CasaSugar

Do You Let Your Pets on Your Sofa?

CasaSugar — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 05:30:18 -0700

Many of us allow our pets up on the sofa, but all that pet hair can add up to a lot of cleaning. Do you let your pets on your sofa, or do they stay on ground level?

Source: Photo by ansik

Love It or Hate It? Pets in Shelter Photos

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:00:08 -0700

I've been inspired by a lot of the Apartment Therapy Fall Colors 2008 Contest entries, and it seems like my favorites involve homes with pets in the photos. Of course, this is a reflection of my pet love in general. However, I really do believe that a cute pup or kitty in a photo makes an appealing home look 10 times better. Are you with me, or do animals in shelter shots leave you cold?

Source

Pets in the House: Jezebel Loves Being a Girl

CasaSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:00:00 -0700

Aimeeb shared an adorably girl photo of her kitty Jezebel in the Pets in the House TeamSugar group. Aimeeb says,

My little Jezebel just loves being a girl. Every time I take out my cosmetic bag she makes it a point to tip it over, pull everything out and make it her new home. She truly is a girly girl, just like her mom.

I wonder if BellaSugar needs a feline intern?

Do you have a house-romping pet who needs to be featured on Casa? Send your posts, photographs, and blog entries in! Feel free also to post questions about pet-friendly furniture and other pet and interior questions here as well. Join now!

Pets in the House: Kitty Loves the Tube

CasaSugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:00:28 -0800

Sweetpeabrina shared some cute photos of her kitties in the Pets in the House TeamSugar group. I love this photo of Penny, especially because Sweetpeabrina notes that Penny's always up to no good. She explains this shot by saying,

We were watching some celebrity gossip show like TMZ on TV or E! News one Saturday morning. She adores celebrity gossip. I think it's impossible to keep kitties off of furniture. Well, maybe not everyone's kitties, just Penny. She's on the bed, on the ironing board, on the top of the kitchen cabinets, on top of the TV, on the couches, inside the wine rack, in my basket of fabric, behind the washing machine, and under the bathroom sink. She's everywhere but in her bed!

Do you have a television-gazing pet who needs to be featured on Casa? Send your posts, photographs, and blog entries in! Feel free also to post questions about pet-friendly furniture and other pet and interior questions here as well. Join now!

Pets in the House: A Loveseat Built For Two

CasaSugar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:27:31 -0800

Maddiemay shared some cute photos of her pups and kitty in the Pets in the House TeamSugar group. These guys look too comfortable for words - and I dare say they're not going to get up for anything less than something delicious to chew on. Well, that or a bigger sofa.

Do you have a sofa-lounging pet who needs to be featured on Casa? Send your posts, photographs, and blog entries in! Feel free also to post questions about pet-friendly furniture and other pet and interior questions here as well. Join now!

Pets in the House: BlueCanary's Windowgazing Kitty

CasaSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:00:45 -0800

Bluecanary sent in photos of her kitty Sweetpea to the brand-spanking new Team group, Pets in the House. This new Team group simply asks you to send in your photos of pets on, around, or inside furniture, so we can all check out the overload of cuteness.

The colors in this photo are absolutely striking and dramatic. Bluecanary also notes that her kitty's sticking her tongue out in the photo (look closely if you missed it the first time).

Do you have a sofa-lounging pet that needs to be featured on Casa? Send your posts, photographs, and blog entries in! Feel free to also post questions about pet-friendly furniture and other pet and interior questions here as well. Join now!

Open House: What's Your Home's Pet Policy?

CasaSugar — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:30:02 -0700

My husband and I share our house with two dogs, which means a lot more vacuuming and dusting than nonpet people experience in their homes. We try to keep things tidier by keeping the pups off of furniture. However, they have full run of the house, hang out in every room, and even keep us company while we're cooking in the kitchen.

Since they have good manners, I don't mind having them underfoot, but I know that some families keep their dogs relegated to certain areas of the house or even crate them for much of the time that they're home.

So tell me, do you have dogs, cats, or other indoor pets? Do you let them up on your sofa or bed? What's your house's pet policy?

Source: Flickr User Emery_Way

Open House: Pets and Your Home

CasaSugar — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 08:30:10 -0700

Although I've only posted a few pet-related posts, your responses to these posts show that you're a pretty pet-oriented group! Who knew that the kitty washroom would inspire so much love?

Those of us who live with pets struggle to varying degrees with how to keep our homes clean, organized, and pretty, even with a sixty-pound dog underfoot or a kitty who likes to use your favorite chaise lounge as a scratching post.

So for this weekend's Open House, I want to hear your best ideas for living happily, healthfully, and beautifully with pets in your home. How do you keep them off the furniture? How do you keep your furniture clean and fur-free if they're allowed on the couch? How do you ensure that your cat's litterbox is smelling fresh? If you're a renter, how have you helped keep the peace between pet-wary landlords and pet-loving you? Just leave your ideas in the comments section below. Then next week, I'll compile our CasaSugar list of smart ideas for living with pets. Let the open house begin!

