Photo by Brendan Moore Suzanne Lasky, pictured with her cat, Corona, painted walls at her home with dark-colored low-sheen paint that is easily cleaned, rather than chip-prone flat-finish paint.

“Go to your chair,” Suzanne Lasky says in a soothing voice to her 19-year-old meowing yet obedient cat. The interior designer, who also offers services specifically tailored to pet owners, definitely has a way with animals. But laughingly, she adds, “I’m not the dog whisperer or Dr. Doolittle or anything like that.”

After leaving a 14-year career in the corporate world, Lasky earned a degree in interior design. She embarked on a new chapter of her life by establishing her own company, S Interior Design, in 2000. A year ago, the Scottsdale resident and Allied Member of ASID decided to add Pawprint Design Services™ to her repertoire, as she believes pets and good design go “hand in paw.”

“The idea was launched because an overwhelming majority of my clients have animals as part of their family,” she explains. “I started paying attention to some of the challenges [pet ownership] presented in terms of making sure that we not only have an aesthetically pleasing home for the people and the pets, but a highly functioning one for the people and the pets.”

Before handing out advice or beginning a design, Lasky visits the home to meet both two- and four-legged family members. A discussion about the lifestyles of everyone in the residence—including pets—follows, and, based on that, she comes up with a plan that melds design preferences with practical solutions. For instance, she suggests swapping out an unsightly litter box with a version that looks like a planter; one side serves as an entrance/exit for the cats, while the removable top houses greenery.

Lasky stresses that it’s important to not treat animals like people, and adds that pet owners are better off trying to recognize their animals’ unique and innate needs and create homes that take those needs into consideration. Most cats, she offers, prefer their bowls for water and food to be separated, and this instinctive tendency should be respected.

Corona sits on a custom-upholstered cat chair that has a high spot on which to perch; the designer calls it the princess chair.

Suzanne Muusers and Dana Ball, a Scottsdale couple living with a dog and two cats, took Lasky’s ideas to heart, and have implemented some of her recommendations with much success. For example, the pair has now “reclaimed” a window seat by upholstering the cushion with an anti-odor, antimicrobial and washable fabric that can withstand pet odor and hair.

With such favorable results under her belt, Lasky is more gung-ho than ever and wants to spread the word about pet-friendly design. She says: “I’m hoping to write books and instructional materials so that other designers can implement some of these strategies and tactics when they’re working with families that have four-legged family members.”     
To learn more about the services offered by Suzanne Lasky, visit sinteriordesign.com on the Web.