Pet-Friendly Accomodations

I have two dogs that I haven't told you much about to this point. Sadly, just four months ago, I had three dogs prior to losing my oldest (and my first) greyhound to cancer. Chester was a sweet man, so this post is in honor of him.

Chester "Man" Culp June 1999-December 2010

 

So when I had three dogs in just 1100 square feet, I needed a place to escape the pups. That was hard to do! Not only that, but they were pretty destructive when I first moved in. I hardly ever use my bottom floor (unless it's for a quick run to the bathroom on the way in/out the door), but the dogs were forced to use it to access the patio/yard for their own potty time. With that in mind, I made the guest bedroom The Dog Room. This room has gone through quite a metamorphosis in less than a year, it's been changed numerous times; hopefully, that's all going to change soon. Brewster, Chelsea, you hear that? Mom doesn't need any reasons to change the room yet again!

First, there were the leftovers from my guest room in my previous house. It looked fabulous, but the room was REALLY cramped. There really wasn't any way to get to the doggie door without jumping on the bed and off again.

 

Then, I traded the queen bed in for a day bed. Check out all the floor space! Again, it looked great...for awhile anyway. The dogs ended up really tearing this room apart, the light colors really didn't play well with the mud and dirt from the yard.

The first of many random Brewster appearances 

So after my adorable little anthropologie inspired room turned into dingy, mud stained shreds, I decided it was time for a change. The dogs needed something that didn't show dirt as much (AND I put in artificial turf), and I needed something with less upkeep. At the same time, I had decided to redo my place with a more cohesive feel. I had too many colors and too many themes in 1100 square feet. My favorite all-time color combo is black and white, and this little townhouse was perfect for it. While every room in my house (except the dining room which is really just a variation on the theme) now has black and white with an accent color. I chose yellow for the dog room so I could bring in my bee collection with all its glory!

I took the old Euro shams and quilt from my master bedroom in my previous house (someday I'll post about it so you'll fully understand the "leftovers") and added the grey duvet and an odd collection of pillows. Obviously my favorite being Brewster's portrait in crafty form! I couldn't help but use Andrew Wyeth's "Master Bedroom" as the main art piece here, I've always loved the piece and it speaks to the purpose of the room! Although it's not pictured here, there is an actual dog bed in this room, it basically serves as a wonderful trap with which to trip Mom, or a place to pout. Otherwise, Chelsea claims this as her own most days.

Plenty of fun "vintage" posters featuring dogs exist, but this one was fun, bright, and perfect for what I needed. The bright yellow bee pieces are a collection I've had for years now. Thanks to Target, I was able to throw in great storage cubbies too!

Obviously, I had to redo the bathroom at the same time. While it is still in progress, here's what we have so far.

BEFORE: (Leftovers from the previous house)

AFTER: Black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow. Who knew it'd make it on the Top 40?

  

While we're at it, I'm just going to finish off the "bottom" floor. The 1st floor really  just has two other things, the laundry and a small entryway filled with stairs. Well, and a place for keys and my only excuse for purple in the whole house. FYI, the candle isn't dirty, it's just been used...a lot!

Look at that! A whole floor! And you've already seen half of the 2nd floor! Just one and a half more to go. Brew and Chels are pretty worn out from today's tour, but I'm sure they'll be making plenty more appearances soon! 

and Brewster "Bear" and Chelsea "Pretty Girl" Culp