In the Dog House

If beloved pets are ruining your interior aesthetic, we have tips to help you minimise the impact whether you’re an owner or renter

Bark-itecture (sorry!) is taking off, with Pinterest reporting just last year alone that searches for “pet furniture” had doubled in a three-month period, and “cat wall furniture”, “luxury dog rooms” and “dog shower” searches were on the up too.

With pets often considered family members and allowed to roam the home freely, you might want to make a few adjustments to minimise the impact of their presence on décor, furniture and fixtures, or even consider them in a new design.

Flooring for Fido - how to protect your precious wooden floor

Start at the front door or back door, whichever one is used the most, and opt for an oversized door mat for your canine to filter mud picked up on paws before he tracks it though the home. You’ll be amazed at the difference a simple change like this makes, not only for your pet but where there’s a heavy human footfall too.

If you have a thick-pile carpet, you’ve already learned your cat finds it irresistible for indulging in a good clawing session. Natural wooden floors, especially pine which is softer and a magnet for scratches, can also fall foul of a clawing cat. Even puppies are known to have razor-like claws so a flat-pile rug is the way to go.

The Winnie washable rug has a faded aesthetic so it’s less likely to show up stains, and if it gets really dirty, even smelly, and a spot clean won’t resolve it, just pop it in the washing machine.

But if you’re in the market for new flooring, you might want to consider a hard-wearing more scuff-proof laminate or tile.

Ida Sofa Washable Black Zebra Print Rug

Paw Patrol - how to stop the dog wrecking your sofa

Dogs just love jumping on the sofa, and if you have a larger mutt, trying to drag him off when he’s become accustomed to his comfort and fun is probably a battle you lose frequently. They also love looking out the window from a sofa back to assess barking potential at callers and passers-by. Great for security, mind you, but your sofa bears the brunt over time.

If you’re looking for a new one, steer clear of bouclé. Those lovely textures will prove too alluring to your sharp clawed feline, so invest in something more resistant to being pawed.

The Sebastian charcoal fabric two-seater sofa bed is a more pet-friendly practical fabric, but if you want practicality with colour the Gabriel two-seater sofa comes in teal. Like the Sebastian it sits flush to the floor leg-free, so no risk of damage from a little puppy who likes to gnaw on chair legs.

The puppy teething stage doesn’t last forever but it can last long enough to cause serious damage to furniture. A quick and cheap fix, if aesthetically suspect, is wrapping wooden legs in heavy-duty tin foil, but you can also get silicone leg caps online to match the leg colour.

Electrical cables are also potential chew toys so tin foil wrapping will help, and you’re not likely to notice as TV and lamp wires are usually out of sight.

If you have your heart set on a luxury fabric, but you’re the human companion of a cat or two, there’s good news. Most cats are repelled by velvet, according to cat welfare website, Catster. It seems the material doesn’t provide enough resistance when they pull on it which means you can have a splurge on your dream upholstery. Any concerns about stains, check out our Guardsman policy to cover any potential mishaps and give yourself peace of mind.

Take a look at the streamlined design of the Gemma fabric three-seater sofa as an alternative to velvet. It’s free of design details like button upholstery that might encourage puppy explorations, and it comes in practical but stylish olive and rust options.

Gemma Olive 3 Seater Sofa

Pets in Lets - making sure you get your deposit back

From late last year, new rules to lift blanket bans on pets in rental and social housing came in, although exemptions remain such as space restrictions, health issues and insurance restrictions.

It’s hoped this will extend to private rentals in time which is welcome news for pet lovers although it doesn’t quite let you off the leash. If your pet does cause damage, your landlord is still entitled to be compensated from your paid deposit.

To minimise this, there are a few things you can do. If you’re allowed to paint walls, try a hard-wearing emulsion, especially in areas with high traffic as it’s less prone to showing up scuffs.

Put a little extra thought into furniture placement if the landlord owns the bigger pieces like sofas and tables. Keeping the sofa away from the window so pets can’t use it as a viewing platform can cut down on worry about wear and tear.

Simple things like an occasional table placed at the end of a sofa where cats love to tear at upholstery will act as a guard rail.

Investing in dog sofa and chair toppers is really worth considering as they’re machine washable and can be made to fit your seats, but you have to weigh up the cost versus how long you’re planning on staying in your rental home and the likely damage over that time.