6 Pet-Friendly Home Features

You've just come back from a peaceful spring walk with your dog. You open the door to your beautiful and clean home, and before you know it, the dog runs through the house with his mud-caked paws and is drying off on the sides of your new sofa. When integrating pets into your living spaces, striking a balance between cleanliness, style, and your pet's comfort is essential. Check out these six pet-friendly home features that will ensure comfort for your furry friend while maintaining a clean and stylish home.

Built-ins and Pull-outs

If the kitchen is the most functional place for your pets to eat, but you don’t want to trip over their food and water bowls, a built-in feeding station is the way to go. There are two ways to do a built-in feeding station. The first way is an extension of the island with custom slots for metal food and water bowls to fit, keeping them out of traffic flow. A feeding station built into the island also allows easy access to the food and treats, as you can store them in the cabinets or shelves built on the island. The second option is to build a pull-out drawer behind the toe kick of your kitchen cabinet and slide it out only for meal times.

Mudroom

Mudrooms can become your all-in-one pet zone. Building a dog door into your laundry room or garage door will help ensure your pet’s paws aren’t tracking mud into the living room. You can hang hooks on the walls for leashes. If you add bench seating or cubbies, you can store food, toys, or other pet gear, keeping it organized and contained. The laundry room often has plenty of cabinet space for pet supply storage, and you can turn an extra base cabinet into a cozy nook for naps and bedtime by adding an upholstered stain-resistant cushion for a dog bed. If you have a cat, you can add tunnels or cat shelves. Additionally, you can install a sink in your mudroom to create an easy filling station, especially if you relocate their food and water bowls to the mudroom. Not only will this help free up space in the kitchen, but it can help limit their mess.

Pet Shower

Streamline bath time with a shower specially designed for your pet. If you want to keep your pets out of the bathtub where you and your kids shower, you can build a shower specially for them. We recommend adding a pet shower in your mudroom so you can clean them off before they even get a chance to jump on your couch. The ideal pet shower needs a half-wall shower round with easy-to-clean subway tile, raised flooring, a handheld sprayer, and a shower niche to hold pet shampoo.

Materials

Choosing pet-friendly flooring, furniture, and wall paint is vital to keeping your home clean and pets safe. Leather can be an excellent choice for furniture like couches and seating because it is durable and easy to clean, though it is important to note that it makes scratches over time from your pet's paws. If you don’t feel comfortable buying a sofa made from an animal for your animal, try pleather. Another pet-friendly furniture material is Ultrasuede. Ultrasuede is a machine-washable microfiber that feels as smooth as genuine suede. Choosing materials in the same color as your pet is the most practical choice, as the hair they shed won't be as visible. 

It’s best to go hardwood, tile, or LVT for flooring, as carpet absorbs odors, traps pet hair, and soaks up inevitable pet-related stains. Wood floors are simple to mop or vacuum. Porous materials like marble or other natural stones aren't as pet-proof as other hard surfaces since pet spit-up can stain them, even if you seal them. We recommend oak flooring as the best option. 

As a pet owner, you want to avoid highly textured walls that will attract pet fur, even if it isn’t necessarily rubbing against it. Instead, you should choose satin or semi-gloss paint to help repel fur and keep your walls sparkly clean.

Gates

Many pet parents like to use gates to keep their furry friends in one area for cleaning or when guests come over. However, gates can get in the way and be a tripping hazard. They are also often an eyesore. A fun, creative solution is to install a half-pocket door or custom roll-away gate that slides right into the wall when not used. It can be designed to match the surrounding trim when pulled out, making it blend in seamlessly.

Vacuum System

We all know that the price of having a pet is that everything you own will inevitably be covered in their hair, which means vacuuming will become a daily task. A central vacuum saves time and your aching back. A central vacuum system provides inlets in as many rooms as you like, with one collection station in your utility room. This system gives you a clean home without the aches and pains of dragging a vacuum around. 

Get Started!

If you’ve recently added a pet to your home or have been a pet parent for a while and are ready to improve the functionality of your space, we would be happy to help make you and your pet companion’s house feel like home. Contact us today to add these pet-friendly features to your house.