Most dog and cat owners will tell you their pets are part of the family, but now fur family homeowners are taking it one step further by incorporating pet-focused design features when renovating their homes. Here are some of the latest trends in pet-forward interior design.

Built-in Dog Beds

Having your dog sleep in the middle of the floor can be a pain, especially if your best pal is a large breed. It can also be a safety hazard when pets sprawl out in high foot traffic areas. To avoid tripping over your pooch, consider installing a built-in dog bed. These hideaway sleeping areas are often placed under cabinets or counters. The bathroom is a popular location choice as it’s convenient for easy clean-up and out of the way.

Dog Washing Station – Create a Pet-Friendly Bathroom

Turn your shower into a dog washing station that makes clean-up time easy. It can be a literal pain to wash your dog in the bathtub. Kneeling and bending can cause you sore knees or pulled muscles in your back. Fortunately there are options for creating a pet-friendly bathroom. Adding a low-tiled shower area in your bathroom with a waist-high hand-held shower head will allow you to stand and spray your doggie while sudsing him up. Another option would be to purchase a ready-made raised stainless steel bathing station for your dog that has a ramp for easy access. A less, expensive and more convenient choice may be simply to install an additional hand-held shower head at an easy-to-reach level in your current shower.

Kitty Comforts

Like the earlier mentioned hidden dog bed, a bed for your cat can be tucked in beneath counters or drawers in the bathroom. Another idea is to slip the cat’s litter box into such a tucked-away nook as inside a cabinet with an entrance suited to her size. An access can be placed on the side of the cabinet in order to allow the box to be removed for cleaning purposes. One more perfect plan to keep your precious feline from drinking out of the toilet is to install a cat water fountain in the water line. This type of drinking station is often attractive to cats.

Underfoot Options

Choosing the right flooring for your bathroom, especially when you have pets, may be one of the most important choices you make regarding home design. Carpet is rarely a practical choice for the bath area, but it’s really a bad idea for pet owners. You need a flooring option that is easy to clean when muddy paws walk through or your furry friend has an accident. You also don’t want sopping wet carpet after your pooch hops out of the bath and shakes off because that could lead to mold or mildew.

Fortunately, there are new choices in floor coverings that are just perfect for pets. Radiant heating has become a popular upgrade for many home owners. It’s an easy-to-clean option that offers the added benefit of providing warmth to your tootsies, as well as to your best four-footed friend. Other choices include vinyl flooring with seams that are waterproof, tile because it’s cool in the summer and hard coated laminate or hardwood to resist claw marks. Laminate and hardwood options also offer tight seams that can keep out leakage from pet accidents.

You love your home, as well as your pets. Lucky for you there are so many options for making your living area, particularly the bathroom, pet-friendly. Hopefully the pet-focused design features described here will help you with your remodeling efforts!

For a free design consultation and estimate, call or email Flooring Masters & Professional Remodelers today for a free consultation. We know you only want the best in flooring. That’s why it’s important to hire the best in the business, and at Flooring Masters & Professional Remodelers, we can guarantee you that’s us.

Flooring Masters & Professional Remodelers have been flooring and remodeling Kentuckiana for over 30 years. Our certified installers have the ingenuity and know-how to assist you in choosing the perfect floors for your home. Don’t take matters into your own hands—let us guide your next project.