Bonnie’s Doggy Den + Universal Small Space Design Tips
Got a small space? Wanna make it feel bigger? keep reading!
If you don’t know Bonnie, yet…
Here are a few videos for you to get to know her:
Bonnie Tour part 3 – kitchen and dining
This project is about 3 years in the making. Why?
One reason:
It’s the smallest of spaces
Because it’s very difficult to contort my body through the small opening and into this awkward cramped-for-humans space. So Bonnie and I thought we’d take this opportunity to share some small space design tips.
I enlisted the help of my daughter who is a little smaller than me to wallpaper the walls and ceiling with peel-and-stick wallpaper. It’s easy and low commitment. And there’s NO way we could have managed to deal with wallpaper glue in this cubby hole!
SMALL SPACE DESIGN TIP: Wallpaper can be a great way to add texture to any small space.
There are many beautiful textured wallpapers like grasscloth. Stick with lighter, brighter colors for a small space.
SMALL SPACE DESIGN TIP: Horizontal lines and textures make a space look wider, and vertical lines make a space look taller.
We used wallpaper that looks like board and batten and applied it with the lines going up and down to give an illusion of added height.
SMALL SPACE DESIGN TIP: Add light! Light bright rooms feel more spacious!
Next, Bonnie selected a fun neon light with her name…She’s a party animal! (ha, animal!)
You can find custom-made “neon” signs HERE. They are actually made of lighted colored silicon tubes instead of breakable (and probably not safe for dogs) neon tubes.
SMALL SPACE DESIGN TIP: Utilize vertical space and walls.
Maximize floor space by taking advantage of walls for storage.
That’s what we did when we added a basket of her favorite doggy toys so she can stay organized.
Even Bonnie knows that a small space looks much smaller when there’s too much clutter. Less is more in tight spaces!
SMALL SPACE DESIGN TIP: There’s always room for items that bring you joy and reflect your style and personality.
We added a sweet framed photo of Bonnie as a puppy for a small decorative touch.
TIP: Lean into the coziness of the space with plush cozy furnishings.
Finally, we added a super soft Serta doggy bed that may be a bit oversized for the space, but that just makes it feel even cozier!
Bonnie loves her cozy corner.
Just for fun, here are a few tidbits about our sweet Bonnie:
She is not a morning person.
She tries to drink my coffee.
We call her “aggressively cuddly” because if you stop petting her, she will forcefully nudge you to continue.
She went through a sock-eating phase…Now she just steals them and cuddles with them a bit. And my dishtowels too.
She loves to sit outside and take in nature, feel the sunshine and breeze, and chase butterflies, lizards, and grasshoppers.
She once found a frog and played with it by nudging it with her nose until it hopped for about 10 minutes before we relocated it so it could rest.
She brings so much joy to our lives!
Do you have a dog? Does it like coffee? Does your fur baby want a fun cozy space? Let me know in the comments!
