Thursday, June 28, 2012

DoggyStyle: The Dog-Friendly Deck

Every Chicagoan knows the one thing that gets us through a winter like this, is knowing how amazing summers in Chicago can be. We are lucky enough to have our own little deck where all of us 'live' for the summer. It serves many purposes: part lounge, part dining room, part outdoor office, and part movie theater.
 Sure it may not be a traditional backyard, but our pooches do love being out there. Here are some things we did to make all of us happy:

Dog Resistant Rug
We know laying on the wooden floors can be hot and uncomfortable for our Elderbulls, so we looked into getting an outdoor rug. We've used a variety of the straw beach mats which are cheap (only $40 here)
and fairly dog resistant. We've had ours for a year and it's really easy to just wipe down.

Outdoor Pillow
 Our pooches love laying on floor pillows as beds, so we picked up a couple of summery pillows (super-cheap at Ikea!) and bring them outside. Perfect for Miss M who loves to go glamping.

Dog-Friendly Outdoor Sofa
We picked up this outdoor sofa , also from Ikea, which is the perfect place for us to lounge with mojito in hand, and perhaps take a quick nap. The best part is the cushions are really easy to clean, so E has been allowing the pooches up, especially for movie night.
Our pooches love being outside so much, sometimes it's hard to get them back in.
How else do you make accommodations for your pooches outside?

8 comments:

Harper said...

I really love how you decorated your outdoor space and made it your own. I feel like it could be featured on one of the design blogs :) Addie loves our back patio too -- sometimes she lounges on our outdoor loveseat (covers are washable like yours) and she loves to sniff and inspect all of the veggies/herbs we're growing. A lot of the time she is fine just laying on the ground on top of our outdoor rug though!

Kerri said...

I definitely need to get an outdoor carpet for my balcony. Good idea. I have a concrete balcony, which is super uncomfortable on my feet, so I can only imagine how it is for the dog. To give myself a bit more privacy from the street, I picked up a few of the sun shields from Ikea and I weave them between the iron bars. We definitely make use of the balcony in the summer. I have a great lounge chair and a little table for drinks. Perfect for Saturday morning coffee.

Luv My Rosie said...

I have a wooden deck as well and have tried various rugs and runners to keep Rosie comfortable and the neigbors from getting a Rosie shower. However, I recently purchased a piece of outdoor industrial carpet from Home Depot. Its very thin, water and mold resistant. I bought a handy staple gun and stapled it to the deck. Works well, keeps Rosie from trying to dig it up and she likes to lay out there.

Kirsten (peacefuldog) said...

What a great deck you have! I agree, decks are key--we spend lots of time out there reading and relaxing. Your decorating efforts are amazing!

Patty said...

I love your deck! It looks so nice and comfortable.

Two French Bulldogs said...

We love your house
Benny & Lily

Unknown said...

I can see that the pooches are sitting comfortably out there! I love that your deck serves a number of purposes, which tells me that you’re never bored there. I also like the way you use the space. Your deck may be not the most spacious, but it certainly looks cozy!

Angelina Garcia

Unknown said...

Nice! Your outdoor deck looks cozy and inviting! It’s no wonder your dogs love to stay there. I like the mini table set and those hanging lanterns. It reminds me of the wedding reception I’ve been to last week. :D Well, my pets love to spend time on my outdoor deck too. Maybe my area looks comfortable as well, no? :)

Barrett Elmore

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...