Pets are treasured members of the family, and we all want our pets to be safe and happy. Whether you have a beagle or a bearded dragon, it’s essential to create a suitable, nurturing environment for your pet to live in. This means balancing style, comfort, and functionality in all areas. In this guide, we will cover how you can create a pet-friendly home and garden through design.
Pet-Friendly Flooring
The type of flooring that will best suit your home will depend on the type of pet you have. For example, cats are known to scratch carpets, so may be best avoided if you have a feline friend in the house. Similarly, dogs can be prone to treading muddy pawprints through carpets when they come back from a walk. If a stained or damaged carpet doesn’t sound ideal to you, consider harder materials like laminate, tile, or vinyl.
One increasingly popular choice for flooring material is concrete. Unlike other hard materials, it’s resistant to scratches from claws or stains from dirt. Concrete is also easy to clean and maintain, and can be easily fixed with epoxy resin. Although you may think of concrete as more functional than stylish, there are actually many aesthetically pleasing applications.
Furniture and Decor
Choosing the right furnishings for your home is especially important when you have (or are planning to adopt) pets. Unfortunately, animals can damage furnishings in various ways — by biting or scratching, urinating, defecating, coughing up hairballs, or bringing mud or dirt in from outdoors. Even highly house-trained pets are likely to leave hairs on sofas, beds, and other furniture items.
Of course, you can choose to keep pets out of certain rooms of the house by closing doors, but you probably don’t want to confine your pets to small areas of the home! If you want your dog or cat to be able to sit on sofas and chairs like any other member of the family, you can choose furniture in stain-resistant materials such as leather or microfiber. Alternatively, you can buy removable, washable covers for furniture.
Safety is also important when choosing furniture. Select items with sturdy frames and legs that can resist the impact of larger pets knocking into them without falling. You should also avoid having fragile items such as glass ornaments in areas where pets are likely to roam.
A Pet-Safe Garden
Gardens are places to feel close to nature while remaining safe and in your own space — and this goes especially for animals, many of whom are likely to feel stifled indoors without the ability to roam. However, it’s important to make your garden suitable for your pets so that they can explore safely.
For most pets, you should make sure that barriers such as fences are free of gaps or weaknesses through which they could escape. However, if you have cats, fences are unlikely to stop them roaming the neighborhood if they’re allowed outdoors!
One aspect that is often overlooked is the need to provide clean water sources for outdoor pets. These could be bowls that are refilled, or even permanent water features. If pets cannot find clean water, they may end up drinking from dirty puddles or worse.
You also need to make sure that any plants are safe for your pets — for example, aloe vera is poisonous to cats and dogs and should be removed from your garden. Pests should also be managed, especially in parts of the world where insects, snakes, or other small creatures may be poisonous or venomous.
Pet Comfort
As well as keeping your pets safe — and your furniture safe from your pets — you want them to be comfortable in your home. A luxurious cat or dog bed is a must-have (although be prepared for them to still choose an empty cardboard box or similar as a place to sleep!), with blankets and close proximity to a radiator or heat source if your home is in a colder climate. Depending on the animal, pet-friendly lighting can also be important.
In the garden, make sure that there are sheltered spots available. For animals like birds, rabbits, reptiles, or rodents (for example, hamsters, gerbils, rats, and guinea pigs), you will likely need a bespoke hutch or cage. If you also have pets such as cats or dogs that have free rein of the home, this is especially important to keep your smaller pets safe!
Creating the Perfect Spaces for Pets
Don’t be afraid to adapt to what your pet likes — if they prefer a particular room of the house, why not place their bed and toys there instead of trying to coax them into a room they don’t enjoy? By considering these aspects, you can make your home and garden safe, comfortable, and enjoyable for your pets.
Published by HOLR Magazine.