Dog Days of Summer

According to my research, the dog days of summer will be over soon. They are reported by Google to be July 3rd – Aug 11th for the year of 2023. Early July through mid- August is the hottest and most humid time of the year here in Florida and during these “days of the dog”; activity slows down as the constant heat makes everyone want to stay inside with the air conditioner on high. It is a great time to work on decorating projects, so the house does not “go to the dogs”. Let’s take a peek into a space that was decorated with dogs in mind. The homeowners are pet parents to two Great Danes so there were a few decorating challenges, but all in all I would say that living in this Arlington bungalow Villa is anything but a dog’s life somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  • New Paint
The guest bath in the Arlington Villa is a large guest bathroom and it needed a fresh coat of paint. Usually, this bathroom is on the dark side because there are no windows. We used a very light grey that did not darken the room. The color is Heron Plume SW 6070, and it is grey with an undertone of brown. I like this as a choice for grey because it adds color, warmth and keeps the space light.

  • New Flooring
The bathroom needed new flooring and the homeowners chose a luxury vinyl plank. This flooring can be used in wet spaces, and it adds the warmth of wood and the cushioning of a floating floor. The floor color itself is grey to light grey with lots of variations that adds character and a natural look to the floor.

  • Large art over the Loo
Large art over the toilet commands attention! The picture is perfect for the homeowners and the space. The picture is of course a Great Dane having a rest on the loo whilst reading the paper. We decided to use the picture as our inspiration, so we pulled all our colors from the picture. Also, we thought it would be nice to add some warm wood tones to the space. Warm wood with black touches act as a counterbalance to grey.

  • Mounted Industrial wall shelf
I love this wall shelf! The entire system attaches to the wall at the top and at the bottom so that it is floating on the wall. It offers six shelves for storage and display. The arms that attach to the wall are black plumbing pipes and the shelves are warm wood. It has a bit of an industrial look. It just looks perfect in the space.

  • All the Accessories
We decided to fill the shelves with things that are needed in the bathroom, but we displayed them so that “the things” look great too! We filled several different apothecary jars with Qtips, bath salts, cotton balls, and soap cakes. The display of the items in the glass jars makes them look extra special and creates a bit of a “spa” look on the shelves. There are several small pots of succulents displayed with the apothecary jars and one large candle for ambiance when soaking in tub. The lower three shelves have woven baskets with leather handles that contain fresh white towels for the guests. Something as simple as a white towel contained in a woven basket can make a bathroom feel like a spa! If you have a wall in the bath that could provide you with storage, consider a floating shelf, this worked great in this space.

  • New lighting over the sink
The light over the sink was replaced with one that has a bit of an industrial look and visually tied into the shelving unit. If you like the farmhouse/ industrial look, you can add touches to a space, but it does not have to be everything in the space.

  • Shower curtain
The shower curtain is a large color statement in the space. I usually strive for color coordination in a space, but we found a curtain online that looks as if it was made to go with the picture over the commode. The color is a soft blue with white pinstripes. This shower curtain was expensive but well worth the cost. The fabric is a bit heavier than a regular shower curtain and looks better when it hangs.

  • Replace the shower rod
Don’t forget to replace the shower rod. This is often overlooked but what the shower curtain is hanging from is as important as the shower curtain itself. We replaced the old crème colored rod with a nice, brushed nickel rod and new nickel rings that slide easily along the rod.

  • Rug mat
The rug mat must be washable when you have big dogs. The rug mat is cotton and reversable. The rug mats of memory foam can be tricky to clean so I would stick with cotton.

  • Kleenex cover
Everyone needs Kleenex in the bathroom, but the boxes are printed in different prints and can stand out like a sore thumb. We placed the Kleenex box on the back of the commode and covered it in woven sweetgrass cover. The box of Kleenex will always look good in the space, and you don’t have to worry about the print on the box.
Call Ruth your full service decorator at: 352-804-2056
or Contact Us

After Images Below