While your pets may make your house a home, and are as deserving of the comfort of your sofa and the luxury of your thick pile carpet, you probably don’t want your sofas and flooring to wear their fur, or your home to be ‘that one’ that smells of dog. So how can you stylishly share your living space with your pets despite their shedding, scratching and occasional ‘accidents’?
Sofas: Choose sofas with materials that are durable and easy to clean. Leather sofas can just be wiped down, and removable slipcovers are a pet owner’s saviour. If your sofa is not easy to clean, cover it with beautiful throws and blankets that can be washed regularly. If you don’t want your pets to share the sofa, but enjoy having them lounge with you, you can invest in a stylish pet bed to coordinate with your décor. Make sure that this bed too has a removable cover that can be washed regularly.
Pet accessories: Coordinate your pet’s accessories with your décor. Purchase ceramic dog bowls that coordinate with your colour scheme or industrial – look stainless steel accessories instead of plastic bowls.
Flooring: Tiles, wood and laminate flooring is preferable to wall to wall carpeting. To warm up this flooring an indoor/ outdoor rug is a good investment as they are more durable, can handle tough scrubbing, and can be hosed off and left to dry. Choose rugs that have tight patterns and darker colours as they hide stains and dirt better. Another tip is to buy rugs that are close in colour with your pet’s fur, that way a few rogue pet hairs will not be starkly visible.
Odours: To keep odours at bay, baking soda is effective. Sprinkle a little into litter boxes and pets’ bedding – it is not harmful to your pets, and freshens them up too.
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