A cat project (plus bonus)
Sun, 12 Jul 2009There is always a project going on at my house. The latest project was for the cats. I finally sold my vintage retro sofa I had in the living room that for the past 3 months had been piled up in my office under the window. It had turned into the cats favourite spot to sleep in the sun and watch squirrels. When the sofa was picked up, I knew I had to create something for them to use in it's place so my boyfriend and I went to Ikea to look for something we could hack and use as a cat perch. We made it through most of the store without finding anything and I was starting to panic, until Jeff spotted a baby change table (the Sniglar).
It was only $49.99, had 2 shelves, and could easily be chopped in half (I wanted it to be pretty narrow, just deep enough to fit a cat comfortably). It turned out perfectly. I painted it white (yellow first but it was way too bright), bought some stryofoam (fabric store was out of the foam I wanted) which I wrapped in batting and then fabric (thanks Jo!), and placed the "cushions" in the shelves. And voila, a perfect under-the-window cat perch.
 |  |
 |  |
I have to give Jeff credit for coming up with the idea of using the leftover piece of the change table as a new display unit for my West German pottery collection. The table I had been using was too deep, and this new shelving created a much wider space to walk from the living room into the kitchen. (In a 12 ft wide house, the narrower the furniture the better!) I painted some chalkboard paint roughly along the front edge and wrote what was on display. It's a perfect use for the rest of the table that I would have otherwise thrown out.
 |  |
 |  |
Reader Comments (40)
Sandra: the ears are back on some of Kim's cats, but I imagine that is due to the sound of the camera or Kim calling their names! It does look like the black one is going to attack the calico one though!
IKEA sells that already!
It's Kattbord...found in aisle D6!
:)
Brilliant (as usual) Kim & Jeff.
so freakin' serendipitous! love it.
First-time commentator, but have been lurking for awhile. But I love this and am considering doing it because my cat Dexter is, ahem, a little too hefty for our window ledge.
oh your cats are so sweet! that grey fluffy looks just like my Pablo!
Why do you pronounce it like "WEST GERMAN POTTERY"? What makes it so special about being from the western part of germany. As there is no western part as well as there is no eastern part of germany for about 20 (!!!) years, why not just call it "german pottery"? Sorry, for this comment, but i come from germany and things like this really piss me of, mainly because it is somehow typical for us-americans....
besides that, i like your blog and nice idea for tha cats (love cats).
Ewa, I call them West German Pottery because that's what they are. They are vintage, from the 50's-70's, and are marked underneath with "W. GERMAN". Sorry that it pisses you off (and I am not American).
kim the place looks awesome! i'm sure you walk into the home with a sigh of pleasure daily! i love the shelving you created :)
What a nice idea! I love bought! I have a kitty too, and I sure she would love the shelf. Congratulations, from Brazil.
Daisy
Two words: You're amazing.
Thanks everyone!
Since the shelving has been installed, the cats are on there all the time. (And I only had to spray catnip on it the one time to get the photos). :)
Great idea! My kitty Scout would be in heaven!
that would be an awesome landing strip shelf in a narrow entrance as well.
I just may have to copy it. I'll let you know if I actually make it happen!
thanks for the inspiration
Thank God for this. I have searched Ikea a zillion times to find sth for my cats...
XO
Brilliant! My mom, sister, and I will be making these when we get together for Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing!