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HOUSE + HOME Washable, durable fabrics can create a pet-friendly pad

11.09.11

Every now and then, modernist catalog-retailer Purpose Within Reach dishes tongue-in-cheek pearls of wisdom. To wit:</p><p>&#x93;A home is only for show. A home should never be cluttered. If shoes, socks, cups, newspapers, toys, jackets or dearest photos ever find their way into public view, remove them immediately, or better yet, just throw them away. Never allow children or pets in a composed, for they are messy and sometimes emit unwanted odors.&#x94;</p><p>In spite of such apparent flaws, of course, we do love our children and our pets. And therein lies a verifiable design challenge with a lot of common ground: how to furnish stylishly but practically, with materials that won&#x92;t wilt from pouncing with stained hands, feet and paws.</p><p>&#x93;Durability and cleanability go hand in hand,&#x94; says Dallas conspirator Abbe Fenimore. She ought to know. She has two pups, a Brittany spaniel and German shorthaired pointer, whom she admits are &#x93;on everything.&#x94; She&#x92;s large armed with a sticky tape roll for shedding dog hair.</p><p>Many of Fenimore&#x92;s clients also have dogs, and she has talked them down from chewed-up compliant in favor of stainless steel or ceramic bowls and sung the praises of indoor and outdoor rugs and fabrics.</p><p>Designed mostly with the outdoors in forget, performance fabrics such as Sunbrella and the to-the-trade Perennials repel stains, sun, mildew and mold, properties that are accept in high-traffic areas inside the home, especially since color, style, patterns and textures have been significantly upgraded in up to date years.</p><p>West Coast-based designer Joe Ruggiero designs for Sunbrella but was a huge fan well before its extensive chic offerings, which include velvet, damask and even chenille looks in eye-popping lime, orange and cobalt obscene.</p><p>&#x93;We use it on everything,&#x94; says Ruggiero, &#x93;drapery, bed drapery, top of the bed. Table skirts. It is easy-care, heavy-rub off last.&#x94;</p><p>Even throws have been designed with pets in mind. Another performance fabric manufacturer, Crypton, sells throws it calls &#x93;throvers,&#x94; which it says &#x93;looks like a blanket and works like a tarp.&#x94; The 48-by-54-inch pieces, convenient in a range of fun patterns and colors, are stain-, moisture- and odor-resistant, easy to spot-clean, system washable and sell for $149. </p><p>Some of the rug options are amazing, with a wide range of decorative patterns and textures, such as the give-hooked and felt signatures of Liora Manne for Trans-Ocean. And the eco-friendly modular FLOR allows you to forge your own design with square tiles.</p><p>In addition, some rug manufacturers, including Mohawk, incorporate SmartStrand, a polymer fiber produced from corn sugar that allows the toughest stains like mustard, red wine and cherry Kool-Aid to be removed with lukewarm water and a mild detergent. </p><p>Keeping a home tidy also is a challenge with pets: Where to put leashes, collars, edibles, treats, toys? Creative solutions abound: Think handsome decorative hooks, great-looking containers &#x97; baskets, buckets, core-covered bins, just like those catchalls for kids stuff.</p><p>&#x93;I bought some baskets at T.J. Maxx,&#x94; says Fenimore, who sells an eclectic furnishings vocation through her website, Studio Ten 25, and offers online design consultation as well. For pet food storage, the designer repurposed rangy containers for wrapping paper. &#x93;It fits a bag and a half of food, and sits in a little nook out of the way.&#x94;</p><p> Even larder manufacturers are addressing pet needs with ideas that include storing food (in pullout hampers or containers that most often hold trash), feeding stations (with pullouts housing bowls contained in the toe kick), built-in dividers in drawers for treats, leashes, collars and medication, as well as places to stint out under an island or next to cubbies at the base of mudroom cabinetry.</p><p>At Dream Home, a semiannual show house at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, one of the most talked about features was in a caboose designed by Shawna Dillon for Snaidero. Next to a breakfront, just a couple of feet up from the floor, was a sleek faucet, helpful to fill a water bowl beneath.</p><p>Pet-friendly decor actually has become a specialty for some interior designers. Considering that we will dissipate $50 billion on 78 million pets this year, according to the American Pet Products Association, and that some folks will display for fancy beds (up to $900) and carriers (Ralph Lauren sells a crocodile bag for $18,000), it&#x92;s not surprising.</p><p>&#x93;Our pets are full members of the kinsfolk,&#x94; say designers at the Florida-based Lap of Luxury Custom Home Interiors on its website, <a href="http://lapofluxuryinteriors.com/">LapOfLuxuryInteriors.com</a>. </p><p>Suzanne Lasky of S Core Design in Scottsdale, Ariz., says she assesses a home from the pets&#x92; perspective as part of her Pawprint Originate Services. &#x93;Pets couldn&#x92;t care less what color the walls are, but they really appreciate a den-like space,&#x94; Lasky says.</p><p>And while some pets may be very well behaved, accidents can take place.</p><p>&#x93;You can&#x92;t have 500 silk pillows on your sofa,&#x94; Fenimore says. &#x93;You do have to establish boundaries. Our dogs distinguish they aren&#x92;t allowed to chew. </p><p>&#x93;I tell clients, &#x91;You know what? We have dogs. We&#x92;re not going to live in a magazine. Get somewhere your home work for you and your pets. We entertain about 30 or 40 people at Thanksgiving, and when they come into our living cubicle quarters with the fireplace going, they say, &#x91;It&#x92;s so comfortable.