Pet Friendly Designs
Hello everyone! I hope that your week has been going well and you’re ready for some more interior design advice. If you’re a pet owner (or just dreaming of getting a pet), you’re in for a treat. This week we’ve put together our top tips for pet-friendly design–because let’s get real, our four-legged friends deserve a stylish home just as much as we do.
Weekly Learnings & Findings: Pet-Friendly Designs
Choose Durable Materials
Let’s face it - pets are like tiny tornadoes of chaos. So when it comes to choosing materials they need to be durable.
Furniture Fabrics
First, furniture fabrics. Unfortunately, you might have to say goodbye to your delicate silk couch. If you have pets you have to choose tough fabrics like canvas, performance textiles, and microfibres that can handle the occasional paw print. Sunbrella and Crypton are quite popular if you’re looking to reupholster your sofa. They’re a performance fabric brand typically used outdoors and have a wide range of stylish options that are rip-resistant and easy to clean.
Flooring
Next, flooring. Tile and luxury vinyl planks are the easiest to maintain as they’re scratch-resistant and easy to clean if your pet has an accident. Laminate is also a decent option. It can get faintly scratched, but nothing that’s too visible to the naked eye. Hardwood is relatively easy to maintain but can be prone to scratches, so you may have to weigh its upsides vs. downsides.
It’s obvious, but carpet is one of the worst options, especially if it’s a high pile as it’ll become a hair magnet, leading to endless vacuuming and lint rolling. If you must have carpet, choose a low pile style as this won’t trap every piece of fur or food that makes its way onto the floor.
Stylish Storage
Pet toys will take over your home so you need to have some stylish storage options. Even for non-pet owners, baskets are a great option to stash away supplies. Otherwise, a row of built-in cabinets in your entryway or laundry is perfect for storing treats, leads, bags, and food. All the random pet supplies seem to multiply when you’re not looking.
Barkitecture
Have you heard of ‘barkitecture’? This up-and-coming area of interior design is all about incorporating pet products seamlessly into your house. Things like ledges for cats to lie on in the sun, water bowls built into cabinets, little pet nooks under the stairs, or a wash station in the laundry.
Rather than making your home look messy with random mismatched dog beds and toys lying around, consider how you can integrate these pieces without disrupting your home’s style. Check out some of these ideas:
Btw, check out the book Resident Dog (Volume 2) (right) if you haven’t already. There’s also a Volume 1 (left) published in 2019.
Safety First!
Many plants are toxic to cats and dogs, so make sure you do some thorough research before introducing any new houseplants into your home, especially if they’re at a height where your pet can access them.
If you’re looking for some pet-friendly plants, I suggest adding watermelon peperomias, prayer plants, calathea plants, orchids, money trees, or Chinese money plants to your space. These varieties are not only easy to grow but also non-toxic, so your home will be pet-friendly!
I’d also advise you to be careful with aroma and diffusers. Some of the common ones like Eucalyptus and Mint are not pet-friendly.
Helpful Tools
I’ve compiled a list of all the useful tools I mentioned below right here.
Chom Chom Roller - A lot of my friends who have pets have recommended the Chom Chom roller as the best product for pet hair removal. It’s much better than a traditional lint roller or sticky roller as it traps fur when you roll it back and forth and when you’re done you can press a button to open up the fur remover and empty it out completely.
Feeding Station, Crates & Litter Boxes
Carpet Cleaner - Another must-have if you have kids and pets. You never know when someone’s going to have an accident all over your pristine carpet.
Paw Cleaning Station - There’s nothing worse than coming home from a dog walk on a rainy day and realizing that you don’t have a towel handy at the front door and no one’s home to pass one through. Having a simple paw-cleaning station alongside your entryway setup is a fantastic idea, as most of us don’t have mudrooms.
If you enjoyed this newsletter edition, you may be interested in my video on Design Tips For A Low Maintenance Kit & Pet-Friendly Home!
Beautiful Space
BENGALTOPIA PROSPECT HEIGHTS by Studio Nato | Photography by Hanna Grankvist
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