Get the Bow-WOW Boho Scoop on Dogs & Their Designers

If you know me or follow this blog, you know about a year and a half ago a Goldendoodle named Millie (that's her on the right, LOL) stole my heart. I call her my “grandpup,” since her mum is my daughter, Erin ((on the left, 'natch).

I’ve always been (and always will be) mostly a cat person. But this puppy pulls at my heartstrings, and it turns out, happily, that she loves me as much as I love her.

It also turns out I’m not alone. Author and interior designer Susanna Salk profiles for us 21 fellow designers and the pooches they pamper in her latest book, At Home with Dogs and Their Designers (that's it in the middle!), and it's a delight even a diehard cat person like me can love.

Designer Carolyn Roehm shares her digs with doggies Lucky, Beethoven, Trollop, Dusty, Baby Monkey, and Teddy Bear

Though Rizzoli released the title this past October, I spent a few months undecided about whether or not to buy it for Erin, who’s become quite the decorating diva since buying her first home just a month before Millie came into her life. And making room for poochie without sacrificing style is an ongoing challenge, though her style (and mine) are nowhere near the high end where these designers and their dogs dwell.

House policy for Hutton Wilkinson's West Highland Terriers, Piper Dundee and Kippy of the Cavendish, is to mess up the house as quickly as possible so dad can redecorate. Not sure which one is picture here, but he seems content with his surroundings as is.

But finally, a few weeks back, I bit the bullet and bought the book for Erin as a Christmas surprise. As soon as it arrived, I started reading it and was tickled to find that even a “mostly cat person” who lives quite casually and modestly in comparison, couldn’t put it down.

Bunny Williams' Terrier and Poodle mix, Bebe, lounges on an Indian quilt meant to protect
the upholstery.

Designers profiled with their dog(s) include such household names (in my house anyway, LOL!) as Jonathan Adler, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Brian McCarthy, Michelle Nussbaumer, Charlotte Moss, Kelly Wearstler, and Bunny Williams, to name just a few. Each profile tells how people and pooches found each other, how they get along in their extreme décor environments, and tips on living the uber-stylish life in tandem.

Martyn Lawrence Bullard and his Wheaten Terrier, Daisy Olympia Green, enjoy tea in
their Moroccan-inspired dining niche.

Some owners tell their dog’s story for them, while others step aside to let the dogs wag the tale. The result is a truly delightful mix of the magic that happens when pets capture our hearts, souls, and of course, take over our homes.

Charlotte Moss and her King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Buddy, share breakfast in bed, with emphasis on the "bed" part.

Designer Robert Couturier, profiled along with his shih tzus Hercule, Clara, Zazou and Dora, writes a compelling foreward. But it’s champion Hercule who, in that last section, speaks for the rest of the brood and tells the reader favorites—forbidden spots, restaurants and orders, meals at home, places to sleep and walk—as well as pet peeves, most trouble ever gotten into, and special talents.

Brian J. McCarthy's Poodle Mix, Daisy, befriended this Persian lamb Lina chair

once she discovered it wasn't another household pet to compete for affection.

And, of course, there are tons of gorgeous photos inside the private homes of the designers we all love. Thanks go to photographer Stacey Bewkes for the lion’s share of these.

Robert Couturier says his pack of pedigreed shih tzus is welcome anywhere a 

human would be.

Emerging themes? Dogs rule. They are family members and treated with as much give, take and love as any partner or child. Which, I daresay, is as it should be.

Jonathan Adler's Foxy Lady, a mixed breed rescue, enjoys lounging around her designer's home au naturel. Somehow, that seems to me to fit the midcentury modern aesthetic, don't you agree?

My only question is, How long must I wait before At Home with Designers and Their CATS debuts? One thing’s for sure: It’s probably the cats holding up the show, right?

At least that's what Millie told me. Isn't she adorable?

PS: I would have reviewed this book sooner so YOU could order as a holiday gift for the designing dog-lover in your life, but I didn’t want to give away the surprise to Erin and Millie. I only hope that seeing how some pups live doesn't make her too demanding. That decadent dog's life can be addictive.

If you want more (& how could you NOT?!!)…

Windsor Smith and her German Shepherd Sur enjoy a quiet moment alone together in her Santa Monica Hills
(Calif.) home.

• Follow the links below to browse and/or order your very own copy of this book and others by Susanna Salk. 
• Check out the Architectural Digest review of this book. 
• Follow photographer Stacey Bewkes’ design blog, Quintessence and read what she has to say about photographing this fun project. 
• Check out author and designer Susanna Salk's website.
• Shop (and follow!) both my Etsy and ebay stores for vintage finds, a few of my boho DIYs, and next-to-new surplus home decor. New merchandise gets added regularly, so check both places often. 
• Sign up to have BoHo Home posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place. 
• Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier at this very merry time of year!

