Sally Johannessen created my favorite space at the recent Designer Showhouse held in Cashiers, North Carolina. It was a delightful Dog-themed room called the “Gallery of Dogs.”
As I mentioned yesterday, Sally is a serious Dog fancier that shares her life with seven rescued four-legged friends!
So it was only natural that Dogs were the inspiration for her design.
Sally Johannessen filled her Dog room with antiques & design details that have have a decidedly Canine accent.
The Gallery of Dogs is one of those jewel boxes of a room that you just can’t rush through. If you do, you’ll miss something.
For example, you might miss the antique Dog Collars casually buckled around the lamp bases:
Isn’t that a clever Canine design detail?
If you’re a regular reader of the Interior Design Hound, you know I love vintage Dog Collars!
The antique link Dog Collar is engraved with a date of 1883 ($265). While the vintage, studded leather Dog Collar is not engraved it’s a beauty. ($195)
Sally did more than just accessorize the lamps with antique Dog Collars & tassels; she created the lamps!
With a trained eye always searching for new ways to utilize antiques, Sally repurposed architectural balustrades and created all of the lamps you see in her Dog room.
The Fashion Hound even repurposed a vintage Dog Leash and created a necklace! (Which she wore, by the way, to the Patron’s Party for the Designer Showhouse.)
Every link on the leash and the handle is shaped like a Dog bone…
Vintage Dog Leash by Sally Johannessen
Sally has a knack for display that’s apparent when you pull up to Dovetail Antiques, her lovely antique store in Cashiers, North Carolina.
On buying trips, Sally scours France in search of treasures for her store and for her Interior Design projects.
Of course, the Dog-loving designer can’t resist antique Dog collars, Dog paintings and anything with a Canine motif!
Sally is not only an Interior Design, Fashion and a Shopping Hound, but she is an Artistic Hound as well.
When I inquired about the artwork in the space, I discovered Sally had actually created a few of the Dog portraits herself!
The Terrier portait tucked in by the lamp below is one of Sally’s artworks and it is a bone-a-fide bargain at $200.
While Sally accepts commissions, and her Dog portraits start at only $200; the Terrier on the antique buffet below was not for sale. It is one of Sally’s own four-legged friends so that makes it priceless to Sally!
Notice the designer’s attention to Dog details. The Complete Poodle is a vintage book that Sally casually opened to a photograph of a Fashion Hound & her Standard Poodle.
For added color and texture, Sally placed a Persian Rug in front of the antique buffet…
The wool Lillihan Rug, woven in Iran, has beautiful faded colors & texture offering a nice contrast to the wood floors.
You couldn’t miss the life-size Bulldog enjoying the sun on the window seat. From the South of France, the antique, terra cotta Dog is a real beauty. ($3500)
The Bulldog, circa 1880, is a work of art with his highly detailed Dog collar, textured coat and Austrian glass eyes. He is in amazing condition. I’ve seen many in the same price range that were very worn and considerably smaller Pups.
If you’re looking for a Dog that doesn’t shed, this is the breed for you:
There were plenty of plump Dog pillows to be found in the Gallery of Dogs.
Sally created custom pillows using antique textile fragments & vintage needlepoint featuring Dog designs like the Spaniel seen above.
The elongated houndstooth pillow featured an amazing 18th century textile panel depicting a hunting scene with a Dog and a stag.
Paired up with the new fabric and tassell fringe trim, the hunting scene will be enjoyed for another century! ($850)
As an artist & a Dog lover, Sally Johannessen is as crazy about Dog paintings as I am. (I guess it’s fair to say, we’re both crazy-Dog-ladies!)
Sally appreciates the fact that antique Dog paintings can be quite costly and out-of-reach for the average Dog lover.
Her solution?
Sally takes the best of her finds and has them reproduced on canvas as a Giclée at a fraction of the price of the original.
The trio of English Dog paintings that hung in the Gallery of Dogs were perfect examples.
The Dog portrait at the top sells for $595, the rat chasing Dog in the center is $525, and the largest Dog giclée at the bottom is only $750. Considering the prices for an antique Dog painting, those are bargin prices.
Here’s a closer look at the largest one; a Dog named “Joey.”
Did you notice the funny little Dog under the glass dome?
I love that guy!
While I’ve never actually seen a Westie smoking a pipe & wearing a Fez hat, that’s what makes the whimsical Dog so special.
It’s an antique tobacco box and any that depict Dogs are highly sought after. ($275)
The Gallery of Dogs at the Cashiers Designer Showhouse was really meant to be.
Just take a look at this “before” picture and see if you agree:
Not only was the Dog Trot Hallway included in Sally Johannessen’s space, just check out that old Dog wallpaper!
Here’s the “after.”
The narrow hall was a perfect spot to hang Dog Collars, leads and accessories.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this Dog was pretty happy with Sally’s Gallery of Dogs.
Don’t you agree?
Later, I’ve got to let the Dog out,
You’ll find more information on Sally Johannessen & Dovetail Antiques here.
GIVEAWAY: Don’t Forget, there’s still time to enter the Designer Dog Bowl Giveaway from ModaPet. Check out how to enter here.
Taffy, our charming 
