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CoolKids Furniture themes
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Design Ideas for Raining Cats & Dogs Theme
Artist's rendering of a room with the Raining Cats & Dogs theme.A misused metaphore with wonderful visuals. As the clouds gather, the sound of barking and meowing echo through the heavens and then suddenly dogs and cats begin to fall from huge banks of cumulus clouds. Pekingese and Great Danes, tabby cats and ginger toms, Fox Terriers and Huskies, Manx and Bengals - every breed of cat or dog imaginable, cascading helter skelter from the sky. Large and small, long haired and short. This fantastic idea probably arose from the fact that quite large branches and debris are sometimes seen floating about in the skies, thought to have been sucked up by thermals. Frogs too, have been known rain down on the earth, another inexplicable phenomena! We would love to have your input! Stimulation: A theme well suited to young children and those of quieter temperament. Images of cats tumbling through the air only to land with characteristic grace and poise; dogs chasing cats between the clouds and little dogs pausing to pee on roof tops, are quite charming and amusing. Color Schemes: Infant: White, beige, cream brown, tabby cat ginger, blue, slate blue/grey. Toddler: As above plus elements of green and red. Children: As above, but more shades of these colors. Opportunities for Learning: Learn about all of the many breeds, their temperaments, characteristics, sizes and shapes. Pet shops, breeders, dog shows, books and personal friends of the canine and feline persuasion can be most informative. Comforting and Reassuring. There is nothing more comforting than one's own dog or cat. A friend to keep you company in the dark, to defend, protect and cuddle. A soft, furry toy dog or cat is reassuring, too, but the 'real thing' is best. The sound of heavy rain makes for a wonderful lullaby. Feng Shui:/p> Heavy clouds and images of wet streets or fields are best balanced with some warmer colors, fire energies (metal beds and lamps). Urban settings full of images of buildings and concrete may require plant / wood energies (images of a tree, flower boxes etc.) Country settings full of images of fields and trees may need some of stone, mountains etc. to introduce a balancing and grounding earth energy. Budget vs Time and Talent .If the family pet and the child are both amenable, you might begin by making a bed / house for the animal in the child's room. This theme really needs a great mural on either one or two walls. Try putting a full street scene on one wall with lots of brightly colored umbrellas. A painted window, complete with painted curtains etc. on another wall and through this 'window' continue the street scene from the other wall complete of course with raining cats and dog could be cute. Consider making a little roof supported on brackets and sturdy 4 by 4s to put over the child's bed, either with real shingles or pan tiles and gutters, perhaps matching it to a roof on the cat or dog's house. Beneath the painted window and/or a real window, add a window box filled with either real or silk flowers. Uninteresting white sliding closet doors can be disguised with a simple, fairly abstract mural of cats and dogs in just one or two colors. Don't forget to put up a poster of dog and cat breeds too. Make a mobile with cats and dogs dangling on thread or fishing gut. This can easily be done with one or two wire hangers and some beanie babies or small stuffed cats and dogs. |