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interior design

A Cat's World

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A Cat's World

“I love cats because I enjoy my home;
and little by little, they become its visible soul.”

― Jean Cocteau

For the cat fanciers among us,
home isn’t home without our feline friends.
Curiosity, agility, whimsy, surprise and independence
all traipsing around on little cat feet.

photo courtesy of homes.yahoo.com

photo courtesy of homes.yahoo.com


• • • Hide & Seek • • •

You know how cats like to
hide out in their secret places, like closets?
Here’s an idea I love for giving them
a hideout right in the mix of things:

photo courtesy of dornob.com

photo courtesy of dornob.com


If you live in a small space, like a condo,
you have to make use of every square inch.
In a larger home, the space demands aren’t as urgent,
but the fun of this idea might be irresistible:

photo courtesy of storageandglee.blogspot.nl

photo courtesy of storageandglee.blogspot.nl

• • • High-End Feline • • •

For the famously adept loungers,
a hammock coffee table offers
a whole new take on clean lines.

photo courtesy of supercoolpets.com

photo courtesy of supercoolpets.com

For those who live with cats,
work and love intersect at the desk.
Just about the time you want to sit down
and get something done,
your beloved feline wants to lounge on the desk,
in your lap, or better yet,
on your papers or keyboard.

To address the intersection of cats and work,
a designer from Hong Kong, RUAN Hao,
came up with the ultimate in
feline friendly desks, CATable:

photo courtesy of lycs-arc.com

photo courtesy of lycs-arc.com

As the designer describes it,
the desk speaks to both sides of the coin:
people who live with cats
perpetually have to get the cat off their laptop,
“like a sentimental ritual of temporary farewell,”
while “cats are irresistibly  drawn to a proper sized hole”

– so the desk draws felines to explore the paths
inside the desk while leaving the humans
to work in peace.

“It is a table for us, and a paradise for cats.”

photo courtesy of lycs-arc.com

photo courtesy of lycs-arc.com

photo courtesy of lycs-arc.com

photo courtesy of lycs-arc.com


When the task turns to reading,
there’s nothing like a reading chair,
books, and a great cat perch.

photo courtesy of makethemroar.com

photo courtesy of makethemroar.com


• • • Floating Kitty • • •

If you have cats,
especially indoor cats,
you know how much they love to climb.

If you give them a built environment
that lets them do what they are
born to do in trees and bushes,
they won’t be as likely to climb the drapes,
the furniture, or the humans.

A series of floating shelves, for example,
is fairly easy to execute, and does the trick beautifully.
It’s like the CATable — writ large.

photo courtesy of shirari.com

photo courtesy of shirari.com

• • • Kitty Dreaming • • •

After charging around
in great bursts of frenetic energy,
every feline needs to rest up.
Why not a curved, floating shelf
with kitty mattress to match,
for adorable relaxation?

photo courtesy of shirari.com

photo courtesy of shirari.com


While your felines are resting,
why shouldn’t you follow suit?
Here, a couple cat-inspired Spectacular Design bedrooms
for the cat lovers among us:


And a final note from the Master of Dreams,
who loved the mystery of cats
like he loved the unconscious:

photo courtesy of weheartit.com

photo courtesy of weheartit.com

For more cat inspiration, check out our Pinterest Board!

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Vegas & Vanities

I recently attended the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas and couldn't get over the miles of fixtures and faucets. My favorite part, as always, is looking at the range of human inventiveness. Here are a couple of my favorite bathroom sink vanities that caught my eye for the range of tastes they speak to — from girlie to tailored — both stand out in a crowd.

For bathroom vanities, the selection of shape, materials, color, styles, and finishes is enormous (and wonderful!). What you choose will have a dramatic effect on the overall design of your bathroom. After all, it affects your day to day life as you get ready to take on the world in the morning, or wind down from a busy day at night. Why not let your bathroom vanity please your eye and hands as it hides your plumbing and holds your grooming essentials?    

Of course, you can always throw caution to the wind and go the Albert Einstein route:

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houzz

Getting my profile on houzz off the ground today with the help of my graphic design guru, Paula Hopker. Creating great spaces is a snap compared to capturing and displaying them on a screen. Cruising through photos once they're up on the screen makes all the work worth it.

Here's what I found inspiring on houzz today: two intriguing spaces that I describe as gloriously calm: The Zen of High Style.

 

Rooted: A West Virginia private residence by Travis Price.

Beautiful pool landscape by AMS Landscape Design Studio.

What captures me within these photos is the incorporation of the natural world in the domestic sphere. Having grown up in Montana, that's what I think of as quintessential Northwest Living. 

I call my business Spectacular Design out of reverence for the shaping power of what we look at on a daily basis. Whether the view is through the windows or within the walls, my mission is to create a compelling visual spectacle that feeds the soul as it is viewed on a daily basis.

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Color Launch

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Color Launch

I had the pleasure of participating in the design team that selected and named Miller Paint's new ColorEvolution line of paint -- updated colors for a classically modern sensibility.  

Interior Combo:

What inspired this color combination?

The loveliest pink in the collection - Pinkie Ring - is named after my mother, Pinky, who does justice to the color wherever she goes.

Further inspiration comes from this stylized photo that shimmers with the light and imaginative aspects of Pinkie Ring in a sophisticated version of the classic pink and white and grey.

How would I use each color?

In a contemporary or traditional living room:

  • Pinkie Ring - fireplace wall
  • Tahitian - floor, fireplace and accents
  • Glisten - walls
  • Wafer - doors, windows, trim, ceiling, and mantel - also furniture
  • Art and accessories bring in the softening, rosy glow of Pinkie Ring grounded in the depths of Tahitian

A bolder, more dramatic interpretation:

  • Pinkie Ring - walls
  • Tahitian - floor, fireplace, doors, windows, and trim - also furniture
  • Wafer - ceiling, mantel and accents

 

Exterior Combo:

What inspired this color combination?

In Miller Paint's new ColorEvolution line, Big Red is named after my father, whom we call Big Red because he turns so many heads in his red wool fedora that strangers offer to buy it from him as he's walking down the street.

Further inspiration comes from this poetic study of the enduring power of red:

How would I use each color?

  • Pipeline: Foundation, Steps, Porch and Front Door
  • Sanctuary: Body of the House
  • Powdering Snow: Trim
  • Big Red: Shutters

Let me know what you think!

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