Jasper, Put That Down!

JP and I have nearly mastered the art of decorating a house with kids in it. We follow a fairly consistent philosophy:

Only buy things that are easy to care for and look better with use
Pass on the fancy decorative objects for now and work it out with the family mementos
Be prepared: good organization is the thin thread that holds it all together
And most importantly, embrace the concept of Wabi Sabi, at least while the kids are still living with us.

However, the introduction of Jasper to the family (see post "Welcome to the Family Jasper, Please Keep Your Feet Off the Table") has inspired a whole new set of guidelines that were heretofore unnecessary when we were just decorating for three kids. For example:

Reconsider the concept of "easy to care for." Rustic furniture finishes are great for kids, but are no match for Jasper.
Look at every arrangement of furniture for it's climbing potential. We've walked into our office and found Jasper standing with all four legs on the 20" desktop three feet off the floor.
Put your $200 Zebra print pillows away. Kids can be trained not to chew on your $200 Zebra print pillows, Jasper cannot.
When you return from a trip, don't leave your suitcase open on the floor. Otherwise you'll find Jasper sleeping in it.
If you buy a cashmere scarf, put it away right away unless you want to see Jasper walking down the hall wearing it.

Because we love Jasper, we're accommodating him by making adjustments to our decor to keep him out of trouble. However, if I see him walking down the hall wearing my motorcycle boots...

Welcome to the Family, Jasper. Please Keep Your Feet Off the Table.

We've added a new member to the Furber family: Jasper, a 10 month old yellow lab. Since we had our last dog Shelby put down at the ripe old age of 13, I'd forgotten about many of the quirky habits of big dogs:

Jumping on the furniture
Eating off the kitchen counter
Running through the house with muddy feet
Crashing into things and breaking them
Eating things that aren't food

In fact, Jasper shares many of those habits with my children. I'd also forgotten about the decorating challenges that go along with having a dog. The moment my husband suggested Jasper's cage (which is about the size of an office cubicle) should be placed permanently in the family room, I knew I had to get it together.

We needed a bed and a bowl that looked cute in my house, or it was going to be like the early days with the kids when Decor by Playskool ruled my family room. Lucky for me, and for Jasper, I live in San Francisco where we have George, a really great pet store. They have a website with lots of good stuff:

Here is the perfect bowl for Jasper








And the mat for it to sit on so he doesn't chase it all over the kitchen floor while he's eating. Have you ever tried to read while a dog is eating out of a bowl that's moving across the kitchen floor? Makes it hard to concentrate.








And the perfect bed for Jasper so he can hang with the family while we watch movies in the family room








Now that Jasper has moved in, and all his stuff looks good in the house, we can concentrate on teaching him some of the basic rules that apply to Furber children and dogs alike:
Come when you're called
Put your toys away
Don't eat something if it's not yours
Leave the room when you fart