All creatures great and small

Sorry for the sporadic posts lately. For those of you who don't know, our cat Chino has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and we've been trying to spend as much time with him as possible since he doesn't have too much time left. At 14, we're not sure if he'd make it through any surgery, and even that doesn't guarantee much more than a few extra months since the cancer is fatal in felines. So we've been making things as easy as possible for him, rigging steps or chairs to help him reach the bed or his other perches...

This experience has made me think about how much pets can enrich our homes and our lives. They're little thinking creatures who share our space with us. I recently found another blog that captures so many of these daily rituals and gems. Yasmine Surovec publishes her comics online at Cat vs. Human. I love the comics so much, I'm going to get the book from Amazon.

Here's a little taste of what she does:

Thanks to her recent online sale at Fab, I also snatched up a great little poster. I'm obsessed.

I like how she really captures so many of the domestic trials and tribulations of living with animals, especially how they affect her interior space and home.

Got any funny cat/dog/pet sites you'd like to share?

The resolution of all my fruitless searches...

Here's the before and after of the dining room from my last completed project. We searched for various rug options before settling on FLOR tiles--I'm really having a moment with them since they're so easy to order and install and are really budget-friendly ways to get a (semi)custom size.

BEFORE:

And AFTER:

The art collection is all family-based, with the latest abstracts done by the kids. The wall can keep growing and filling the space.

Secret Garden

I find inspiration everywhere, especially from friends. We went to our friend Evan's place this weekend for a potluck housewarming garden party and I was just amazed by the casual, colorful vignettes that were just there--not planned or purposely placed at all. (By the way, Evan hosts an arts and crafts drag dance party every Friday night called Some Thing. Yes, there is a craft table...in the bar!)

I just want four walls and adobe slats for my girls...

For the past several months I've been working with a great family who have two young daughters and live in a Victorian home with sky-high ceilings and lots of period details. With busy lives, it's sometimes hard to make decisions that you know will have long- and short-term effects for your everyday lives as well as the lives of your kids as they grow and start running around. In the end, I think we did a good job balancing the toys with grown-up spaces by maximizing the built-in storage and finding furniture and accessories that are kid-friendly.

Here's the Living Room BEFORE:

  

And here it is AFTER (after a completed paint job, painted chandelier and fireplace, new furniture, and a rug swap from Family Room...):

 

Here's adjoining Family Room BEFORE:

 

And here it is AFTER (that's me reflected in the TV, standing in the adjoining Living Room):

 

The Entry/Foyer was pretty empty beforehand, so I thought it might be fun to do a little interactive crafty installation within the existing picture frame moulding. When the front door opens, a stray breeze should animate all these pinwheels and entertain the kids...for at least a second, I hope!

I'm still waiting for some FLOR tiles to show up for the Dining Room (which is part of the Family Room), so hopefully I'll have some images to show you next week!

Something tells me I'm into something good...

I'm digging this matte black ancanthus leaf thing I'm seeing everywhere.

Here's a chandelier I spied at the new cerveza joint on 18th & Church this past weekend. It's a cute place to grab some microbrew on your way to Dolores Park.

PS: Ye Olde Dayjobbe is kind of cray-cray at the moment, so please pardon less than regular posts!

I see a red door and I want to paint it black...

Remember the kind of gross lamps from a couple of weeks ago? Well, I bought them thinking I'd paint them a chic flat black and....

What do you think? (The other one's still drying as I write this.) Now I think they're kind of rocking a neoclassical look. Love the flat black.

When I find the right room for them, I'll post another pic!

Take me down like I'm a domino...

Trying to finish up some projects and I've been balancing out the extra work by going on some runs. I saw the video to one of the songs on my playlist and love the "wallpaper" backgrounds--they remind me of Barbara Hulanicki's line for Graham & Brown!