AT 59, MY VET ASKED WHERE I GOT BROOKY'S PORTRAIT DONE

I've never written anything like this before, and I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing it now. So many people have asked me the same question lately that writing it down once seemed easier than explaining it again.

“Wait, did you have this made?”

That's what my vet asked while standing in my hallway. She wasn't looking at Brooky. She was looking at the basket sitting behind me.

I didn't deliberately choose something ugly. Nobody does. You buy the cheap plastic one because it's there, tell yourself you'll replace it eventually, and suddenly ten years have passed.

HOW IT HAPPENS

You don't decide to create a “dog corner.” It just appears.

The lead stays by the door. Half-chewed toys gather underneath it. There's still a damp towel from the last rainy walk hanging over whatever happened to be nearest.

So you buy a bin. Usually the cheap plastic one because it's practical and available, and tell yourself you'll make the corner nicer one day.

Ten years later, that day still hasn't arrived.

WHAT I HAD WRONG

Here's where I had it wrong, in two ways.

The quilted fabric is structured rather than flimsy. Add a towel or a couple of toys and it stands crisp and straight instead of sagging like the old plastic bin always seemed to.

See The Dog Collection

MINE IS COLORFUL DOGS

It's from Byron Classics, the small Australian mother-and-daughter boutique Diane and her mum, Olivia, have built together in Byron Bay over the past 12 years.

Mine has a whole row of dogs running around it — different breeds, colours, ears and expressions.

One in particular immediately reminded me of Brooky. Broad little face, soft eyes, and exactly the expression he gives me when he knows he's been caught doing something he shouldn't.

That's the one everybody stops on.

It's properly made. The quilting feels soft, but the construction has enough body to stand upright once it's shaped.

The print wraps all the way around too, so it looks finished from every angle rather than having one “good side” that needs facing the room.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN PEOPLE CAME ROUND

It lives out in the open now, right by the door where Brooky's things always seem to end up anyway.

Four different people have asked about it recently.

My vet was first. Then two women from our walking group stopped to look at it. One of them has a golden too, and she picked out exactly the same dog that reminds me of Brooky.

My daughter now checks it whenever she visits.

Nobody ever asked where the old plastic bin came from. Not once.

THREE THINGS I HAVE LEARNED SINCE

ABOUT THE PRICE

I'll be straightforward about this, because it was the part that made me hesitate too.

Colorful Dogs is $64.95 AUD. It was $219.95 AUD.

My first reaction was that it sounded like a lot for a storage basket.

Then I thought about what it had actually replaced: that tired plastic dog-toy bin that had gone scratched and cloudy, never really cleaned up properly and wasn't something I wanted sitting in the hallway anyway.

I'd have carried on replacing versions of the same ugly bin without ever particularly liking one.

Byron Classics is the small Australian boutique Diane and her mum Olivia have spent 12 years building in Byron Bay.

They're now preparing to move the business from Byron Bay to Melbourne, and the remaining collection is being cleared before they go.

There are still designs available for now, but once one sells through, it isn't planned to return.

See The Dog Collection

WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU IF WE WERE FRIENDS

If you and I were sitting in my kitchen and you asked me about it, this is what I'd say.

Look at whatever currently holds your dog's things.

If it's a bin you never really chose — it was simply there, cheap and good enough for the job — this is worth a look.

It's a small thing. But the small things you see every day add up to how a whole room feels.

Someone recognised my dog in the basket before they really noticed the basket itself.

I still smile when I think about that.