pamperedpuppy // luxury lifestyles for dogs

Doghouse Deluxe

"Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities." If that seems Wright on the money, well, it's the wisdom of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wright provided a formative inspiration to Artful Dogs, who produce indoor retreats for canines based on the works of architectural greats. The designs for the indoor retreats available in the standard line were tested on humans for decades and in one case centuries before receiving the ultimate refining touches that rendered them canine-worthy.

Artful Dogs was founded in 2001 by Barbara Beck, a trained architect who also holds an MBA. (That doesn't stand for Master of Bowwow Arts, but I couldn't resist.) Ms. Beck has a Rhodesian ridgeback puppy, Chopper. In the course of being crate trained, he found comfort and security in having his own space. Then the architect moved to a house with no crate room. Nostalgic for the snug safety of his private area, Chopper lingered at length in the closets of the new home. History doesn't record whether the footwear items in those closets were Prada yacht shoes or K-Mart specials, but from a dog's point of view: if the shoe fits, eat it.

Wanted was a comfortable, sophisticated area a pooch could call his very own that would also be a visually appealing addition to a human's living area. As Ms. Beck was a Midwesterner, she rather naturally was interested in Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Home structures.

Horizontal lines, flat roofs with broad overhanging eaves, solid construction, craftsmanship and discipline in the use of decoration all characterize the Prairie Home style. Wright's intention was for this style to complement the natural wealth of the American heartland. He wrote: "The prairie has a beauty of its own and we should recognize and accentuate this natural beauty, its quiet level. Hence, gently sloping roofs, low proportions, quiet sky lines, suppressed heavy-set chimneys and sheltering overhangs, low terraces and out-reaching walls sequestering private gardens." Who wouldn't give a happy bark over all that?

One of the landmark buildings in Prairie Home style is the Robie House, now open as a museum in Illinois. Exploring that Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust site is worthwhile for the insights it gives into the man's works throughout the US and in Japan. The gift shop has an attractive 2007 calendar as well.

Perhaps you could hang it over your doggie's Prairie Style retreat, one of the architectural options available from Artful Dogs. See the photo, top of page, for a photo of a full-grown Chopper inside the house. Head up, eyes bright, tongue out, front legs stretched in the ever-popular luxe-lounging position, he looks like the lord of the manor, as well he might. The hallmarks of the Prairie style are all there; open plans, horizontality and natural materials. We do well to remember that in this period Wright was substantially influenced by the Idealistic Romantics who believed that better homes would create better people. It follows that better indoor retreats will create better dogs, no?

The second Artful Dogs indoor retreat is based on the work of a towering genius of the Italian Renaissance, Andrea di Pietro della Gondola (1508 – 1580). The Palladio indoor doggie retreat is modeled on the Villa Almerico-Capra in Vicenza, Italy (see photo, right). Popularly known as "La Rotonda," it was commissioned by the priest Paolo Almerico upon his retirement from the Vatican and in its turn was modeled on the Pantheon in Rome. Talk about pedigree!

Palladio was largely dedicated to realizing mathematical perfection in his structures. The Villa Rotonda, correspondingly, is a perfect intersection of a square with a cross. Proportion, porticos, Ionic columns, pediments; they're all wonderful, but do we have proof that Palladio was concerned with puppies? He did once say that the piers of bridges ought to be even in number because Nature has given animals legs in even numbers. Artful Dogs' Palladio retreat modifies the "Villa La Rotonda" design yet captures the "on the cusp of the baroque" aesthetic of the original for your dog's pleasure. If you want to further educate your pooch about the place his indoor retreat has in architectural history, you could do worse than to read to him from Dr. Manfred Wundram's book on Palladio.

The third Artful Dogs design is based on Antonio Gaudí's Casa Batlló in Barcelona, also known as "The House of Bones." Living between 1852 and 1926, Gaudí was of the Art Nouveau period yet his work amounts to a style of its own. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, he found inspiration in nature, once saying: "Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator."

Your dog will be happy to know that The Casa Batlló is in a more lighthearted vein. The whole is marked by undulating, irregular, whimsical forms and shapes (see photo, right). Most of the façade is done in a mosaic of fragmented ceramic tiles. The first floor columns appear similar to human bones, hence the structure's name. The dark roof has a winding appearance and the crown of the building atop it is a cross. Some people see in the design something of an abstract representation of St. George slaying the dragon.

Custom architectural dog house just not enough? Artful Dogs also produces raised doggie dining sets that complement each of their houses. The dining sets are as distinctively attractive as the retreats, and you could certainly have one item without the other, but as Frank Lloyd Wright said: "Less is only more when more is no good."

Artful Dogs pieces are produced by a state-of-the-art process. The designs are completed in AutoCAD then e-mailed to a company that cuts the wood with a computer-operated router. The cut wood then goes to a millwork shop for assembly and priming. The architect then receives the house and applies the final details in poplar, following which she hand paints them. Several acrylic enamel paint schemes are available for each style of architecture, and customers may request custom colors. Interiors are kept simple, with no protruding bits or points that could hurt a dog. The inside of the houses are painted dark blue.

None of these styles appeal? Artful Dogs can produce a unique creation for you based on the architectural work of your choice. If your significant barker is a bichon frise, a doghouse modeled on something by Le Corbusier might be in order. For a German shepherd, why not try Daniel Libeskind? The obvious choice for a Sharpei would be I. M. Pei, and don't even get me started on Walter Gropius having founded the Bowwowhaus.

Here's the nitty-gritty on ordering from Artful Dogs:

Remember, these pieces are for indoor use only. Prices vary according to size and style. Rush orders are available for an extra fee. Normally, figure on twelve weeks for completion of an order, plus shipping time.

Much to its credit, Artful Dogs is also concerned with animal welfare. A percentage of the company's profits go to animal charities. Last year, Ms. Beck volunteered at the Best Friends Hurricane Katrina shelter in Mississippi. I encourage you to visit the animal charities page on the company's site.

"Every great architect is – necessarily – a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age." Once again, the words of Frank Lloyd Wright. In creating lovely, sophisticated personal indoor spaces for the contemporary canine, the Ms. Beck shows she is indeed a great poet.

Artful Dogs
www.artfuldogs.com