If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know we got our puppy Oakley earlier this year. She’s adorable, and we love her.
But boy puppies come with a lot of stuff … food dishes, a kennel, toys, gates to keep them confined to certain parts of the house …
I love having a house that looks nice and put together. Puppies don’t exactly help with that!
Here are five design-friendly ways we got our house ready for Oakley – so she’s comfortable, and our house stays looking nice!
1. Buy a dog bed that matches your color scheme
I know you guys will be surprised – I bought a green dog bed. I found it at Steinmart. The green ties in with the accent colors we use throughout our kitchen.
2. Rugs can match your color scheme, too
I also found this cute green rug we use under her food and water dishes.
I wanted a rug for under the water dish so Oakley wouldn’t splash water on our new hardwood floors. This green striped rug is perfect for our kitchen!
3. Gates don’t have to be ugly
I repeat, gates don’t have to be ugly! This silver beauty is from TJ Maxx. I love it!
We have a big opening between our living and dining rooms, and a regular gate just won’t cut it.
This one is long enough to block the space and ties in with our silver accents we have throughout the house. It looks like part of the decor rather than a big eyesore right in the middle of it.
4. Toy bins can be cute, too
I found a set of cute fabric baskets from HomeGoods. You may recognize this one from our guest room, where it holds extra blankets.
This cream-colored basket also came in the set. It goes with the shades of tan and red in our family room and is great for holding all of Oakley’s toys!
5. Put your kennel in a convenient but hidden space
We stuck our kennel around the corner of our living room. It definitely stands out in the living room, but we honestly don’t use that room very often.
It’s easy to access from the kitchen/dining area without being an eyesore in the middle of the room.
Do you have a dog? How do you incorporate all of the dog stuff into your overall house decor?
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I am a major dog lover! We have our own dog + are also fostering one. They are both giant breed dogs (great danes!). My kitchen has turned into a very industrial-inspired kitchen, so as crazy as it sounds, the metal bowls have really just played along with it. They don’t have dog beds, but we keep their crates in a spare bedroom so they don’t get in the way.
Love that! So glad the dog bowls fit in with your decor 🙂
I love the fancy dog gates/pens you can get. Much nicer than just a kiddie gate. We don’t have a fancy one but I’d consider it in our forever home when we move into a house.
Thanks for the lovely post read – I’ve reminded myself that I need to purchase some new dog beds… The boys will appreciate it, especially more so as they get older. 🙂
Me, too – I never realized how many gate options there were until we needed one!
This is a great post! It’s not something people think about until they have the dog and then they’ve got to kind of get the items quickly. I love that gate up there and I didn’t even realize that picture was about the hidden crate because it was so… HIDDEN! 🙂
Thanks, Asheli! 🙂
Hi, Meg ~ Oakley is adorable! Congrats on fur-parenthood! :0) I love these ideas! I’ve been trying to find a better place for our dogs kennels, because they’re in our living room and an eyesore. We have three dogs, and I like to store their toys in a heavy-duty basket that matches our decor. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Tiffany!! Oh boy, three dogs – you’re braver than me! 🙂