Charlene was a young thing when I painted the foyer. Her eyes were the prettiest shade of blue and I selected a paint color that was inspired by those lovely peepers of hers. The color was called "Spring Rain" - how fitting for a Northwest kitty born in March!
I added a dark wood table with a creamy marble top in the entryway - very similar to Butterbean's fur color combo - and then I realized I had designed a space around my cat.
I'm aware that what I'm about to say is a little on the nutty side, but now Wylla and Charlene are usually a factor in my decision making process when considering changes to the home. Sometimes it's purely practical, like how long will it take for them to destroy that ottoman, but often it's completely aesthetic.
Don't you feel better when you're wearing a color you know looks good on you? Is it possible a feline might feel better napping on a throw blanket that complements her coloring?
Suppose you painted your whole kitchen to match your cat's nose?
Because that's what we're about to do.
Tell me, friends. Have we gone off the deep end?
That is so precious! And stylish... :D
ReplyDeleteI have a black and white cat and I like to dress in black and white, too.
ReplyDeleteHave I gone off? Probably.
Do I care? Nope :)
A more important question is, will Home Depot let me bring my tiny tabby into the store for comparison purposes?
ReplyDeleteConsidering how ridiculously photogenic those girls are, it only makes sense to have coordinating backdrops for them.
ReplyDeleteTina & The Kittyboyz
It's nice here, off the deep end, isn't it? I knitted some socks with self striping wool; they are grey, brown and black fine stripes and we have a tabby cat. I call them my tabby socks...what else?
ReplyDeleteYou might like this collection! http://ancientartsfibre.com/Meow_Collection_Info.html
DeleteAs I like to say it's their house, they're just nice enough to let us pay the mortgage/rent.
ReplyDeleteThis is the sweetest thing I've ever read! Now I want to decorate my apartment based on my cat :)
ReplyDeleteWhen we bought our gray couch we liked the way it looks gray at a distance, but up close has threads of black and off white--perfect for a black cat and a gray calico.
That is a fantastic idea! I am too lazy to paint anything but my nails, but I can use my imagination. :-)
ReplyDeleteNo, you have not gone off the deep end. I picked the tan color of microfiber to cover my couches because Maine Coon hair does not show up on it. Ditto the sage green carpet. I admit to not yet picking wall color to match noses or eyes, but there is still time to do so! Plus Wylla Nose is a lovely color when the skies are grey outside.
ReplyDeleteYou might be starting a trend here.
ReplyDeleteIf I did this, my house would look like Halloween year round - we have a bi-color orange/white tabby and a tortie :)
ReplyDeleteOur recently departed orange tabby Henry always seem to choose sleeping spots that coordinated with his fur. He avoided red and gravitated toward purple. He's been gone three weeks today, and I miss him a lot...
ReplyDeleteI agree that your girls are so pretty that it makes sense to coordinate with them!
*Hugs* for you and Henry. I'm sure my Buttercup welcomed him to the bridge, she'd only been there a week.
DeleteSorry to hear about your Buttercup, freckledme! It really is hard to say goodbye to a furry friend... Hopefully Buttercup and Henry are together now, playing with catnip mice and napping in warm sunbeams.
DeleteHugs to you both.
DeleteThoughts & prayers, both of you, and to anyone else grieving a loss. A departed kitty does leave such a huge void, we know all too well! Hang in there; we will see them again....from Arowyn
DeleteThanks to all of you.
Deletenothing wrong with using the extreme cute as inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteI think that's delightful!
ReplyDeleteThen again, it might just be time to get some kittens.....
ReplyDeleteThe tricky thing is that if we're really going to go off the deep end in designing around/for our cats, it'd be to work on scent design. The sense of smell is a huge part of how cats interact with the world, and in a more territory-centric way than with dogs. Animal handlers at zoos work on environment "enrichment" with medium and big cats (and other animals) which includes a fair component of tweaking the habitat's smells to engage the big felines. So yep, that rabbit hole definitely goes deeper!
ReplyDeleteWhy not ?? I think you are doing it right since your girls are so beautiful. The IBKC may think that I've gone off the deep end because I bought my house specifically with the cats in mind. I only had 2 requirements for myself but about 3 dozen for my cats -- especially a very long hallway for races and chases, lots of windows for sunbathing and a screened in porch for critter watching. Although I never thought to paint my walls Siamese seal point brown -- just might make the interior a little too dark.
ReplyDeleteGosh NO, the colour is really pretty and ideal for the kitchen and when it matches your kitten/cats nose all the better!!
