neighborhood stray who decided to stay since he matched the decor.”
– Sandi

“I love this concept, so thought I’d share a few of my own photos. Here’s a few pics of my terrier mutt Sherlock, on various pieces of furniture he has commandeered around the apartment.”
– Nina

“I have one more ‘pets on furniture’ submission for your consideration. Whenever we go to my aunts farm, there is yet another cat in the house.  This was one of the first times I’d met Ginger, camouflaged in her natural environment.”
– Matt

“After testing all the various spots, Robbie has chosen his optimum sleeping spot.”
– Susan

Surprisingly Jo and I have never blogged about interior design superstar Todd Alexander Romano, especially since his designs have been included in many issues of Elle Decor. Here’s a little bit from his bio: “Todd is best known for his eclectic and youthful approach to traditional high-end interior design. He likes clean, classic backgrounds, be it either traditional or modern architecture with the use of fresh colors, comfortable seating, good lighting, great artwork and elements that add a touch of whimsy that ultimately reflects the owner’s personality. He adeptly mixes fine antiques, custom upholstery and modern elements to create environments that are above all exciting, appropriate and comfortable.” I love that his designs are a mix of classic and modern, and he doesn’t shy away from bold colours and patterns. He is sooooo inspirational.

The portfolio of interior stylist Leslie Siegel is so inspiring. Makes me want to rearrange my entire house. Leslie believes that less is more – except when more is better – and that inspiration is everywhere. Amen to that.

I admire the wonderful photography of Bilyana Dimitrova, whose photos of Karim Rashid’s home I featured quite some time ago.  Beautiful composition that takes advantage of sunlight and shadows.

  
  
  
  
  

It’s time for another edition of the great gift challenge (a special campaign with partners Martha Stewart and eBay), where Jo and I scour eBay looking for the perfect Christmas gifts for our loved ones. This week the budget for the gift was $150 (excluding shipping). I purchased something last week for my twin sister Julia, so this week I thought I’d look for something for my younger sister Jen. She’s in her late twenties and it was her wedding that I attended in Vegas last weekend. Her and her new husband Dave bought a house a couple of years ago and ended up running out to a couple of boring furniture stores and bought just about everything they needed to furnish their home. I was disappointed that they didn’t go out and shop vintage to try and find some unique and funky pieces. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to find them that funky something. I thought mid-century items would suit their style so I went searching eBay and found quite a few items I thought they’d love:

Lighting is often neglected in a new home and the sputnik chandelier would suit so many rooms in my sister’s home, and it’s such so versatile. Speaking of versatility, the trolley is a great piece that could be used in a bathroom to hold towels and toiletries, in a dining or living room as a bar, in the office to hold notebooks and other office supplies. The Eames era wall shelves would be perfect in her office or in their media room in the basement to hold books and knickknacks. And lastly, the teak stackable tables, useful when she has guests over and needs little tables for drinks and snacks. I was totally stuck on which one to bid on, until I came across this:

It’s a replica Kartell Componibili storage table that the seller picked up at auction and was told it was purchased in the 70s. I have always loved the Componibili but have never come across one here so when I found this one being sold by an eBay seller who is located here in Ottawa (they have an incredible mid-century shop near my home that I always have to stop at) I had to jump on it. It was listed as a Buy It Now for $199 with a “Make an Offer” option. So I went for it, and sent them an offer of $150 and it was accepted! The best part was I was able to drive the 10 minutes to their shop and pick it up, saving on shipping costs. Once I picked it up I realized this table would be SO ADORABLE in my niece’s bedroom as storage for her toys and would suit her very vintage bedroom that my sister has recently been redecorating. So now I’m torn. Perhaps I will solve this problem simply by keeping it for myself. 😉 This one will be tough to wrap due to it’s size, so I’m thinking about finding a big red velvet “Santa sack” and putting it in that with a huge white or black bow tied around the middle. Another gift done! Stay tuned next week for Jo’s $300 purchase. And don’t forget that part of this challenge involves you! If you are a resident of the U.S., head on over to this site and enter to win a $1000 eBay gift voucher. Now THAT would be a blast to spend.