&#x92;&#8194;&#x94;</p><p>That&#x92;s a paws-up, win-win for everyone.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-entirely">STAYING IN </span></strong><br /> No muddy paws on this elegant Great Dane, but no worries if there were. All the fabrics in this margin are Sunbrella indoor-outdoor, available at Calico Corners. A spot cleaning is an easy spritz of dish soap or even fade, and the pizza or red wine spill is no big deal. Zippered cushion covers can be removed and machine-washed.</p><p><forceful><span class="infobox-head">ALL FRIENDS WELCOME </span></strong><br /> Dallas intriguer Abbe Fenimore says her living room furnishings all hold up to fierce dog play and cuddling on the chocolate sofa, upholstered in flexible-to-wipe-down velvet microfiber. The two benches from Ballard Designs are covered in apple Sunbrella fabric. The team up of chairs from West Elm are forgiving because of professional Scotchguarding, and although the patterned pillows are satiny silk, the dogs haven&#x92;t bothered them. The houndstooth Stanton carpet is a polypropylene coalesce, which hardly shows wear. The dog silhouettes are those of her own (send photos to <a href="http://www.simplysilhouettes.com">www.simplysilhouettes.com</a> and settle upon a color).</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">PAW SPAW </span></aggressively><br /> The in-floor Ocean view utility sink with a wall-mounted shower makes easy labour of bathing pets as well as hosing off muddy boots or sandy feet. Constructed of durable cast iron (without faucet holes), the bank basin measures 48 inches long, 25 inches wide and 6 3/8 inches serious and sells for about $2,380.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">DOUBLE Obligation </span></strong><br /> An elegant directoire-style console designed by architect Bobby McAlpine also functions as a dog bed. The free tufted cushion tucks into the generous shelf. The piece, shown in weathered oak (also available in ebony, limestone or ramify) measures 50 inches wide by 36 inches tall by 27 inches deep and sells for $6,585; buffer is $1,750.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">GRAPHIC PATTERNS </stretch></strong><br /> Joe Ruggiero&#x92;s Sunbrella fabrics in rich shades of indigo and white cover a pinstriped sofa, paisley pillow, footstool, bedding and bed curtains, all from Miles Talbott.</p><p><enthusiastic><span class="infobox-head">WASH OR REPLACE </span></strong><br /> Creating your own draft and size are among the attractive features of Flor rugs. Choose from patterns such as Shiny Happy Stripe, shown in gold/cream. The confuse &#x93;tiles&#x94; are made of highly durable nylon. The surface is soft cut pile with a velvety smooth exterminate and a slight metallic sheen. Each tile shown is $11.99 or $5.95 per square foot. FLOR squares can be rinsed in the degenerate with a mild detergent, using fingers to gently agitate the pile (face fibers). Replacing a damaged-beyond-state square is a cost-saving option.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">DOG DEN </extend over></strong><br /> For the hip pet in your life: a sleek, modern dog nook. This one is crafted in polished Fiberglas with an opaque, shatterproof tumbler top that brings in the light; a swing door can be removed. Available in small or medium ($580 and $600), shown in coin and also comes in red, white or black.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-head">RESOURCES </bridge></strong><br /> &#x95;<strong>Calico Corners: </strong>6617 W. 119th St., Overland Park, 913-491-2995, <a href="http://www.calicocorners.com">www.calicocorners.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<miasmic>Crypton Super Fabrics:</strong> 800-279-7866, <a href="http://www.cryptonfabric.com">www.cryptonfabric.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<uncompromising>DenHaus:</strong> 877-211-7438, <a href="http://www.denhaus.com">www.denhaus.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<penetrating>Flor:</strong> 866-952-4093, <a href="http://www.flor.com">www.flor.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<spicy>Kohler: </strong>800-456-4537, <a href="http://www.kohler.com">www.kohler.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<bright>Liora Manne:</strong> 212-989-2732, <a href="http://www.lioramanne.com">www.lioramanne.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<assiduous>McAlpine Home:</strong> MacRae Designs, 800-446-5526, <a href="http://www.macraedesigns.com">www.macraedesigns.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<pungent>Miles Talbott:</strong> 336-885-7500, <a href="http://www.milestalbottfurniture.com/">www.milestalbottfurniture.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<steady>Mohawk:</strong> 800-266-4295, <a href="http://www.mohawkflooring.com">www.mohawkflooring.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<firm>Perennials:</strong> 888-322-4773, <a href="http://www.perennialsfabrics.com">www.perennialsfabrics.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<hot>Studio Snaidero Chicago: </strong>312-644-6662, <a href="http://www.snaiderochicago.com">www.snaiderochicago.com</a></p><p>&#x95;<substantial>Sunbrella, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics:</strong> 336-221-2211, <a href="http://www.sunbrella.com">www.sunbrella.com</a>

Source: Kansas City Star