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Papuk: A Feline-Loving Designer’s Elegant Cat Tree

01.01.24 | By
Papuk: A Feline-Loving Designer’s Elegant Cat Tree

Toronto-based interior designer Vazken Karageozian’s work has primarily focused upon residential, retail, and hospitality projects across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America, designing various custom furniture pieces along the way. It was while searching for cat furniture for his two felines, Grayson and Ella, the designer realized he would need to apply some of that same talent in service of two important whiskered clients (and also to appease his own desire for an aesthetically pleasing, human-friendly solution). Thus, Papuk, Armenian for “soft and fluffy,” was born.

Vazken Karageozian standing alongside his Connect cat tree and one of his felines in a modern decor interior space.

Papuk’s CONNECT Collection takes on a modular approach to cat tree construction and design, with a multi-level system furniture piece that can be personalized with a series of attachable accessories to extend the comfort and recreational activity options for roommates prone to scratch and climb human furnishings.

Connect cat tree and a spotted cat sitting on top of one of the platforms, in a modern decor interior space.

The Connect Tree operates as the foundational piece of a multi-accessory system that includes a scratching pad, cushion, tray platform, and hanging toy, available both as a bundle or à la carte.

Connect cat tree and a spotted cat laying on top of one of the cushioned platforms, in a modern decor interior space.

Connect cat tree and a spotted cat laying on the ground swatting at a hanging cat toy, in a modern decor interior space.

In an interview with the Toronto Guardian, the Papuk founder/designer notes additional accessories in new colors, materials, and finishes are to planned to be released every season, inviting cat owners to design a cat tree bespoke to their particular feline’s proclivities.

Connect cat tree and a fluffy white cat sitting on top of one of the platforms against a beige-tan backdrop.

Connect cat tree and a fluffy white cat sitting on bottom platform against a beige-tan backdrop.

Karageozian notes his mission in designing Papuk Cat Furniture’s CONNECT Collection was also motivated by the realization most cheaply made cat furniture often ends up in the landfill due to their poor construction and aesthetically questionable designs. In designing a cat tree built with solid-ash dowels, ash-veneered plywood shelves, and accessories secured with genuine leather straps, the Syrian-Canadian designer has fashioned a solution for “inter-species happiness” sorely missing in the pet category.

Detail of Connect cat tree platforms cushion and wood dowel constructions et against a beige-tan backdrop.

Connect cat tree staged against all white background.

The Connect Cat Tree starts at $531, with the complete bundle including all of the current accessories available for $837 over at papuk.co.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.