Source and Source

Open House: What Are Your Design Pet Peeves?

CasaSugar — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 05:30:00 -0700

In my slideshow of the top 10 worst decorating mistakes, I covered design failures that are simply inexcusable - no ifs, ands, or buts. But seeing as decorating is all about taste, it's a very subjective field. There are plenty of design choices that I certainly wouldn't recommend or that even make me cringe, but at the same time I wouldn't call them mistakes. It's sort of a "to each his own" kind of thing.
For instance, I think the color maroon is absolutely foul, regardless of how it is used - but a color really can't be wrong. I also would never, ever put fake flowers in my house, although I will admit I have seen some that could pass for pretty. What are your design pet peeves? Do you hate stripes? Are you anti all-white rooms? Tell me by commenting below!

Open House Recap: Pets and Your Home

CasaSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 04:14:57 -0700

Those of us who live with pets struggle to varying degrees with how to keep our homes clean, organized, and pretty, even with a 60-pound dog underfoot or a kitty who likes to use your favorite chaise lounge as a scratching post. So for last weekend's Open House, I asked readers to share your secrets for living happily, healthfully, and beautifully with pets in your home.

Not only did you guys give me some great ideas, but you're also inspiring me to rethink my current practice of not crating my dog. Check out some of my favorite words of advice below.

Pez4Pres: I used to use flushable litter until I found out that cat litter has a parasite that survives sewage treatment and ends up in the ocean where it can kill sea otters I like otters more than flushable litter so now I clean it out every night and use the littermate. It's basically a diaper genie for cats. It works pretty well, and helps keep odors down.
SDJackson: If you buy a kennel, make sure it's big enough for them to turn around in it, stand in it, and lay down in it. And I refused to put it outside...that seemed a little extreme for our tiny dog. Of course, that meant I had an ugly black cage in the corner of my living room, but I whipped up a couple of rectangles using a really nice upholstery fabric and attached them to each side of the kennel with ribbon. Then I added some pockets for dog toys. It was a super easy way to fuse my love for my dog with my love for clean carpet.
MellyBChappyChap: To keep my cat Napoleon content and entertained I put his scratching tower post by the big picture window. He sits on the top perch and watches the people in my apartment go by. Now, I hear people call up and say, "Hi Napoleon!" and most times he'll meow back. Because of his supreme cuteness, I've already had someone in the complex say anytime my boyfriend and I go out of town, he'd love to cat-sit. I almost didn't put his post there because it's not the best living room design, but seeing how happy it makes Napoleon and my neighbors, I wouldn't put it anywhere else.
Daisie: Kitty isn't allowed on the kitchen counters. It helps that they are too high for her to jump on, but if she ever jumps where she shouldn't, it's best to catch her in the act and say "NO" a few times while removing her. Clapping your hands and saying "no" loudly works now-she knows if that happens it is a no-no and to stop.

For lots of other ideas, read more

Stefsprl: We had lots of problems with our cats getting up on our kitchen counters as soon as they got big enough to jump up there. We put double-sided Scotch tape in rows (with about two inches in between strips) across the counter, and it worked like a charm. It became an unpleasant experience for them, so they stopped doing it (cats associate discipline with the person, not the actual act itself-essentially, they just learn to not do whatever they're doing when you're around rather than learning it's wrong).
Sweetpeabrina: To keep [my cat] Gadget from snacking on plants, when I first bring plants in, I spritz them with a mixture of vinegar and crushed red peppers.
Chancleta: My advice for renters with dogs: If you're a big dog owner like me, you know that landlords flinch when you mention your baby weighs more than 25 pounds. Some landlords find it hard to believe that bigger doesn't mean worse. So a couple of years ago I started getting a letter of recommendation for my baby. Yes, sounds crazy, but it works! When you move out and the landlord sees how your precious baby didn't do any damage, ask for a letter of recommendation for your pooch. Just a letter saying he didn't do any damages. That way you can show the next landlord a letter from the previous landlord as proof that your baby isn't "that kind of dog."
Verily: My cats don't hang out on my counters (thank god!), but one of them discovered that my Bunn coffee maker is very nice and warm at all times. To deal with that, I put two pieces of duct tape on the top of it. Cats totally hate the feel of it and it's way more durable than Scotch tape.
Arienne: To deal with dog hair, sticky lint rollers are are a lifesaver. My Dyson vacuum is a must-have for me too.
Brendelwoman: I agree that kenneling a dog is a good thing. They really do look at it as their safe place. We got a puppy eight days ago and he is already adapted to going to the crate when I cannot keep a watchful eye on him. It also helps to have an older dog to model good behavior.