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 me closeups of your pet!)

“This is 3 month old Bentley taking a break on my living room sectional.”
– Almendra

“So here are the photos all the way from Wasserburg am Inn in Germany (Bavaria) of an appartment which remembers the  18th Century, somewhat newer chair and a completely new cat: Harry Bertoia’s Bird chair and Darwin the Devon Rex cat. As to the photos of ‘pets next to the furniture” I’m attaching a picture of Darwin in his rare thinking moment; with the Random bookcase as a fitting background.”
– Maya

“This is Bella, our French Bulldog, she insists on being everywhere I am! Which I don’t mind since I love her sweet face.”
– Emily (Bloomfield, NY)

“Murphy is a female Scottish Fold with upright ears.”
– Maureen

“Here are Ramush, Olive, and Mirabel on a bench our friends Chuck and Tamara made, and generously gave to us when they moved to Tokyo recently. You pictured their cat in their new Japanese house a couple of weeks ago–I was checking out desire to inspire and thought: that looks like Tamera’s cat! It was. 🙂 Hi Tam!”
– Rachel (Maine)

“This is my 2 year old Border Collie, Umbrella. She uses just about every piece of furniture as a bed, but fits just perfect in our Joe Colombo chairs.”
– Saga (Los Angeles, CA)

“This is Jackson on the bed in my husband and I’s bedroom. He is only allowed on the there at night to snuggle before bedtime, but somehow he made it up there in the middle of the day and was just too cute to resist.”
– Jennifer (Corpus Christi, TX)

“Here’s my stubborn Russian Blue, Bear, sitting on my one and only eBay purchase just after I finished re-arranging the living room. I’ve been meaning to recover this chair for years, and I even have one new cushion just about finished. I know Bear with be devastated!”
– Brigitte (Chicago)

“These pics are of my best friend Shawna’s dog that comes over to hang out all the time. Her name is Petunia or as we like to call her Pootie. She is a corgie/chihuaua mix that kind of looks like a little fox. She is the sweetest little dog. We were having dinner and we just happened to look over and she was perched on top of the leather sofa.”
– Michelle (Austin, TX)

“Didn’t realize cat and living room were so ‘matchy matchy’ til she jumped into this shot. My husband named it ‘Lulu Superstar’.”
– Tracy (Dallas)

“Our newly adopted beagle/cattle dog mix taking a snooze in one of my favorite spots in the house. He has definitely made himself right at home!”
– Megan (Madison, WI)

I was soooo excited to receive an email a few weeks ago from Deborah Peets, owner of a new furnishings shop here in Ottawa (who saw me in the Jan ’09 issue of Canadian House & Home). We are severely lacking in decent furniture shops here – we do not have all the very reasonable priced shops like C&B, West Elm, Urban Outfitters, etc. etc. We have an Ikea. And EQ3. And that’s about it. Every now and then a funky shop pops up in Westboro or downtown and I can hardly contain myself. Now, these shops are likely where you will find investment pieces that you’d want to keep for a looooong time, and Green Light District Design is one of those shops. Here is what Deborah had emailed me about her shop (www.greenlightshop.ca): “Our aesthetic is clean and contemporary; our pieces from places like Buenos Aires and Cape Town are made of natural materials – leather, wood, parchment, cord, reclaimed cotton. The best part is we get to know the designers and artisans personally, we touch and try every piece before we commit. All our furnishings and accessories come from small production, designer owned companies; all have significant hand made component and the highest level of craftsmanship.” My new hubby and I were in awe right when we walked in. It’s just one amazing piece after another. I managed to pick out a few small things that I HAD to have, and hopefully one day when Jeff and I are done with our house additions I’ll be able to walk in there and pick out a piece of furniture (or 5) when we actually have some space. If you’re strolling around downtown Ottawa, be sure to take a walk down Dalhousie St. and stop by Green Light District Design – Deborah and her husband David are super sweet, they can tell you the stories behind all their finds, you’ll likely walk away with some gorgeous treasures, and while you’re in there, look up. A jaw-dropping restored tin ceiling is part of the shop.

Here is what I came home with: a stunning hand-painted table runner and napkins created by Carole Nevin from South Africa, a large black and white tulip vase (9″ tall with an opening of 9″), 2 of the most gorgeous and perfectly sized pasta bowls (I think I need more) and 2 side plates from the same artisan (Di Marshall of Wonki Ware, also based in South Africa).

moirabot	forestbound
mayramcpherson	Studio625
Cafédirect	niceandeasyantiques
mayalu	mayalu
Its A Shabby Life	Marianne@Songbird
Solveig Flittiglisene	mayalu
Cafédirect	farrcol
redefine_home

Senator Kabob Dole

Tara Badcock

Kirk Kempker Jr
abeachcottage

Strikkelise

Cafédirect

mseratt99

abeachcottage

I love gardening and really appreciate decent landscaping when I see it. I nearly had a coronary when Jeffrey of the firm Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture contacted us and I had a peek at his website. His landscape design skills are incredible and so freaking creative. His firm is based in Los Osos, California, and ‘he has a strong conviction toward a “regional style”, encouraging the owners of his designs to celebrate where they live and create a stronger connection through their landscape‘. I have a slightly different mindset living so far up north (unfortunately) that I love to use tropical plants (succulents are my favourites) so I can pretend I live somewhere far warmer. LOL. In any case, I’m not sure how feasible that driveway in the photo above is for Canadian climate when it would be covered in snow at least half the year and require shoveling but I’d LOOOVE something that non-traditional.

I finally had a chance to get to a reader request, and this one comes from Kristin: “My husband and I have a basement to floor. Due to an intermittently angry washing machine, we need something waterproof. We have decided that tile is be the best option. Do you have inspiration photos of tiled floors? This is going to be our second family room, so the tile can’t look out of place with sofas and pillows and dog beds.” I sure do have some tiled floor photos for inspiration to get some ideas brewing. (On a side note, one of my favourite durable flooring choices that I hope to be able to use in the basement of the addition my husband (teeheehee) and I want to put on our house is coin pattern rubber flooring like this).

***Larry, Kristen’s husband, created a poll to see which floor our readers like best – so vote HERE!

Heidi Lerkenfeldt	Eric Roth
InsideHomePage	Apartment Therapy
Nicolas Mathéus	Marie Claire Italy
Frank Features	GP

GP
Shoot Factory
Marie Claire Italy
Söderberg Agentur
Rachael Smith
McInturff Architects
Gunklemans Interior Design
Hus & Hem
Elle Decor
House and Garden
Ideal Home
Todd Yoggy