Well, summer is officially here for us (my husband, a teacher, is DONE FOR THE SUMMER!!!!) Which means we'll be spending lots of time outside & more time with our dog, Ashby.
(above pic from Country Living) A lot of us have dogs & they're like another member of the family. Unfortunately for our pup, when we had our son (about 2 years ago) she got less & less attention. We try, but those kids can be demanding!!! She was THE BABY before he came. She came on every vacation with us and was always in my lap (at 45 pounds!!). Now, she still sleeps with us, but she stays home when we vacation (with a 2 year old we have to stop and eat at restaurants on road trips & we can't leave her in the car) and she's much harder for me to carry because she's gained probably 10 pounds thanks to our son feeding her from his high chair!!! I also just don't have as much time to baby her in general. (Which I actually think she might be pleased about, because as I've said before I'm like that weird little girl Elmyra from Looney Toones with poor Ashby... loving & hugging & squeeeezing her) Anyway, she's such a sweetie & puts up with so much from our 2 year old, so I thought she'd enjoy this post. Here she is (below on the right) with her very best friend, Boudreaux, (an American Bulldog) who also recently became second fiddle to a baby. (oh it hurts to put into words!!!)
One summer in college during my PR internship in Washington, DC (my major in college!) there wasn't enough work for me. So what does a lowly college intern do with no work? She surfs the internet! (i hadn't even heard of blogs at this point in my life or we would've met sooner!! ;) Anyway, I desperately wanted a dog when I graduated, so I began researching all the different breeds, picking my favorites and lusting after ones that were so cute but would shed too much for me. Needless to say, I know a lot about dogs, thanks to that wonderful internship.
One thing I always love to see in people's homes is dsog art, sculpture & accessories, so I thought I'd share a few I found with you. How cute is the poster below?! (from Country Living) It's graphic & fun, and adds a colorful & quirky punch to the space.
The Egyptian dog statue (from Livingetc) below is a big presence in this sparse room. It adds interest. (and, obviously, the homeowners like dogs!!)
Surprisingly, a lot of rooms you see with dog paintings or prints, have a more serious, formal feel. (Or a more serious blue blood feel: Think of Ralph Lauren-type rooms with hunting pics.) In the image below (from houseandhome.ie) I think the dog painting works really well with the scheme of the room but its placement is a bit off for its small size.
Below, from Country Living, I love how this springer spaniel painting is just casually leaning against the wall on the ottoman. It makes the space!
In another Country Living pic (they must love dogs!! :) there are adorable dog embroidered pillows. (I think Lindsay from Everything LEB did a post that included these adorable pillows once.) Love their stately attire!! I found one really similar to these that looks exactly like our dog. (sans hat)
And, in general, I love it when prints are layered casually as in the image below. (Country Living!) This person really loefvs dogs, as she has a pillow, little figurines all over and a door stop under the table.
Below is one of my favorite images (via Simply Natural by Rob Lowe) as much for the room iteself as for the fact that it has a picture of my favorite dog, a German Short-Haired Pointer.
My dad always has a pointer and the one above & below (encoreeditions.com-- awesome prices!!) looks just like Hershey, the one I grew up with. Hershey was the best dog ever and a German Short-haired Pointer is the epitome of "dog" to me.
Below, I also love this tight grouping of breed prints. It's graphic and beautiful and the room has an elegant feel. (via House Beautiful)
So, the great theing about dog art is that generally, it's really affordable! (I'm not talking antique oils though!) Google it online & you'll see. Check out the painting below. They're too cute!!
This hunting painting reproduction (below) is of foxhounds, which are so commonly found in old paintings & prints. (reminding me of those Ralph Lauren hunting rooms)
And Ballard Designs has these great hand-colored prints ($119, below) of almost every dog you can think of!!! (I'm not so keen on the price though, and I think you could find a cheaper print of your dog (like one from encoreeditions.com) & write in pretty cursive around it! ha) But, I do love them. Below is of course, a white & liver spotted German Short-haired pointer who looks like my dad's dog (She was my 17th birthday present, but he couldn't part with her!!) Quaisley. (She's such a crazy cutie!)
The painting below by SJ Merwin is of a Welsh Terrier, and looks just like my dad's dog, Bailey. (We got him when I was 12... )(I have included him later, after posting without poor Bails, because my dad left the first comment under 'Anonymous' and brought up Bailey, who I unintentionally left out! :)
This giclee (below) from Ballard Designs has been on my wishlist since before Christian was born. My original plan was to do a dog theme nursery for him with black and white photos of all the dogs my husband & I have had over our lives and then use this adorable canvas. I planned to use a glavanized steel tub like the one in the pic painted turquoise for his stuffed animals. The funny thing is, today, Christian reminds me a lot of the baby in the picture. This may be a theme for Baby 2, so let me know what you think! (again, I wasn't too happy with the price!!)
And finally, if you're anything like me, you love it when you find pictures or paintings that look like your dog. Ashby is a mutt (part Jack Russel, lab and Aussie Cattle Dog) so it's not as easy to find mutt pics as it is to find full breeds. But here are just a few I've found over the years. Here's Miss Ashby:
And here is a painting I found (of her, I'm convinced!!) at Lucketts:
And this drawing looks more like her now that she's put on some weight (wrong sex though! she wouldn't be happy with me if I bought this one.)
And finally, I found an image of this antique oil painting with a pup who looks just like Ashby when we're eating and she's watching. hee heehee
So, go google prints & paintings of your dog. Lots of them really are affordable and with the right frame and location, they could be adorable in your house! Below, is one last pic of Ashby with her boy toy:
(This was when they were still our #1 babies, see the lifevests??!!! hahah)xoxo,
lauren
And here's the "After":
In the sitting room above, I'm of course loving the white slipcovers & the map, which reminded me so much of a room I'd done at a lakehouse, below. (It's almost a cooler, fresher version of it: the slicovers, the map, the trunk coffee table)
The living room (below) is a bit more refined with a graphic black & white Morroccan print rug and graceful furnishings. it still feels young & fresh, however.
The vignette below is so great!! The silver starburst & drawer pulls juxtaposed againzt the yellow chair & honey dresser--- ahh love it!
As a decorator & a textile designer, this is my place to muse... perfection doesn't interest me; Reality and charm do. Fresh floppy flowers from the garden over long-stemmed roses any day, I love it when things are slightly off and tell a story. 