DoggyStyle: Having Pets in a Smaller Space without Sacrificing Style

  

One of the biggest misconceptions we always hear is that you can't own a big dog in a city condo. There are obviously so many of us in the city owning big dogs, and we've always been particularly impressed with Yellow Brick Home blog. Besides creating a gorgeous home--under 700 square feet!--it is also home to their pitbull Jack and 2 cats: Libby and Maddie. After stalking their blog for awhile, we were so excited to be able to meet them in real life; they were on our inaugural SociaBulls trek, and you may also recognize Jack with his infamously stylish Bomber Jacket. Since they create everything themselves, and they have such a beautiful home, we asked them to share some tips about integrating pets into a small space while maintaining style.

Scott and I love our home. It's not big (coming in at under 700 square feet), but it's where I work, where we play and where we raise three very hairy, wet-nosed kids. I say this with complete adoration, as our kiddos, Jack, Libby and Maddie, are of the four-legged variety.

 

In our virtual corner of the web, Yellow Brick Home, we write about all things DIY and making our city condo so very us while not sacrificing style (in a such a small home, no less!) with five warm bodies in the mix. With every design decision we make, we must take into account how the whole family will react. Will the girls claws get caught in this fabric weave? Will the natural fibers in this rug make Jack think it's suitable for lunch?

 

As much as we might love a certain (insert home accessory item of your choice here), we won't spend the money or waste the time if we know it's not a good fit for all of us. One question we hear from our friends and readers is this: how in the world do you maintain your small home with two cats and a big dog? There's no one answer, but there are plenty of ways that we integrate our favorite little dudes into the home we all share. 
1. Just because Jack is a slobbery, excitable, muddy-pawed (and adorable, awesome and too cute) pup, this doesn't mean we can't have items we love. We purchased our sofa off of Craigslist - a steal after the seller realized the Room & Board design didn't work with her vision. We're a no-dog-on-the-furniture household, and after repeated failed efforts of finding Jack cuddled on the couch, our veterinarian recommended this solution: when we're not home, place an upside-down office mat (spiky side up) on our cushions. When not in use, we tuck the plastic pieces under our couch, out of sight.

  

2. Because we like to keep our home style more personal, we try to think outside the box when it comes to pet toys and furniture, rather than purchase pet specific items. The felines in our home don't seem to enjoy fake mice or feathers on string, but they do love to chase the laser pointer. This cuts down on toy clutter, and when not in use, we tuck their "toy" in a drawer! And for Jack's naps, we use an oversized Ikea floor pillow that doesn't scream dog bed!

 

3. We vacuum several times a week, and we lint roll small areas in between clean ups. This seems obvious, but all hell breaks loose if we skip these simple tasks too many times in a row. Remember, our home is small. This affords us the luxury of tag teaming a 10-15 minute clean up three times a week. Once or twice a month, we'll do a larger clean up (such as washing the dog "bed", throw pillow covers and using vacuum attachments to de-fur curtains and furniture), but staying on track with multi-week mini clean ups make all  the difference.

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4. We furminate. I kid you not, the Furminator has changed our lives. The kiddos love their brush-time, they lose about 5 lbs of hair in the process (an instant slim-down!), and our home stays cleaner in the process.

 

 5. While we love fresh flowers in our home, it's more of a luxury than the weekly (or bi-weekly) treat that we wish we could do. This is for a couple of reasons: 
1) Maddie and Libby love nothing more than a lunch of leafy greens; leaving plants/flowers on a table out of sight results in the plant's untimely death (not to mention, some greens can be poisonous for cats), and 2) Jack's happy, heavy body with a mind of it's own can knock a vase off the coffee table with just a flick of his tail. We do pick up flowers here and there, but we have to be very strategic in their display. So to quench our need for a little continuous plant life in the home, we've taken to terrariums. Not only are they fun to make, but you can personalize them with trinkets and toys - and the vessel shape deters kitty paws and curiosities.

 

Like I mentioned earlier, it's important for us to remember that everything we bring into our home has the potential to affect our pets, too. Jute rugs are off limits (they too closely resemble scratching posts), wool blankets are a no-go (Jack loves to nibble a natural, yummy throw) and we're big fans of modular Flor tiles (for an easy swap if needed). But with some creative thinking and easy every-other-day maintenance, your home can still have style - even with a big ol' pup in tow. For more info, you can read an in-depth discussion for our hairy situations, see our house tour or visit our pet portraiture shop. Thank you A and E for having us stop in!