Families that include cats and dogs among their members have special considerations when designing their homes. Not only do the chosen surface materials need to be pet-friendly, but there are also ways to add convenience to the everyday care of their pets.
Choosing Pet-Friendly Home Decor Materials
The claws and teeth of cats and dogs can certainly wreak havoc on the interior of a home. From chewed carpets to claw marks on doors and walls, pets often damage the inside of their homes. To minimize the possibility of damage, and create spaces with lower maintenance, homeowners should select finish materials that will stand up to such abuse.
Hard flooring surfaces are often a wise choice for pet owners. Tile, stone, concrete and even hardwood floors make clean-ups simple. Care should be taken when using hardwood flooring, however; large dogs can scratch even the hardest of hardwood floors. While using an high-traffic finish on the wood does help, hardwood floors will need to be refinished more often with dogs and cats in the home. Tile grout joints, stone and concrete floors should be sealed for the best stain-resistance and to maintain their look over the long term.
Fabrics chosen for furniture, bedding and window treatments should be stain-resistant and easy to clean. The oils from pet fur will rub off on fabric surfaces, leaving discoloration on furniture and other soft surfaces. Polyester fabrics are easy to care for and are generally very durable. Using a fabric with a pattern, instead of a sold fabric, will help to hide stains and pet hair between cleanings. For areas of heavy use, such as a bench cushion in a mudroom or breakfast nook, using an outdoor fabric makes cleaning a breeze.
Adding Special Spaces for Pet Care at Home
When designing a home, whether for a new construction or a remodeling project, pet owners can incorporate many features to make caring for their animals easier. Simple additions to the mudroom or utility room, for example, can make pet care a simpler task.
Every dog or cat owner has pet food to store; often, the large bags become difficult to manage, and the food does not remain fresh. Even worse, pets may find their way into the food supply, making themselves ill and creating a giant mess in the process. Adding a simple pull-out food storage cabinet is one way to combat this problem.
Much like a pull-out trash bin, the cabinet door is attached to heavy-duty drawer glides, allowing it to move in and out like a large drawer. This drawer can house large, lidded containers to store pet food and keep it easily accessible at feeding time. The food storage cabinet should be installed in the most convenient place for easy and quick access.
In the kitchen, pet owners may want to consider installing a special drawer for pet food dishes. This drawer pulls out at mealtimes, revealing food and water dishes. After the meal, they can easily be stowed away until the next meal. A pet dish drawer can be installed in the toekick of the cabinetry or in the base cabinet, depending upon the size of the pet and the dish sizes they require. Installing a drawer in the base of a mudroom bench keeps dishes easy to access, yet out of the kitchen. Height of the dishes should be considered, so they are easy for pets to eat from.
For cat owners, having a specific place for the litter box can be a challenge. Most homes are simply not designed to have a convenient location for such an item. Homeowners can combat this problem by creating a space under a laundry room countertop or inside a cabinet equipped with a cat door. This will keep the box out of sight, but still easily accessible when it needs to be cleaned.
Having a specific drawer or cabinet set aside for pet care items is also helpful. Brushes, collars, leashes, shampoos, medications and other pet care items will be in one place, and well away from food or human items in other places of the home, minimizing the chances for mistakes.
Dogs and cats often like to have their own space for a bed. Many times, this bed ends up in the middle of the living room, as there is no other space for it. Pet owners could consider creating a space specifically for their pet's bed; it may be as simple as leaving an open space under a kitchen countertop and placing the bed in that space. Carving out space near the fireplace in the living room is another logical location for a pet bed.
Adding a pet shower to a mudroom or garage is a great way to minimize the mess of bathing an animal inside the home. In a mudroom, the space should be fully tiled with porcelain tile to minimize maintenance. Concrete floors in the garage are also well-suited to handling the water of a pet shower. Full walls are unnecessary for a pet shower; a shower drain with short ledges should keep most water in the right place. Installing a hand shower makes bathing pets a breeze; it also makes rinsing the shower after bath time much simpler.
Pets are a major part of so many homes today. Planning ahead for their care, as well as minimizing the maintenance to flooring and furniture in the home, will keep every home fresh and beautiful, making for happy pet owners.
Teri Larsen - Professional Interior Designer, Freelance Writer, Executive Editor of Metro Women Magazine, Mom of 2, Artist and Generally Creative ...
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