Have you ever lived in a home that wasn’t really suitable for your beloved pets? Were there any features of your home that just caused hassle when it came to allowing your pet to reside indoors? If you’re designing your new home from scratch, or sitting down with a reputable builder to discuss innovative
house plans, designs and concepts, you have a variety of opportunities to incorporate many pet-friendly features from the initial plan. This way, from when your home is initially built, you have a new, modern home that accommodates you, your family and your pets. Here are 5 tips to assist you.
Discuss Your Options with the Builder
In the initial stages of discussions with your builder, you should raise your concerns, queries, or any other questions you may have regarding your pets. If your builder has been informed that you require your home to contain pet-friendly amenities, they can then offer alternatives or point you in the right direction of where to find the relevant resources. You builder would have, in most cases, built family homes to integrate an array of certain requests from owners. Therefore be sure to raise any requests at the very beginning.
Consider the Flooring Options
This could equate to a costly occurrence that could simply be avoided if the correct flooring isn’t chosen originally. If you have multiple animals, both cats and dogs more specifically, that are granted access inside your home, flooring is of great concern. Think about the incidences from the past with your pets. Where there any that did any damage? Or any that could have been avoided? A quick, smart tip for you - choose flooring that is easy to clean and maintain, such as tiles or floorboards, opposed to carpets. This was any accidents your pet may encounter inside are easily repairable.
Stain-Resistant Fabrics
If you are purchasing new furniture or any products that are fabric related that your pets may come in contact with, ensure they are stain-resistant. You don’t necessarily need to worry about the lamp shade. This would relate more to furniture such as lounge suites, stools and dining chairs etc., as your pets would more likely come in contact with these on a daily basis. If the materials and fabrics are stain-resistant, they will be cleaned much easier and maintain their contemporary features for much longer.
Pet-Friendly Backyard
Your animals will spend an abundance of time outside, roaming and exploring the features of the backyard. Therefore be sure to accommodate for this an ensure lots of free space for your pets to actively run, exercise and play. Try to avoid cluttering to backyard too much with excessive fixtures or gardens.
Provide Enough Toys and Accessories
You’re not always home and your pets will spend much time alone. Be sure to provide them enough toys to keep them entertained while you are at work, or away for a short period of time. If they are kept outside when you’re at work, also ensure they have sufficient shelter, food and water to keep them comfortable for extended time periods.
This is just a selection of pet-friendly tips and ideas for you to consider from the initial stages of designing your home, to when you are all moved in and living there with your pets long-term. You will come up with ideas of your own that best suits your pets’ personalities and you will source recommendations from other sources. Regardless, this is a good starting point to get you on track.
Written by Keith Hensley
Keith runs a reputable home building business in Australia. He is passionate about new green building technologies and ways to reduce footprint in the building industry.
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