Cascadian Farm Organic Goodness

Although my husband Drew and I just had our first baby in November, we officially became parents 3 years ago when we brought home Molly (our Bernese Mountain Dog, pictured above). We immediately fell in love with the adorable ball of fur and our lives were changed. We want her to have the best of everything: veterinary care, food, toys, bedding - and I know many of you feel the same way about your dog. Well, I stumbled across something I didn't even know Molly needed - a dog house with a "green roof"! Green or living roofs are covered in plants and soil, on top of layers of a waterproofing membrane, drainage and often irrigation systems. Green roofs have caught on in large cities where they not only absorb rainwater and help insulate buildings, but actually reduce air temperatures (which are higher in urban environments). Like the living walls I wrote about previously, they look amazing! Green Roofs Australia's blog has great photographs of all types of green roofs.

Sustainable Pet Design is bringing the green roof concept to a backyard near you with their stylish dog (and bird) houses. There are a number of different styles, all worthy of your pampered pooch. The dog houses not only look great, but are entirely pet safe. Each home is constructed with non-toxic materials: red cedar wood, zero VOC paints and beeswax waterproofing. They even created a palatial dog house for Bo Obama, "the first dog". The people at Sustainable Pet are not the only ones making designer digs for dogs. Architects Kohn Pederson Fox designed a stunning dog house with a green roof that could pass for sculpture. This short video on YouTube shows how they came up with their inspired design. It would be an amazing complement to a modern home - unfortunately the $6000 price tag is out of my league! However, I found the perfect solution on Instructables: a DIY project to build your own green roofed dog veranda. Now I just need to find the time - I'll keep you posted.