         
         

On FLEEK / Pink & Orange, the New Boho Sweethearts

Pantone Color Institute issued a 2018 trends report for interiors last week that said something you may already know: Pink and orange is the new color combo hottie, and we’re going to see a lot of it through next year.

Though they didn’t reveal official PMS numbers for the hottest shades of pink and orange, they did release palettes. Here are the shades of pink to watch for...

Pantone

Everything from the palest of blushes to hues approaching purple and terra-cotta.

And here are the shades of orange...

Pantone

Mostly subdued shades—variations on pinkish-clay all the way up to yellowy-apricot and peach hues.

It all reminds me of a favorite, fruity dessert—a peach melba parfait—that I remember having at the now-defunct Moultrie Tavern in Charleston, SC, on my honeymoon, 28 years ago this upcoming Saturday. 

In that spirit, I thought I’d share some rooms I found that seem, like the traditional dessert (left) and its frozen-yogurt and layer-cake spin-offs (right) to make the most of fresh peaches and raspberry puree.

Let’s start with paint

If you’re not ready to reupholster and/or replace all of your furniture, try out peach melba color-blocking on your walls. I found several delightful examples of this…

Houzz

Via Achados de Decoração

Found on Flickr

But unless your mind just naturally thinks in color-blocks, I’d leave the paint until last. At least that’s what most interior designers recommend. That doesn’t mean you can’t begin with an inspiration. Particularly with such a bold choice, it helps to have a reference point.

You could start with art and build out

Anna Spiro

This painting offers a bold dose of pink that cuddles up nicely with the persimmon sofa. The modified-stripe pillows marry the two harmoniously.

Via Habitually Chic

LOVE that larger painting with the pink background against the peachy-keen wall! The pink table beneath gets the color combo moving. The orange is found again on the rug (accented with a bit of pink) and the pillows and throw wrap it all together on neutral furniture. 

This is a perfect illustration of why neutral upholstered pieces are so terrific. White, cream, beige, or gray, you can completely change accessories in your room for a whole new look.

These chairs make a bold statement with their raspberry upholstery and peachy pillows. Their inspiration, however, is more subtle. Take a close look at the two paintings of Chinese figures, a man and a woman. The pinks are in the man’s coat, and the oranges are in the skirt that hangs out beneath the woman’s coat. And because of the subtlety, the chairs really pop!

Jai Vasicek photo / Adore Magazine

Most of the pink and orange color scheme here is in the painting, and it gives you an idea of how close these hues are to each other. The pillows and the geometric rug reinforce this marriage made in nature. Think sunrise, sunset.

Melanie Acevedo photo / Domino

The pink and orange painting in this bedroom not only sets the palette of the room, but its lines also mimic the lines of the chandelier. Or is it the other way around? Regardless, the two reinforce each other, and I’d expect nothing less from a Kelly Wearstler-designed room.

Color-wise, the bedroom leans toward some of the more purply pinks. It’s a bit hard to tell, but it looks as if the headboard upholstery may be an orangey-pink on a deeper ground.

These next two photos come from the home of designer Amanda Nisbet.

Tony Vu / One Kings Lane

Each photo is the opposite end of the same room in Nisbet's Manhattan apartment. It helps to look at them together, though, to see how the art has set the color palette. Adding orange drapes and pillows and raspberry velvet chairs was a no-brainer when drawing from such vibrant paintings. 

Take the grand tour of the entire apartment at One Kings Lane.

Tony Vu / One Kings Lane

Or fall in love with a textile and go from there.

John Gruen photo / New England Home

Maybe it’s an area rug that will catch your eye and give you the courage you need to go for the apricot velvet sofa with the raspberry piping. See more of this home at New England Home magazine.

Via Forgive-Ness / Tumblr

Or maybe it will be the combination of two very different rugs layered—which is another trend. One rug here is geometric and the other is striped, which means they work well together, particularly since the pale, yellowish orange of the geometric appears in the stripe. The sofa color represents the more vibrant orange in the geometric rug, and the floral pillow, which mixes well with both rugs, contains all the colors. 

Here, the art represents the darker, more subtle tones present in the textiles, which goes to show art doesn’t HAVE to dictate color palette but can be enhanced by contrasting color.

Via Décor Pics and Home Decorating Ideas

This bedroom vignette has so many good things going on that it’s tough to decide which was the inspiration. I’m going to choose the floral pillow sham, with its vibrant orange background and raspberry pink flowers. It’s certainly what brings together the rest of the bedding and the art. 

