Houzz Tour: For the Love of a Cat in Philadelphia

patscats2 I like nothing about this space except that it gives this cat a wonderful place to live.

midmodfan The rope around the Stolmen pole is a clever idea.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Neither of the 2 'living rooms' are arranged for comfortable conversation. There's a nice variety of lighting styles, which manage to harmonize. They did a great job of opening up that kitchen.

Lori Johnson Misleading. There is more info on the house they things for the cat. Off the top of my head I can think of about 15 more things for the cat! Article is lame.

agentlulu Love the mix of colours, shiny elements and natural wood. Fantastic closet room!

tsudhonimh I see nothing her that is specifically "cat friendly" except the scratching post in the closet.

I was hoping for some good ideas and came away with bupkus.

ellie48 Thanks for the post Vanessa. The Christmas lights strung on ceiling is creative. I might. Have them up other than at Christmas. The rope-covered wardrobe pole, clever . The stacking of moldings. I must make sure my husband sees that application. Brilliant. I will say that McQueen has a caring family. Thanks again.

Margaret Evans I was hoping that it actually showed more ideas to make a home cat friendly while retaining modern style. The rope idea is good, would have liked close-up detail on the window that the cat 'previously couldn't get up to see out of'; just showed a pic of the kitty in the middle of the white room. Huh? Nice house, but disappointing given the title of the article.

Lydia Wright_Jackson I agree with the other people - this article is misleading. There is nothing cat friendly about this house besides the Stump and scratching post.

xenasmom I'm not into the sparkly tiles, but I am intrigued by the idea of the resin floors and I could put the birdcage full of fairy lights to immediate use.

JAN MOYER Have you ever noticed that the minute you splurge on a plush kitty bed, the kitty will climb into the cardboard box same bed arrived in, and sleep there all afternoon? Unless it moves to the top of your refrigerator to spy on you? Have you noticed how they prefer little balls of tin foil to the packaged mouse toy you just brought home? That sitting on the kitchen counter while your faucet drips is preferable to an expensive water fountain?? Huh? Ever notice...?

jfk66 All that white upholstery with a cat. Not what I would call cat friendly. Our cats would turn that into grey pretty quickly between their dirty paws and their hair.

smoore I'm really curious about the use of the mirrored tiles over the master bath vanity. Is there a completely different area in the bath that contains a real mirror and sink?

edmarch I share the same opinion as the rest, but I also wonder how the master bathroom with no proper mirror above the sink works out for the couple living here. I know the wall is made of mirrored tiles, but that's not very functional for a space where function is a must. I think most people are hard-wired to look in the mirror while shaving, brushing and flossing their teeth, or washing their face.

kennedytarheel Can you post any more photos showing how the rocks in the turquoise room are set into what looks like a concrete floor? I'm intrigued by the idea of mixing inside and outside. Also, I like the texture created by combining different mouldings in the closet area. Can you give more detail on how they got the curve in the mouldings under the window, and whether any edging was used to "finish" the mouldings around the inside of the window? Thanks. Some very interesting ideas here....love the birdcage light!

zorrquidea My cat won't scratch on rope, and likes carpet. Trouble is, scratching posts are so darn ugly! I have been contemplating making a plywood cube, and covering it with carpet and fake fur, but in an artistic way, then putting a purchased cat bed on top for a perch. I figure once I do this I can always replace the carpet once it gets shredded.

Peggy Aronson Very creative renovation!

Francesca I would agree with the commenters who, like me, came here looking for some really good ideas for decorating for the cats who choose to cohabitate with us. I like the idea of the extra space under the window. I've managed to teach my cats to scratch only their cardboard place and rope posts. But nowhere in here did they have something new and exciting for where to place the litter box. That's imperative in any cat owner's home.

