Designing Around Children and Pets For Home
One of the greatest challenges for young homeowners or pet lovers is to design a space around kids and pets. Keeping in mind the factors of cleanliness, hygiene, comfort, and functionality, it is important to design a space strategically, while considering a few do’s and don’ts when it comes to material specifications, interior decoration items, and space planning. Whether it is smart technology or creative DIY ideas, here is a list of a few ideas that you can incorporate in your homes to aim for a kid- and pet-friendly space.
DURABLE FLOORING
Durable and functional flooring is a number one step towards designing a kid- and pet-friendly space. If you have wall-to-wall carpeting, it’s time to consider swapping it out for hardwood floors that are easy to clean, easy to maintain, and offer extreme strength and durability.
SMART TECHNOLOGY & HELPFUL TOOLS
Don’t hold back from incorporating smart technology and organizational features into your home to make your life much easier. It’s fairly simple to integrate pull-out step stools, doggy doors, pocket gates in doorways, and animal crates designed as functional pieces of furniture. Smart home features have really come a long way as well. You can add charging stations or smart home devices, such as thermostats, cameras, pet feeders, and self-cleaning litter boxes. You can even have a robot vacuum roaming around, cleaning up little messes. With these features, it is easy to step up automatic systems to get the kids and pets under control.
UPHOLSTERY & FABRICS
One of the highlighting decorative accents in a space includes textiles and it is crucial to choose fabrics that can withstand dirt and stains. Whether it is a leather or patterned texture, fabrics tend to play a major role in making a space look clean and crisp. If the fabrics around you are easily cleanable, you have more freedom to choose any color you’d like – including whites and light colors. Muddy paw prints or food spills from your kids can be easily undone on a white leather surface, or less glaring on a busy dark pattern.
EMBRACE BASKETS
Don’t forget to incorporate a ton of baskets to store your belongings. Baskets can not only add to an aesthetic and chic style, but they are also extremely functional for a space. Baskets are an affordable option, and can be used to store and organize just about anything, including dog or children’s toys!
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL PIECES
Functionality is of utmost importance when choosing decoration and furniture pieces for your home. Choosing furniture pieces that can be multi-use is key. Something like a console table can hold your keys and belongings while also storing toys and books, or a storage ottoman can be a great place to hide away extra blankets or kid items. You could also try adding a coffee table that can store the ottomans or a couch with a moveable chaise to easily alter your space to accommodate the kids’ or pets’ activities.
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So, are you excited to introduce pet- and kid-friendly features into your homes? With these tips and tricks to designing around pets and children in your home, you’ll be sure to have a functional and beautiful home that the whole family will cherish and live comfortably in. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Jessie Ellis
Wife, friend and dog mom with 18+ years of education and 12+ years as a commercial design professional. Always inquisitive, creative and empathetic; trying to live each day with intention.
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