Menagerie

I must admit, I love animals. The living ones and the statuary versions. I'm not really talking taxidermy here as I don't love the formerly living stuffed versions of animals. I've been thinking about animal statues a lot lately especially the larger versions (not really the smaller ones like Foo dogs, Staffordshire dogs or the ubiquitous elephant garden seat), ever since I saw a pair of stone greyhounds in my local garden shop recently that resembled this one:

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Then, I immediately thought of all the dog statues I had seen scattered throughout my Pinterest boards. Not sure I love this stark white one, he may be too mod for me.

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I kind of like this guy hanging out in the stairwell rather unexpectedly on his leopard carpet next to his Louis Phillipe mirror - how dignified!

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Barrie Benson injects some playfulness into this modern decor with a pair of cuties flanking the fireplace.

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I love the whimsical nature of these hand-painted porcelain pooches, not to mention the amazing orange lacquered walls, decorative molding and ceiling! My friend Nelya noticed a theme in my latest pins and actually suggested this photo to me. Aren't blog friends the best?

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Next up, there are elephant garden seats in this room designed by Ruthie Sommers but also a dog statue that is rather unobtrusive.

Do you see it? It's like a design game of Where's Waldo. I'll show a different angle so it's easier to find.

He's just hanging out on the hearth, cozying up to the fire.

And in another one of Ruthie's rooms . . . a poodle stands sentinel. Isn't this the sofa she used in Drew Barrymore's office that was featured in Domino? I'm thinking it is, or one very similar. Maybe this was from her showroom. Anyway, moving on . . .

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Of course, if dogs aren't your thing, there are always other large animal statues with which you can decorate your domicile. Here are some large brass deer that would make quite a statement. 

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Or how about a monkey?

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So, where am I going with this? I really have no idea. I just wanted to show you what's going through my brain and that I might break down and get a big dog statue at some point. Or I may not. What are your thoughts on my animalia obsession (as Nelya diagnosed it)? Do you think they're cute or should I stick with my living, breathing animals (of which I have three)?

Around Here

I recently found some Persian rugs on clearance at Homegoods for $25!

Yes, my hardwood floors are orange. Trust me, it's on the list.

 

 

 

Of course, I had to get one, and actually bought one for my friend Becky too (she paid me back). It now sits in my entry replacing this one that I bought for $20 at an estate sale . . .

While I still love this rug, unfortunately, my puppy has had a couple of "accidents" on it, and it has a couple of large bleached out stains on it. Ugggh. I'm going to check into having it professionally cleaned (my amateur cleaning didn't do much good), but for now the new one is taking its place. 

Speaking of my puppies, when I left the room for a moment to get something, I came back to my seat on the sofa to start my blog post to find this . . . 

Seat stealers! And I think Zoe is trying to take over my blog as well. She's basically sitting on poor Piper. Aren't they the cutest?

And some of you (namely Nelya) have admonished me for teasing the painting of my basement room Hague Blue and not showing you at least a sneak peek. So, I ran downstairs and snapped a shot to give you an idea of what it looks like. So, without further ado, ta da . . .

I hung one of Matt's photos on the wall just to show you the contrast.

This is about all you're gonna get for now for several reasons. A. There's a bunch of furniture in the middle of the room. B. We need new carpet down there and C. It will be a while before the room comes together because we need to get a new sofa upstairs so we can move the old one (the one the dogs were lying on) downstairs. This will take time. But, I love the color. I may have mentioned this before, but this room has NO windows, no natural light, so rather than fight that, I decided to embrace it and paint the room a dark blue (Sherwin Williams color-matched Farrow & Ball's Hague Blue in semi gloss). It's very cozy and enveloping. I can't wait to share the final product, but it may be a little while so please bear with me. 

So is there anything new going on around your house?