Dog-Friendly Design (and Designers)

Susanna Salk explores the chic environs of 22 interior designers’ four-legged friends in her book AT HOME WITH DOGS AND THEIR DESIGNERS. Six of our faves share their tips for fabrics and furnishings when no piece of furniture is banned

In At Home with Dogs and Their Designers (Rizzoli New York, 2017), Susanna Salk introduces readers to the canine family members of A-list interior designers. Each chapter takes a look at the pups’ stylish environs and shares clever tips from their owners on ways to live stylishly with dogs. Here, six designers show how they protect fabrics and furniture (and their four-legged friends) in all-access, dog-friendly homes.

dog-friendly design — Interior designer and author Bunny Williams and antiques dealer John Roselli share their home with Annabelle (seen here) and Bebe. “Cover sofa cushions with throws or quilts that match the furniture. Faux fur throws look chic in winter. All should be washed regularly.”—Bunny Williams

dog-friendly design — Interior designer and author Mark D. Sikes and his partner, Michael Griffin, share their Hollywood Hills home with Lily (also known as HRH Lily). Lily loves how Mark redid this room just off the garden in shades of greens and blues. The doors are always open to the outside. Because Lily slips on the hardwood floors, there are lots of rugs in her path, including this antique dhurrie.

dog-friendly design — Carolyne Roehm’s “babies” love to be up high in the reading/television room in front of the big fireplace. She keeps plenty of dog blankets on hand to cover the sofa. “Over twenty years ago I learned from a French woman selling high-end textiles in her Parisian shop about a fabulous idea for a dog cover to protect my furniture: Buy extra yardage of a fabric that you are using to upholster sofas and chairs to make matching dog covers. The covers will blend in with the upholstery and when they get dirty, you can send them to the dry cleaners. I lightly quilt the fabric covers and dress them up with a pretty trim. Alternatively, you can also quilt a cover, turn it, and not add trim, which makes it practically disappear atop your upholstered furniture.”—Carolyne Roehm

dog-friendly design — Interior designer and author Alex Papachristidis and accessories designer Scott Nelson share their homes with Teddy (Theodore Nelson Papachristidis). “Small antique and vintage chairs next to beds and sofas help to give your pets access to higher ground while also protecting their backs. I often buy Teddy’s miniature furniture from antique stores, pier shows, and auction houses. I encourage my clients to do the same for their pets.”—Alex Papachristidis

dog friendly design — Interior designer, architect, and author Steven Gambrel and James Anderson, principal of GrayAnderson, a real-estate branding and marketing company, share their townhouse in New York City’s West Village and a historic sea captain’s house in Sag Harbor, New York, with Sailor. The staircase is original to the townhouse. Crooked and full of character, it is covered in red sisal, which is good for traction and not too precious for muddy paws.

dog-friendly design — Interior designer and author Michelle Nussbaumer, her husband, Swiss developer Bernard Nussbaumer, and sometimes their children, Nile, Axel, Anais, and Andreas, share their homes with Loretta, Tullulah, Apollonia, Pasha, Winnie, Lobo, and Rupert. Great Dane, Loretta (above) naps on a custom dog bed. “I like to have custom beds to match each room with custom monograms for the dogs. I use my own fabrics and Scotchgard them. However, the dogs also like to sleep in our bed.”—Michelle Nussbaumer

Excerpted from At Home with Dogs and Their Designers by Susanna Salk (Rizzoli New York, 2017). Photography by Stacey Bewkes.

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