Obviously, the framed black and white textile works well with the black bedframe and campaign chest. I’m loving the pink matboard used, as well as the pops of blue.

Good things come in 3s

Andrew Arthur photo / My Domaine

Believe me, it takes at least three photos to sing the glories of a Manuel Canovas fabric, like the one used on the walls, bedskirts...

Andrew Arthur photo / My Domaine

…and draperies of this bedroom...

Andrew Arthur photo / My Domaine

…as well as on the walls of the en suite bathroom in this Lousiana home designed by Melissa Miles Rufty. See more of this Greek Revival rowhouse in the Garden District of New Orleans on My Domaine.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell what served as a room’s inspiration

Roger Davies photo

What would you guess was inspiration for this uber-sophisticated, multi-layered room in the Sao Paulo home of Brazilian architect and designer Sig Bergamin? The rug? The pillow textiles? Those matching raspberry velvet sofas that look yummy enough to eat?

Maybe another view of the same room will help…

Roger Davies photo

I’m guessing it was the glass collection, displayed against mirrored walls, but it may easily have been a combination of elements. Bergamin loves color and knows how to use it in mucho-megadoses. Continue your tour of this home at Architectural Digest

This one is a bit tougher. At first you may ask, where’s the orange?

Lesley Unruh photo / One Kings Lane

But the cocktail ottoman is a coral-salmon color. And although the matching settees look pink to me, they’re also described as coral, though a different shade. Either way, ALL the pink and orange hues in the room are just a little different and range from the palest blush in the carpet to the bold raspberry stripes of the chair at right.

Lesley Unruh photo / One Kings Lane

I’m guessing the inspiration was painting itself, though not any particular painting. Owner Kate Schelter’s first passion is painting watercolors, an art form in which one color veritably fades into another, and that’s the effect achieved here. I adore how it all works with the fun animal-type print on the sofa.

Take the full tour of this Chelsea (NYC) loft Schelter shares with her husband, daughter and dog at One Kings Lane.

I know it’s the carpet, but which one?

POCO Designs / Via Desire to Inspire

Was the inspiration the abstract floral carpet on the wall or the ribbon-like one on the floor?

POCO Designs / Via Desire to Inspire

Or is it the painting hanging opposite the wall-rug? I’ll let you decide. My only certainty is you can take the full tour of this Sydney, Australia, apartment at Desire to Inspire.

I wouldn’t begin to second-guess designer Alexa Hampton...

Steve Freihon photo / AD

…especially when it comes to her own bedroom. She says the views of Manhattan were what inspired this sumptuously appointed pink, orange and purply bedroom.

Scott Frances photo

Those views are easier to see in this earlier iteration of the room, which Hampton says she hated because the room didn’t stand up to the views. It was lovely, but she may have a point.

Steve Freihon photo

I do like this version much, much better, don’t you? Continue your tour of Hampton's apartment HERE, and learn how a designer handles her own mistakes HERE.

Hampton says this was a lesson to her to always go bold. 

But since the rest of us can't write off a failed home redo as a business expense, I suggest embracing the new in small doses at first. You can always add more later. This works particularly well if you’re wary of color, and even better if you remember that, apart from the Summer of Love in 1967, everyone said this combination clashed. 

It certainly doesn’t clash, and I’m relieved to know that finally, since my favorite dress—the first one I sewed myself (in the Summer of Love, of course)—was pink, orange and yellow swirls.

Indulgy

Confessions aside, I love how this last room has good color bones with black bookshelves, a multicolor oriental rug, and this luscious pale-gold velvet sofa. Accessorizing could go any number of ways, but a framed block of pink, two peachy pillows, and a rust-colored flower pot bring it up-to-date with where we’re headed for 2018.

If you want more…

• Check out last week’s post “On FLEEK: What’s the color landscape for 2018?” for a broader look at emerging color trends.
• Learn about the color forecasting industry and access Pantone's color intelligence reports.
• Sign up to received Tones, Pantone's email newsletter.
• Sign up to receive Pantone news and notice of free webinars, including those announcing colors of the year.
• Become a BoHo Home follower in whatever way works best for you: Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or, follow my blog with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.

New Missoni home decor line is for boho kids of all ages

Excuse my saying so, but Margherita Missoni’s new Pottery Barn Kids line is too fun and too boho to limit to just children’s spaces. If you have young children or are expecting, then by all means, shop this line.

But if, like me, you’re beyond child-bearing and/or child-rearing, don’t be sad: There’s lots in this line to appeal to the mature set who haven’t lost their eye for color and fun.

