Keeping A Clean And Tidy Home When You Have A Dog.
Is it possible to have things looking nice, once you’ve invited friends of the canine kind to live with you? We think it is 🙂 It might take a bit of forward planning, re-jigging ( and a little extra time) – but keeping a clean home with dogs can be done. Take a look at some of our solutions to help keep your home relatively free from dog slobber, hair and mud 🙂
Crafting a Paws-itively Perfect Home for Your Dog.Â
Whether we, as dog lovers, like it – or not, – there will always be a few tell-tale signs that we harbour a four-legged family member 🙂 Naturally, while many of us want our dogs to feel at home, we don’t always relish those traces that little furry housemates leave behind.
Puppies are often one of life’s chief canine challenges on the housekeeping front. They are often very capable of trashing a home in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, they soon grow out of being chewy, bitey, pooping machines. But – you know – you still get left with the hair, the mud, the musty smell, the snotty marks on the windows, the dribble on the floor – shall we go on….?
Designing your home around your pets, can have a big impact on how you take care of them. Whether you live in a small apartment, or a sprawling country house there’s always opportunities for creative ideas for homes with pets.
While functionality is important in many homes – style is often essential too. We want homes that look good, but are practical for our pets too.
A place for everything.
Dog towels are one of the essentials when it comes to keeping the house clean when you have dogs. Especially during the winter. Ideally, these need to be kept ready to hand near the entrance doors. However, a little (or large!) pile of damp, pungent, dog towels in the corner of the room, hardly screams ‘grand designs’ does it?
Shelving, or a free-standing cupboard, is useful to house clean, dry dog towels, within easy reach. Equally, a handy linen basket is useful for used damp towels. In addition, a decorative coat stand, or hooks is the ideal way to keep dog walking coats, leads, harnesses etc all stored neatly out of the way.
Covers.
Of course, dogs don’t have to be allowed on the furniture. However, lots of us do enjoy sofa snuggles with our four-legged pals – and no doubt our dogs do too.
Investing in some washable covers, is the easiest solution. There’s a vast array of attractive throws to purchase, so you can choose something which goes with your dĂ©cor. Keep plenty handy so you can rotate them when they start to get too hairy, or grubby! If your dog sheds a lot of hair it might be better to stick with cotton, rather than woven fabrics – the latter tend to hold onto dog hair and it can be impossible to remove it, even if washed.
Flooring.
Choosing flooring for your home if you have pets isn’t just about how nice it looks. It needs to stand up to claws, paws, spills and accidents. Ideally, flooring needs to be non-slip and scratch proof. In a home where there are pets, the type of flooring is probably one of the most important considerations. It certainly makes it easier when you have house training accidents.
Vinyl flooring comes in a huge array of different designs from wood effect, (some, you can’t tell the difference between that and real wood), to other modern designs that might be a unique addition to kitchen, hall, or living room
Ceramic tiles and wood flooring are extremely durable, easy to keep clean and hygienic. However, some dogs aren’t so keen on hard ‘slippery’ surfaces. In which case, you can buy some lovely rugs to complement the main area of flooring.
A good quality vacuum is a must if you have hairy hounds. Some dogs can moult enough dog hair to knit several more dogs. Vacuuming on a daily basis is an essential chore for many dog owners.
Dog Beds.
Investing in a durable and washable dog bed, means your dog is more likely to spend their time there. Choose one that fits in with the dĂ©cor/fabric of your existing furniture. That way the dog bed doesn’t need to be the main feature of the room, but works seamlessly with it.
The downside to dog beds, is they can sometimes clutter up a room and take up space. However, there are several companies and interior designers who have come up with clever ideas to utilise existing space, or incorporate dog beds into bespoke pieces of furniture.
Pet feeding stations.
How about making, or investing, in a pet feeding station? These are nicely designed pieces of furniture where dog food, treats, bowls and other utensils can all be stored neatly together in one place. If you’re good at DIY, you could make your own integrated station that will fit seamlessly into your kitchen design.
Choose a nice stylish bowls for your dog’s food and drink. There are some gorgeous designer pet bowls on the market that can match any household dĂ©cor. They really look so much better than plastic, or stainless steel bowls, kicking about the kitchen.
