{"id":120,"date":"2017-11-16T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/16\/susanna-salk-home-dogs-designers\/"},"modified":"2020-03-25T17:46:50","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T17:46:50","slug":"susanna-salk-home-dogs-designers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/16\/susanna-salk-home-dogs-designers\/","title":{"rendered":"Susanna Salk: At Home with Dogs and Their Designers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If there\u2019s one word that best describes design expert Susanna Salk and her work, it\u2019s soulful<\/em>. Everything she does is personal and poetic, from her storied interiors to her thoughtful Facebook posts. (Yes, she can even bring deep meaning to social media \u2014 no small feat!) True to form, her latest book \u2014 At Home with Dogs and Their Designers<\/a><\/i> \u2014 is more than a glossy tome of designer photos. It\u2019s a love letter to a home\u2019s most important inhabitants: the dogs. In her own words, \u201cDesigners know how important it is for rooms to have soul, and dogs are the surest way to provide that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nPrevious books, including Room for Children<\/a><\/i> and It\u2019s the Little Things<\/a><\/i> have touched on the joy of living a full (and sometimes messy) life, and this book takes that idea to a new level. Salk explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most memorable rooms aren\u2019t about perfection. They\u2019re about a reflection of somebody\u2019s life, and if we are lucky enough to have dogs and children in our life, then we need to make room for them alongside ourselves \u2014 not relegate them to corners.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, the designers in the book aren\u2019t short on style. Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan gladly let their mutt, FoxyLady, hop up on their vintage gold Pedro Friedeberg chairs. In Martyn Lawrence Bullard\u2019s home, his Wheaten terrier Daisy uses a Mansour Berber rug as a scratching pad. The occasional ruined piece is the price you pay for true affection. As Susanna notes, \u201cIt\u2019s hard to stay mad when you love something so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jonathan Adler with his dog, FoxyLady. Photo: Stacey Bewkes\/Courtesy of Rizzoli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Salk owns three dogs, all rescues. She took in Mollie, a pointer-boxer, when an adoption photo caused love-at-first-sight. Cheddar, a terrier, was discovered through Save a Pet<\/a>. Tink, a Chihuahua-Jack-Russel mix, was being dropped off with her foster mother at Salk\u2019s local florist and nursery. \u201cI happened to walk in while Tink was shaking and wagging her tail. I said, \u2018If no one wants her I\u2019ll have her!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Martyn Lawrence Bullard\u2019s Wheaten terrier, Daisy, in the guest room. Photo: Stacey Bewkes\/Courtesy of Rizzoli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Like any dog owner, Salk\u2019s experienced her fair share of sacrifices, including a fantastic shearling-lined clog.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved it more than I should and, of course, when Cheddar \u2014 who was then a new rescue and anxious when I was gone \u2014 would chew on things. I was in New York City and, all of sudden, had this very specific feeling that at that very moment Cheddar was probably chewing my brand-new beloved clog. I was right, and you know what? I haven\u2019t really thought about that silly clog since, but I can\u2019t even count the number of wonderful times I\u2019ve had with my dog.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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A bowl of leashes in Betsy Burnham\u2019s Los Angeles home. Photo: Stacey Bewkes\/Courtesy of Rizzoli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In addition to photos of cute dogs and gorgeous rooms, the book provides practical tips on living stylishly with dogs. Betsy Burnham<\/a> keeps her dogs\u2019 leashes in beautiful bowls and their toys in shallow baskets. Robert Couturier (who wrote the forward) gives each of his dogs their own chair. Salk notes:<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Carolyn Roehm\u2019s tip about buying extra fabric for your upholstery projects. Use that same fabric as a cover for your dogs, and then just dry-clean it when it gets dirty.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Decorating with dogs can also mean showing your love through accessories and artwork. Salk says, \u201cI adore Foo Dogs<\/a>, and old oil paintings of dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Thor, PAGODA RED\u2019s unofficial mascot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

At PAGODA RED, Michael Keeley\u2019s dog Thor is our unofficial mascot. He\u2019s a very spoiled Shitzu who lounges around the gallery most days. We jumped at the chance to include him in this post because we love him so much. That kind of love comes through every page of Susanna\u2019s charming book. She says, \u201cAll the designers said yes to me after about five minutes of my asking them to participate, because they were so excited to celebrate their love for their dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

All images (except the last) from At Home with Dogs and Their Designers: Sharing a Stylish Life<\/a>, courtesy of Rizzoli Books.<\/i><\/p>\n

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YEAR OF THE DOG COLLECTION<\/strong><\/h3>\n