Do you have a pet-friendly decor strategy? Share pictures of how you've made your home comfortable for your furry friends!
Every pet is different.
That said, in the case of my cats (the current one and his predecessors), I leave windowsills empty (he likes to look at the birds), I have a low vintage living room set (my senior kitties loved it), he has a little angled bin for toys, and he has several places where he can hide when he wants to.
I also keep certain things put away so he won’t chew them.
I keep a throw, that matches the decor in my bedroom, in a basket near the foot of the bed. When we go to bed (my chihuahua mix with long black and some brown hair sleeps on my bed - she won't have it any other way) I pull out the throw and spread it on top of my bedding. Yucky dog hair stays on the throw and off my bedspread. I put the throw away when I make the bed in the morning and the throw can go into the washing machine on Saturday. I keep a couple in reserve just in case I get lazy - I roll them and keep them at the foot of the bed in a fabric basket that also matches my room. My dog thinks she's a princess, but doesn't even realize I've outsmarted her on this one small level.
I try to find comfy dog beds that match my home decor. I also like to keep a few woven baskets around the house filled with her toys so she doesn't have to wander back and forth to find her favorite toys. It also doubles as great storage because before her toys were all over the place 😊
All my floors are faux wood laminate. No wall to wall or large area rugs. All rugs are small and washable.
Roomba (we have the cheaper version) to get under chairs, couches, beds, etc. One of those silicone brushes for the couch and floor. Definitely a plus.
Cats love plush wall to wall carpeting or large heavy wool area rugs. They don't like skidding on solid floors. Unfortunately, cats are inclined to scratch up cheaper low pile carpeting and lightweight rugs so with carpet you need to either go expensive or have none.
Velvet furniture. Accesible windowsills. Faux plants.
And the secret of secrets, the holy grail that will save your lamps and decor: Museum Gel.
Say more about Museum Gel!!!!?
Ah Museum Gel, how I love thee? Let me count the ways. https://www.readyamerica.com/product/clear-museum-gel-4oz/
It's sold basically everywhere: Amazon, The Container Store, The Home Depot, Ace Hardware, craft stores… you name it, it's sold there.
It transforms your precious, fragile objects into impossible-to-budge fixtures. Vases, lamps, tchotchkes, all stay where they are supposed to, no matter how much Sylvester, Fido, or your toddler tries to make them fall. Yet, whenever you need to move your precious possessions, twist them gently and they come right off. And it's 100% reusable. Place them somewhere else, press them down, done.
Museum Gel also causes zero damage to both surfaces and the objects you are affixing to them. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
And the truly magical part: it's so amazingly reusable, you can scrape together all the gel you have already used and put it back in the jar. Hours later, it's completely absorbed, as clear as ever. So it's basically buy one jar, reuse forever.
There is also Museum Wax: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FJQQHC?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_22
But I find it a lot less versatile. YMMV, of course.
