A paw-sitively relaxing creation for cats – as if they don’t relax enough!
Lili Giacobino, a designer based in Kingston, looked out to craft something unusual and magical for her furry friends.
“Peanut and Caramel, my two cats, spend most of their time outside climbing trees and enjoying the wildlife. I usually find them perched up on higher spots, like they’re overlooking their kingdom. With cooler seasons approaching, I wanted to bring the outside in and create a lovely nest for them to enjoy.”
Lili Giacobino, an interior designer who holds 3 years’ experience as a property developer, aims to awaken the nostalgic imagination that we all hold through her designs. As well as this mind set, she utilises her knowledge in plumbing, carpentry, tiling and her expertise in furniture also.
The designer narrates the process of her most recent Cat Nest project: “Most pet furniture isn’t very attractive and always seems to stand out in your living room for all the wrong reasons. As an interior designer, I wanted to create something beautiful. A nest inspired from nature, placed inside the house, seemed so surreal and yet so welcoming; I absolutely had to construct it! We nest on our sofas after a long day at work, so why shouldn’t the pets we love have their own to watch over us?”
The main nest area was created from locally sourced branches from Richmond Park where the designer chose the pieces to fit her design, therefore keeping the branches in their most organic state and unchanged when used. She admits her interest in the “upcycling and recycling materials found around [her]”, as she sees the “new life for the material and a whole new story it can tell; it triggers the imagination.” Not a new concept, she has also executed this in her Hobbit house design, which she completed a few months ago. Giacobino also “adore[s] the creative whimsy of curves; they can bring so much more to life through the eyes of the viewer, so much more excitement! Curves are more often seen in nature, and my own fascination with the beauty surrounding us every day is ideal for my Cat Nest project.”
This project is a great example of Giacobino’s motto of ‘upcycling and recycling’, whilst maintaining a raw visual connection with the natural environment we encounter every day. Along with her nature-inspired living room décor, the nest fits in purr-fectly.