ReplyDeletePut me firmly in the camp of "makes perfect sense to me!"
ReplyDeletePeggy
I haven't deliberately decorated to match the cats. But after painting my kitchen cabinets, I realized that the color closely matched my cat's eyes, which were a particularly appealing shade of green.
ReplyDeleteLuv the peachy colored wall which is a purrfect back drop for Ms. Wylla!
ReplyDeleteRosemary K.
No, you have not gone off the deep end. Kitties do seem to seek out napping spots that match their coats. It probably is some sort of camouflage-for-sleeptime throwback from the eons before they domesticated us humans. They probably also, given that flair they have for being cute and being adored, are aware of its effects on us, in their modern form. So between those two factors, they would almost certainly enjoy having surroundings that match them. And almost nothing is more enjoyable to cat-loving humans than to see cats enjoying themselves. To aitch with what colors are "in" or not! 'Course we are that way anyway (so I have learned to stock up well when dusty blue or pale carnation pink fabrics etc are available, LOL), but pleasing one's cats would add a whole additional layer of enjoyment, wouldn't it?--from Arowyn
ReplyDeleteAs an artist, you have to be aware of that advice that says find a picture that inspires you and pick your colors to match it. Picking colors to match such beautiful cats is just following this wisdom!!
ReplyDeleteI find jewel tones look beautiful when paired with my two black cats :-)
ReplyDeleteNot at all! I do it without thinking. I picked out the new linoleum in my kitchen not realizing it is has the same coloring as my Daphne. :)
ReplyDeleteMy Juniper's favorite blanket picks up the brown and grey in her coat and the blue of her eyes. It's fun to play subtle kitty-camouflage :)
ReplyDeleteMy first cat thought she could fly. When I was planning to buy a house, I said no balconies inside. I have many more examples of this kind of thing, so I think y'all are totally sane.
ReplyDeleteMakes perfect sense to me. I can hardly wait for the "after" photos. This current pic of Wylla perusing color samples just knocks me out.
ReplyDeleteAh, not at all. Truly, I appreciate artistic folks who see connections between their living space and what they love. The loved bit can be a quadruped or something else for inspiration. Kudos to you and thanks for sharing your process. Peace to all.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in grade school, my parents bought carpet that matched our dog's head colour. Partly, it was a pretty shade, and partly mom wouldn't have to vacuum as much when Clue shed.
ReplyDeleteNo! Sometimes nature puts colors together that we would never think of but that are perfect. I bought a top sheet and pillowcase at the thrift shop once because I needed just a top sheet and pillowcase - when I got it home I realized that I'd bought a sheet the same color as one of my cats.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't everyone do this? Decorate around their pets? Seems perfectly reasonable.
ReplyDeleteNo, you definitely have not gone off the deep end. That salmon-pink is really pretty.
ReplyDeleteI make decorating/home purchase decisions based on my cats all the time: what kind of plants NOT to buy (poisonous or a temptation for destruction); chachkies they'll think are cat toys; leather furniture; I could go on and on.
Buddy, Tiger and Mr. Mistofelees's Mom
Heck yeah! you need to use the kitties as color inspirations!
ReplyDeleteI am joining the "makes perfect sense to me" camp! Your kitties are so beautiful! I smiled when I saw the picture of Wylla and the paint chips- she seems to be looking for the color that most closely matches her nose :) xoxoxoxoxo, beautiful Charlene and Wylla!
ReplyDeleteBean's nose is a nice color you could use to accent your Wylla Nose kitchen. Dark Chocolate? Espresso? Sounds like a good idea to me!
ReplyDeleteWhen we updated our furniture we got black leather to compliment our black cats... not weird at all.
ReplyDeleteWell it's more appealing than picking out carpet that wouldn't show the stains left when the cat sicks up a hairball on it. And yes I have done that.
ReplyDeleteFriends I used to live with chose the paint colors for their downstairs powder room based on the colors of a friend's Siamese mix. He was a very handsome cat. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt makes perfect sense! They are such beautiful girls. You can even guide friends around the house, introducing each themed area as "This is our Entrance de Charlene, the Wylla Cuisine...". . I guess the human-oriented rooms would be collectively "servants' quarters," though.
ReplyDeleteMy bright green walls are the same color as Pickle the Cat's eyes...if it is a good color why not!
ReplyDeleteI love this. really, it means your home has a natural palette, and that seems pleasant and calming to me. I don't know if I could ever convince my hubby to come along on a similar journey, but I do definitely pick my textiles in the house based on "how badly will fur show up on this?"
ReplyDelete