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR Oh, such mean comments today. Tsk, tsk, tsk. The article shows exactly what it promises ... cat friendliness via simple furniture, built-in cat perches, and innovation on the scratching spots -- all while still being modern in style. Love the curved perch built-in under the window. It's a nice, architectural addition that you'd never suspect was built just for kitty. The stump placed immediately in front of the window is fun too. The rope around the post is a very good idea, and again, nobody would suspect it's real purpose just looking at it. I live on an acre of heavily forested land and my cats have a kitty door so they could go scratch to their kitty hearts content on real trees. Yet they scratch on any wood, vertical surface in my house. Go figure. The simple furniture is a must. No fussy damasks or velvets here. The egg chair is a super double as human chair and supreme cat bed. The resin floor is sheer genius. Any non-porous, and completely seamless flooring is perfect for pets. I would write more, but one of my six cats is continually trying to get on my lap while I'm typing. Ya' done good, Vanessa. Interesting place.

JAN MOYER fsball, you can add a cat perch under any window, with a generous piece of plywood, padded and upholstered in a fabric to coordinate with any interior. A cat will stay on it most of the day! Any out of the way window with a view of birds and trees will do.
As to litter boxes, an age old dilemma, and a less frequented bath is often the best solution. Mostly because there is no perfect solution, other than to have an OUTDOOR KITTY. Frequent "scooping", and frequent changes are implied of course.

Lanie Brown meow,

nking43 Have you ever noticed ... When you bring home a new pad or bed, kitty loves it? For up to three days.

patscats2 I've learned that cats also like to scratch cedar. We rescue ferals and have an outdoor enlcosure built on to their inside living quarters. Since rope and carpet were not an option for outside, we installed cedar boards to hold up one of their overhead runs. They have clawed through 1/4 of it already. They really love it.

Pangaea, the cats are scratching inside to mark their territory. I have cats who have access to the yard yet come inside to use the litter box!!

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR patscats -- Well, with 6 cats marking their territory, trust me, the house is ALL THEIRS! Cedar! Who knew? I've never been able to get my head around why they did not scratch the moldings at our last house but here the wood is destroyed. We have cedar all over the house (built in the 70's) and although I've replaced lots of it, I have yet to get rid of it all. And yes, I cannot get over the fact that they have access to the great outdoors 24/7 and still want to come in for the letterboxes. Someday I will have either concrete or giant format tile floors and no cedar. That will be a happy day. I don't see any way out of the litter boxes though.

ladub 1700 sq feet on 4 levels is quite a challenging space, yet it's been infused with creativity and personal style that suits both human and feline inhabitants. I love the use of texture and reflective surfaces. So many articles on Houzz showcase homes where money is no object, it's nice to see how these newlyweds went for a great space, and are taking a gradual approach to furnishing it. The cabinet next to the bar is reminiscent of a Tommi Parzinger piece. I can visualize those Louis ghost chairs getting moved around to create cozy areas for conversation. And smoore, be assured a concrete sink is "real" enough.

dmansou I like the mirrored backsplash

mmdvienna Love the grey tones and the high polish resin floors, but hate the IKEA paper lanterns over the bathroom sink (very nice) and the mirrored tile. Too many textures and materials, ugh! This house has some very nice ideas, but others that just make it look a bit cheap (Christmas lights just strung over the ceiling? hm). Can't judge on the cat ideas - but agree that there weren't many, I also expected more

Betty's Room, LLC Vanessa, thanks for all the love you put into this article. I think you did a beautiful job. As with all design, spaces will appeal to some while not to others. If you are interested in seeing more photos of McQueen the kitty, there are more of her using her perch, watching the birds outside on her catwalk, sleeping on her bed, etc. Click on the link for the Ideabook below:




Thanks everyone for your thoughtful comments!

katerlyn try googling "cat enclosures" and you'll get more cat ideas, i was disappointed, too.

kennedytarheel Thanks for posting the overhead photo of the rocks and concrete floor. Are the rocks set into mortar or loose? Love this idea. The concrete seems to act as a "natural" barrier to rocks spreading through the room. Did you consider any other floor other than concrete, and eliminate it because rocks would spill over or spread? Would still like more info on how you got the mouldings to curve under the window. Thanks! PS...My solution to living with cats is to have a dog :0-) woof!

