How to Live Stylishly with Pets

Fur babies are an amazing part of home and family life, but they also require some pretty significant adjustments in our living spaces. You don’t have to sacrifice the home style you worked so hard to curate for your furry friend. Try a few of these tips for both a happy pet and a house you’re happy to come home to.

Hang Valuable Rugs as Art

Any pet owner knows that rugs collect dirt and stains three times faster whenever there’s a pet in question. Purchase less expensive rugs, instead, and preferably in a material that’s easy to clean like woven vinyl (you can literally hose them off outside and scrub them with dish soap). For any gorgeous rugs you can’t bear to part with, hang them on the wall for a tapestry-like effect! Your rug will be safe from paws, and it will give your walls a facelift.

Avoid Carpeting

Carpet fibers trap pet hair and debris, and you might end up spending more time vacuuming your carpeted rooms than you do enjoying them. Plus, if you’re house-training a puppy or have a pet who is prone to accidents, carpets are a nightmare to get pet odors out of. Opt for tile, wood, painted concrete, or terrazzo floors, which are all easier to clean and have the added bonus of serving as a cool surface for your pet to rest on during hot summer months. If you must have carpet, select one that is low pile so that it will be easier to clean and less likely to trap pet hair. At the very least, do your best to limit your pet’s access to carpeted rooms and stairs by getting in the habit of closing bedroom doors or investing in an attractive stair gate like The Stair Barrier to limit their free reign of the house.

Select Furniture Fabric Wisely

That crushed velvet couch is a dream until it becomes your golden retriever’s favorite napping spot and begins sporting a fresh layer of fur every day. Avoid fabrics like velvet, silk, and chintz, which attract pet hair with magnetic strength. Instead, select pieces made of leather (or pleather if you believe in a cruelty-free lifestyle) or crypton. Leather is especially easy to clean, and crypt-on is stain and bacteria resistant.

Buy Pet Items that Complement Your Home

There are a lot of options on the market when it comes to selecting your pet’s beds, toys, and food bowls. Instead of taking a trip to the nearest chain in your area, try hand-selecting from stores online or local boutique pet stores where you’ll have a lot more options. This way, you can choose a bed that can be seamlessly incorporated into your living room color palette, instead of being another pet product eye sore. Similarly, invest in a rustic basket or a chic storage ottoman for storing excess toys, and be conscious about how many toys your pet can have access to at one time to avoid having them strewn all across your home. And if you want to keep your dog contained to one level in your home, consider a fabric stair gate from The Stair Barrier. Our gates are offered in a variety of fabrics to complement any decor and simply roll to the side when not in use.