Get an overview of the collection in this promotional video…

Now here’s a rundown of what in the collection, in my opinion, works for all of us grown-ups...

A tisket, a tasket

Pottery Barn Kids

My laundry room is directly off my kitchen, and I keep a laundry bag hanging on the back of the door in between for stashing used kitchen towels and cloth napkins. Mine is plain old off-white canvas, so one of Margherita's Laundry Bags ($59) would be a welcome upgrade. I’ll take the green tiger, please. Why, of course, I picked the cat!

Pottery Barn Kids

And these baskets are all dreamy. My own personal favorites are the Diamond baskets in the top photo, but I wouldn’t refuse either the Blue or Pink Hombre baskets. The larger sizes ($69) would make terrific wastebaskets, and the smaller ones ($39) could hold books, a sewing project, magazines, a stack of throws to ward off the chill, or extra throw pillows.

Pottery Barn Kids

These fun-shaped basket pendants ($199) are also terrific for any age. I love the odd shapes of each one, both of which remind me of hats! I can see the Yellow Pendant Basket hanging singly or grouped over a kitchen island or bathroom vanity. And the diamond-patterned, Black Pendant Basket would be just the ticket hung low over a casual dining or game table.

Yipes! Stripes! A Missoni tradition

Colorful stripes—and zigzags, in particular—have long been the stuff of Missoni design, whether in fashion or home interiors.

Pottery Barn Kids

So this Pop Color Stripes Rug has a long string of forbears, as well as a myriad of adult uses in the modern home, with sizes ranging from 3-by-5 feet to 8-by-10 feet ($149-$699).

Pottery Barn Kids

Ya' gotta admit, it looks pretty snazzy beneath the Dripped Side Table ($89), which is itself a jazzy add-on in any adult-frequented room.

Pottery Barn Kids

It pairs equally well with the Linen Patchwork Baby Bedding ($24-$129) and Quilted Bedding (available in twin and full/queen, $34-$209), both from the collection.

I’m also digging that cute Animal Canopy ($149) above the twin beds, but I haven’t figured out a way to make it work for eligible-for-AARP me. Now if I had grandkids…

Please, don’t eat the daisies

Pottery Barn Kids

But you're certainly welcome to sit in the Petal Desk Chair ($299). Don’t worry, it’s standard size and would make a darling vanity chair.

Pottery Barn Kids

And the Yellow Daisy Mirror ($199) would be stunning in a powder bath or entry hall as a fun and cheery accent. Who among us wouldn’t like to see how they look as a flower at least once in their lifetime?

Pottery Barn Kids

I, for one, would even enjoy plopping down on that Daisy Pouf ($99), provided there’s someone around to help me get back up.

Seeing spots

Pottery Barn Kids

No, the chest isn’t part of the collection, but the set of six colorful knobs ($49) is and would add a delightful touch to painted or stained furniture or cabinets.

Pottery Barn Kids

Or try the set of four colorful hooks ($49) to jazz up a laundry room, bath or hallway. It’s important, IMHO, to make every room in the house function with fun in mind.

Pottery Barn Kids

The Modern Mobile ($59) will work in just about any space, in addition to over a baby’s crib, and would look particularly fetching refracting the rays spilling through a sunny window.

Pottery Barn Kids

The Stars and Stripes Garlands ($19 each) would add extra pizzazz to any self-respecting, kid-at-heart adult’s office, don’t you think? I can just see the stripey one decking out my very own mood board.

Poufs, pillows, & pouches

Pottery Barn Kids

Okay, I admit, if you don't have kids you’ll have hard time explaining the Jumbo Turtle Pouf ($119). But if you don’t tell on me, I won’t tell on you, K?

Pottery Barn Kids

The collection also includes a number of sweet and quirky pillows. I especially love the Embroidered Beetle Pillow ($24.50, right behind “Frog Lover”) and think it would be a great addition to a sunporch.

Pottery Barn Kids

And these Embroidered Pouches ($49, $39 and $36, front to back)) are clearly not for your home, nor are they for kids, but I’m thinking they’d look extra special inside my purse or suitcase! I’m partial to the medium-size one, whose sentiment translates, Hands Off!

Want more? You got it!

• Browse the entire Margherita Missoni Home Collection at Pottery Barn Kids.
• Tour the boho country home of the design house’s co-founder, Rosita Missoni, in the Lombardy region of Italy in the May 12, 2016, edition of BoHo Home.
• Learn more about the Missoni label and browse its fashion and home products.
• Get BoHo Home in your inbox by subscribing through one of the services at the bottom of this page. Or, follow my blog with Bloglovin.
• Click on the (affiliate) links below to learn more about the Missoni design legacy…