At Home with Dogs and Their Designers

Book excerpt: America's leading interior designers show readers how to live in the most stylish way with their adorable dogs, offering an array of inspirational tips for keeping both your home and dogs attractive and chic The most elegant, stylish, and well-appointed house is nothing but a shell without its inhabitants, including the canine kind. Just ask the 22 A-List interior designers who grace the pages of At Home with Dogs and Their Designers who love nothing more than letting their best pals sleep in bed with them, cuddle on the couch, and essentially rule the roost. No room is off limits, no piece of furniture banned, clothing is optional, but their accessories are just as chic as their surroundings. Accidents may happen on vintage rugs, antiques are sometimes mistaken for chew toys, and more than one pair of ruined designer shoes have befallen them, but none would consider living without their loyal and loving best friends among the things they love. With individual chapters exploring each of the dogs' amazing lives as they romp through the stunning interiors and gardens they call home with their humans, this book as much an inspirational design book, even if you don’t live with pets, as it is a resource, packed with clever tips from the interior designers themselves on ways to live with dogs. Teddy, Alex Papachristidis’ Yorkie, uses a miniature vintage chair to hop from the floor to the bed instead of doggie steps while Brooke Gianetti created a custom doggie gate made from antique wooden doors to keep Bebe, Sera, Frasier, and Sophie from getting into trouble while she is away from home. With 6 pups on the loose, Carolyne Roehm always orders extra yardage of fabric to make protective covers and quilts. Mary McDonald happily climbs on the oversized dog bed her 5 Pugs—Jack, Lulu, Boris, Eva, and Violet—share for daily “pug hugs” while Charlotte Moss’ Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Daisy and Buddy, lounge in a cabana out in the Hamptons on summer weekends. All of the featured pooches are interviewed, giving us insight into the luxury of their daily lives from their favorite places to sleep to their guilty pleasures. Complete with a resource guide for your decorative needs as well as pet needs (including adoption and rescue organizations), At Home with Dogs and Their Designers opens the door—from coast to coast, townhouse to beach house—allowing us to peek in and embrace this love letter from these designers to their pets, who are most assuredly family members. FEATURED HUMANS/INTERIOR DESIGNERS: Martyn Lawrence Bullard,Nathan Turner and Eric Hughes, Jeffrey Alan Marks, Mary McDonald, Betsy Burnham, Kelly Wearstler, Schuyler SampertonBrooke Giannetti, Hutton Wilkinson, Windsor Smith, Mark D. Sikes, Jonathan Adler, Steven Gambrel, Katie Ridder, Alex Papachristidis, Robert Couturier, Charlotte Moss, Bunny Williams Carolyne Roehm, Brian J. McCarthy, Michelle Nussbaumer