Pet Advice: Home interior designs tips to keep cats and dogs happy

Your pets should be front of mind when styling your home. If not it could lead to trouble.

Plenty of interior designers create beautiful homes that take your breath away, but just aren’t practical.

Kate Mac plans her projects around the pets of the house.

Kate, who heads up her own design company, focuses on interiors that are stunning, but also work for busy families, in particular those who own pets.

“Pets add so much joy to family life,” says Kate, herself the owner of a labrador.

Plan your home projects around your pets.

“They also bring a lot of mess and extra work. But with a bit of planning, careful material selection and clever design solutions, you can create a gorgeous result that is low-maintenance and pet friendly, too”.

Here, Kate shows you how.

1. Fabrics

Look for easy-care upholstery fabrics in tightly-woven microsuede, canvas, leathers or easy-to-clean synthetics. Steer away from open-weave linens, loop piles, boucle, chenille and chunky knits that kitty can sink claws into and easily shred. Removable or washable slipcovers are great solutions for sofas.

Leather is low maintenance and easy to clean when it comes to pets (and kids).

2. Inside out

Consider using an outdoor fabric on your indoor sofa; there are some really gorgeous luxe velvets that are super resilient and easy to wash. Ditto with outdoor rugs – some beautiful options can literally be hosed down if necessary.

3. Flooring

Rip up the carpet and steer away from hardwood floors. Polished concrete and ceramic tile floors are the most low maintenance and easy-to-clean flooring options. If you prefer the look of a timber floor, then scratch-resistant laminates are your best friend.

4. Fur friendly

Invest in a great sticky roller to remove fur from upholstery and look for fabrics in a similar shade to your pet’s fur. Patterns and texture hide stains.

Co-ordinate pet bedding with your decor.

5. Pet doors

When renovating, clients often overlook the position of the pet door and it can be really awkward and expensive to retrofit discreetly. Consider this in advance and work with your builder.

6. Bend

Integrate food bowls into joinery in the kitchen or laundry – to keep them off the floor and hidden from view.

7. Bedding

Co-ordinate pet bedding with your decor. There are some really stylish options on the market in neutral colour ways and luxe textures.

For more ideas visit: katemacinteriors.com

Originally published as Pet Advice: Home interior designs tips to keep cats and dogs happy