Pets provide companionship, comfort, and warmth. Bringing a new furry friend into your home can spark a great deal of excitement and joy.
However, if your new pet chews up your rug or scratches your furniture, you may become distressed. Thankfully, there are proven ways to make your interior design pet-friendly, saving you and your pet needless stressful incidents. Here are some tips to get you started.
1. Use Washable Slipcovers
If your pet likes relaxing with you on your sofa, it may soon be covered in fur, dirt, or saliva. The situation can be disheartening if you happen to have white or light-coloured furniture.
To preserve your upholstery, why not use some washable slipcovers? When they get dirty, you can simply put them in the washing machine for cleaning. Using slipcovers also gives you a chance to get creative. You can use them to give your living room an update by swapping covers with different colours and patterns.
2. Coat Walls With Washable Paint
Using washable paint can save you a lot of time and effort when your pet stains your walls. After a long walk, your dog may decide to shake off everything they’ve picked up while outdoors.
Unfortunately, this often results in the canine equivalent of a Jackson Pollock gracing your walls. But cleaning off the dirt will be quick and easy if the paint is washable. Today, you can find washable paint with many pleasing shades and finishes to decorate your interior walls.
3. Choose Pet-Friendly Plants
Numerous indoor plants are safe for dogs and cats while others can be harmful and toxic to them. If you already have plants inside your home, ensure that they are safe for your pets.
However, if you are bringing in plants for the first time, you should select those varieties that are proven to be safe for your furry loved ones. Examples include basil, thyme, parlour palm, rosemary, bird’s nest fern, and orchid.
4. Select Tough and Durable Fabrics
Once you have a pet at home, you must acquire fabrics that can hold up against scratching and the usual wear-and-tear involved with animals indoors. In place of light fabrics like silk and linen, choose tough fabrics like canvas, leather, and microfiber.
These fabrics are easy to wash, and their tightly woven structure makes it difficult for them to trap pet hair. You may also try some outdoor fabrics like polyester or even super durable marine vinyl. They come in a variety of styles and colours.
5. Choose the Right Carpet
Besides the obvious aesthetic benefits, carpets are great for retaining heat and keeping your feet warm. However, having pets around can result in unsightly stains or even further destruction as a result of their claws.
If you prefer to use a rug or carpet, you should consider the durability offered by carpet tiles. These carpet tiles are modular so if one section gets damaged, you can easily replace or clean it.
Carpet tiles are available in a wide range of styles and colours, and installing them is simple. You can even find carpets with hexagonal shapes and use them instead of conventional square-shaped tiles.
6. Find an Attractive Pet Bed
Today, there are many styles and colours of pet beds to suit your decor scheme and budget. You don’t have to limit yourself to the conventional brown or grey beds.
You can find a canopy bed for your pup or a bed that looks like a mini sofa for your cat. However, don’t forget to get washable covers for your pet bed. The covers make it easy to keep the bed clean and can prevent potential diseases from accumulated germs, hair, pee, and dander.
7. Create Dedicated Pet Storage
Like your child’s toys, your pets’ toys can litter the house and become an eyesore. A good solution is to create a separate storage place for these.
Baskets are suitable for most pets. If the top of the basket is open, your pet can pick out the toys without your assistance. Just ensure those baskets are placed in an easily reachable space in your home.
Put one near the door, and add other items like your dog’s leash, frisbee, harness, and anything you need to take along with your dog when you go out for your walks or exercise.
8. Mask Pet Fur and Stains with Colour
Pet owners use different colours to mask stains. While some love to use dark colours, others prefer lighter ones. The snag about using dark colours for a sofa is the dull look they give the room.
On the other hand, light colours may be okay for slipcovers but they easily reveal stains. A more suitable option is to use grey-coloured upholstery. It will reflect light without making the stains so obvious. Using a multi-patterned rug will also hide any visible stains better.
With these tips, you can create an interior design that is ideal for you and your pets. Review the suggestions shared above regarding choosing the upholstery covers, types of paint, carpets, toy storage, and bedding. Then, when you’re ready, make a plan to apply at least one of those tips this weekend. Which one will it be?