Betty's Room, LLC Kennedytarheel - Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you are enjoying different elements of our home sweet home. :) The rocks are loose and yes, the concrete is a natural barrier. I didn't consider any other options besides concrete. It really was the best choice for a bottom floor and not only is it functional for that space, but just beautiful!

As for the mouldings, I built out a frame with studs to form the bend. The moulding is not wood, but that other softer material (forget what it's called) and so bends easily. But that's about as sharp as you can curve it w/o risk of it snapping at some point. Does that help?

There is a link under the first photo from my other comment that will link you to more photos of the moulding and concrete, if you want to see more!

Meow? Puppy is next on the list... ;)

smoore @ladub- Thank you for the comment but I didn't reference the sink as not being "real" as you stated. I was asking about the mirror. I was interested how the homeowner handled the concept of a "real" mirror in the master bath for makeup etc. Please feel free to reread my comment.

zedjafri plenty of great DIY ideas in the house. Looks fresh and stylish

Neny Padrn_Garcia Love the kitchen and the front door... everything else looks like fleamarket and thrown-away finds... I'll call this decor "a la cheap."

ittybittykitty Where do they keep the litter box? We are thinking about doing a "cat-outhouse" and need some ideas!

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR Hi Ittybittykitty -- I wrote a blog post for my own website -- not one of the ones I've had published here on Houzz -- that has several good ideas on how to hide the litter box. This is a link to part 2 of the post. The entire post was about staging your home for sale when you are a pet owner. If you scroll down the post, you'll see several photos of ingenious litter box hiding spots. One more idea that isn't in the post would be to build a small dog house sized structure and place that outdoors right next to a kitty door. Then your kitties can go through the door into the "outhouse" and use that litter box. It needs to have a solid roof to keep out rain, but you could build it with chicken coop wiring, hardware cloth (smaller metal screen than chicken coop wiring), or even wood lattice. If the roof is easy to lift then it's easy to clean out the litter box. I know cats have better eyesight in the dark than we do, but I would have a porch light on, or put in a small interior light. They can't see in pitch blackness.

http://interior-design-portland.com/home-staging-portland-style-tips-for-pet-owners-part-2-making-it-easier/

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR Oh, and I almost forgot. Our own Houzz writer, Becky Harris, wrote an excellent Ideabook on litter boxes. Here's the link to that.

sherrymichael Lots of clever design ideas! I love the mirrored tile. It would be great for our wet bar. Where did you find it?

Betty's Room, LLC Hi, sherrymichael! Yes! The tiles are flashy, but fun! :) Here is the link:

http://www.cooltiles.com/ottlp9085.html

Good luck! I'd love to see the finished product!

grammiediter I couldn't find anything I liked but the birdcage/christmas lights...the Master bedroom looks like a basement re-do........nothing seem to go together in this house. A mishmatch of all kinds of stuff. Sorry. Just not my taste.

Diamondflame Nice idea but scratch posts are totally useless. My cats much prefer scratching on furniture edges. How do you scratchproof your furniture without sacrificing aesthetics?

sherrymichael Thank you so much for your prompt response!

domesticengineertoo Gee I have seen cat friendly houses that make this one look like nothing. Stairs going up a wall to openings thru the upper wall into the next room. To me that is a great idea as cats like heights. To me this house is not "cat friendly" but people friendly. This place looked like college put together. As you can tell I did not care for it. Just not my taste

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR diamondflame -- You can try putting strips of 2" wide clear packing tape all the way up the corners of your upholstered pieces. It tends to disappear, and most people won't notice it. Also depends on the fabric as to how much you would notice the tape. It makes the surface smooth, so they can't get their little claws in it. Once trained, you might be able to remove the tape ... but no guarantees as their memories are not always that good. When my cats were indoor cats many years ago, I put those little rubber tips on their front claws. It was the only way I could save my furniture and not have to de-claw the kitties. I only had 2 kitties at the time, so it was pretty easy to keep up with it. They do eventually come off, so you need to re-apply new ones from time to time. Does not hurt the kitty. Can't do that with a kitty that has any opportunity to get outside though.