Furnishing your home should be a fun and creative process, helping you to express your personality in the best possible way and making you feel at ease.
Having animals means modifying or perhaps changing some of your decor so that they too can live in a comfortable and safe environment.
When you buy something for your home, you also need to take into account your furry friend, choosing durable materials suitable for them, so as to make the most you can from every single purchase.
Here are some tips for making your home animal friendly.
Choose durable flooring
For floors, try to avoid carpeting or wood, because they are not suitable for pets.
Scratches and hairs will only be the first signs of rapid wear.
For living areas, such as the entrance hall and main rooms, choose ceramic tiles.
If you really don’t want to renounce an elegant parquet, use it in rooms that you know your animals won’t be allowed in too often.
Buy durable furniture
Even if you don’t allow your animals to get on the furniture, their hairs will find a way to do it.
Choose stain-resistant and easy to clean sofas and seating.
Where possible, buy cushions with covers that you can remove and wash.
Are you thinking that the solution could be a leather or eco-leather sofa?
No doubt you will be able to avoid the problem of hairs, but not that of scratches.
If you have cats, you can try to distract them from the furniture with a scratching post, but they have their own character and not all of them will give up on the sofa or the leg of the table.
Currently on the market you can find furniture designed with pet-proof fabrics.
They cost a little more but, in the long term, they are definitely worth the expense!
Think about double glazing blinds
When there are animals in the house, you should take into account that they can hang on the curtains with their claws or chew them.
It’s certainly a way for them to play, but you won’t appreciate that when your beautiful curtain has been shredded.
Not to mention the colour: light shades tend to get dirty fairly easily anyway and with a pet living with you, that will happen even more quickly.
Although more expensive, you can opt for blinds that are sealed inside your double-glazing so your pet can’t get at them.
Have a dedicated pet area at the entrance of your home
If you have a cat that is allowed in the garden, or a dog that you take for a walk, you certainly know that this means having to deal with dirt and stains.
The solution is to create an area at the entrance dedicated to your pet: a lead hanger, a mat to catch the mud before they patter over the floor and a piece of transparent plexiglass fixed to the lower half of the wall to protect it from any shaking.
Add shelves for towels and other accessories and you’ll have a well-stocked pet area.
Avoid attractive plants or small ornaments at pet height
Never leave decorative objects that you really care about, or any knitted items, within the reach of his muzzle: your animal will assume that they are there for him.
Likewise, animals do not know that there are decorative plants that should not be chewed or which real ones are unsafe to chew.
Keep all the plants that are toxic to your puppy or dog well out of reach, not least because once he has grabbed something it will be difficult to try to take it out of his mouth.
Choose the right toys for your home
If you’ve ever had the brilliant idea of giving your dog a rope to play with at home or a nice ball full of catnip to your kitten, you know what a mistake this can be.
Some pet toys leave residue everywhere, even weeks later, even when you think you’ve picked up every last little piece.
For this reason, think carefully about what they can play with outside and what may be suitable for your home.
Bath your pets regularly
Your pet may not like being washed and combed, especially if we are talking about a cat, but this is necessary both for their health and for the hygiene of your home.
You can choose whether to wash him at home or take him to a groomer, in any case try to avoid having your home covered with hair or stains.
In short, making your home pet-friendly is not complicated, you just need to put our tips into practice so you and your pet can live together and both be comfortable.
