Design goes to the dogs

Doghouses, even the classiest ones, may soon be passe. About 70 percent of America's dogs now spend more than half their time indoors, in the Big House -- the family home, which increasingly tends to feature dog-friendly walls, floors and upholstery.

We're not talking about mere cutesy, decorative nods to the adorableness of dogs, but about substantial human commitment -- and dollars -- to safer, more comfortable environments. Art and design celebrates the species that is at home with 43.5 million American families.

Talk about creature comforts. A house in Culver City, Calif., is being built from the ground up to ease life for a French sheepdog named Hobbes, a hairy 6-year-old who's not too steady on his feet. Hobbes' owners, public-relations consultant Joanna Brody and her husband, writer Thomas Small, say they've altered the architect's plans to include steps with a very gentle incline, almost like a ramp, because, as Hobbes gets older, he won't be able to climb traditional stairs.

Their architect, Whitney Sander of Los Angeles, says, "Floors will be rough nonslip concrete, instead of the polished finish we'd planned, because Hobbes tends to slip around on anything smooth."

The finish of a large interior wall, a major design element of the house, will be changed "so Hobbes' hair won't snag, which would be painful," Brody says.

The couple have named the house "Residence for a Briard," because, Brody says, "Hobbes is as important a resident as we are. He brings such constant joy. Anyone who knows us knows him. We take him everywhere."

Put them in pictures

Dog portraiture is booming business in this new era of pets. The Internet and dog magazines such as Bark, the New York Dog and Hollywood Dog are awash in ads for portraitists who claim to capture the essence of an animal in oils or photos. Prices charged by top talent range from a few hundred dollars (for a photographic sitting) to the high five figures for an oil.

Tigerlily and Harvey Rosen, for example, have a pet portrait by Beau Bradford in their Los Angeles home. The portrait depicts their two now-deceased English bulldogs, painted in the manner of Frida Kahlo. For fees from $2,500 to $15,000, Bradford will copy your favorite painting by a great artist and insert a likeness of your pets into its midst.

Noralisa and John Trott, of Los Angeles, say they're totally dog-oriented when it comes to decor.

"Actually, the dogs and the dog art are the decor," says Noralisa, a doctor. "We're not much into furniture," says her husband, a lawyer. The couple ramble through art fairs to find dog art, have commissioned paintings and photo portraits of their own dogs and own three silkscreens of Blue Dog, the imaginary canine repetitively painted by Louisiana artist George Rodrigue.

Actor and director Eric Stoltz displays art of his (and other) dogs throughout his New Mexico house. These days he's awaiting a portrait of his late Labrador retriever, Nestor, which he commissioned from portraitist Roger Henry.

Dog photographer Amanda Jones, 37, based in North Adams, Mass., says she's booked solid on weekend trips to 20 major cities across the country at which time she meets with dogs and their people, who have paid $850 for a photo session.

Then there are those like New York design consultant Julia Szabo who are so enamored with the look of their pets that they try to duplicate it in the decor. Szabo says she once reupholstered her sofa to match her dog. "I covered it in Ultrasuede the exact same gingery shade as my pit bull, Pepper. I just loved his color, loved looking at him and couldn't get enough." The monochromatic meld of canine on couch became the cover photo for Szabo's 2001 book on interior design for people who live with pets, "Animal House Style: Designing Your Home to Share With Your Pets."

"I got a lot of flak when the book came out, from people who thought the subject was silly," Szabo says. But no more. People are now looking for interior decor that works aesthetically for humans and practically for pets. Szabo says "so many advances have been made in fabrics, paints and flooring just since the book came out, that it is now possible to design interiors almost impervious to damage from pets."

New products

These improvements weren't created with pets in mind but to solve all sorts of other commercial and residential problems. They just happen to work with animals.

New modular carpeting by InterfaceFLOR is as handsome as much traditional stuff but is installed in easily removable 19-inch squares. If your pet has an accident, you just replace the stained square with a new one. Fabrics from Crypton mimic Ultrasuede, velvet or anything else you might want. But they are super strong and resist odors, bacteria, stains and rips and have a moisture barrier that protects the cushion beneath, the manufacturer says.

Szabo says her pets tend to rub against walls and mark them up. "Benjamin Moore has a wipeable, flat-finish paint (Regal Matte) that didn't exist when I wrote the book. I take cues from my pets' behavior. If you do that, your pets become your interior designers. ... They're basically showing us what does and does not work. Flat paint, certain delicate fabrics, wall-to-wall carpeting -- none of that works. It's useless in an animal house."