Decorating your apartment can be hard but when you are trying to make your space beautiful and practical for your canine companion it can really challenge even the most creative individuals. First, you had to find a dog-friendly apartment in Chicago, and now you have to figure out how to get it just right for you and Fido?
You don’t have to sacrifice your taste and style just because you have a pet, you just have to make some special considerations to ensure that everything remains to look nice. Once you decide how you want your apartment to look you can tweak your ideas into fabulous four-legged friend approved ways.
1. Make It Washable
When purchasing new items for your apartment consider whether or not you could easily wash it. While the silk footstool looks amazing in the store, once it gets slobbered on or covered in dog hair it probably won’t any longer. When choosing upholstery for your apartment choose fabrics that are easier to clean like denim, canvas or certain synthetics.
Being able to clean up any stains or pet hair will reassure you time and time again you made the correct choice. Also, try to coordinate your furniture colors with your dog’s coat. It seems silly but when you are brushing your white couch to rid yourself of your black lab’s fur for the millionth time, you’ll be wishing you went with a dark fabric!
Coordinating upholstery with your pet in the first place makes much more sense and will mask the pet hair. You can add throw pillows with removable covers you can wash in an assortment of styles to make your furniture look stylish and fun.
Leather is very popular with pet owners because it’s durable and pet hair won’t stick to it as much, making it easy to clean. However, leather isn’t indestructible and can be punctured by large claws which could be hard to repair. Leather will develop a patina over time but as long as you’re okay with that it typically looks gorgeous as it ages.
If you would like to protect the floor from any scratches try adding a slip-proof area rug in a patterned fabric. The pattern will help hide any potential soiling so no matter if you use the rug on a hard surface or to cover up an apartment’s standard carpeting you will not be sorry. If you choose an area rug that can be steam cleaned you will be even more pleased with your choice.
2. Use Your Wall Space
As much as possible use your walls to store things. Your pup may knock things off the coffee table without meaning to, but they can’t reach your floating shelves. (Just be sure to mount them high enough so your dog, in fact, cannot reach them.) Storing things on shelves and bookcases will keep your space organized and out of harm’s way.
Placing your furniture carefully will also help protect your walls from any damage your pet may cause. Pets like to cuddle up to soft warm things, so don’t put those near walls. Smaller pups can even have a cushion inside a small cabinet with its doors removed, which can keep your walls from being wrecked.
While you may keep the bottom three feet of space basic and ordinary, as you get higher up on the walls feel free to express yourself with are, small succulents and really any decore that interests you. Just because you’re trying to make your apartment pet-friendly doesn’t mean you’re creating a space built completely for them.
3. Window Spaces
All pets love to look out the window so instead of being annoyed at your dog from hopping up on things give them a perch or an area that you’ve designed specifically for them! Pick a chair or a cushion specifically for them, so they can peer out and won’t wreck anything you don’t want them to wreck.
You should be able to close the window off from your pup if it turns out they spend a lot of time barking at neighbors, and of course, you will want privacy in the evenings. But so long as you’re comfortable with them looking out from their little spot, you will please your pup and visitors will be able to see how much you love your pup by providing them their own space.
4. Everyone Gets A Bed
Of course in your apartment, you will have a bed and whether you think you will or not, there’s a good chance your dog is going to join you in there at one time or another. So remembering everything we learned earlier, be sure that everything, even your decorative throw pillows are washable.
If you have a pup with short little legs consider getting dog stairs for your bed so they don’t injure themselves getting up and down. There are many options in dog stairs that will match any decor keeping your bedroom looking fresh and your puppy safe.
Of course, you wouldn’t leave out your pup in the bedding department. There are many cute dog bed ideas to match any decore from nautical to modern, you know their bed will coordinate with your room’s theme. When the dog’s sleep quarters look in tune with your’s it will blend in and look lovely without being an eyesore.
5. Coordinate Coordinate Coordinate
Dogs can come with a lot of extra things, leashes and toys, bowls and treat jars. If you live in a cold climate they will even have their own winter gear. But you can minimize the impact they have on your space by buying them in colors that coordinate with your home decor.
Consider buying hooks for leashes and decorative baskets for the toys, you can keep them in plain sight and they won’t be an eyesore because they already match your apartment’s design. Keeping your dog’s things in a central location will not only make it easier to be found when you need it but it can anchor a room and blend in easily.
Conclusion:
Having a lovely apartment that accommodates your dog is not only possible but incredibly likely if you follow these tips and ideas. Be sure to mix your style with your pup’s stuff and as long as you pay attention to how you’re decorating as you make your purchasing decisions. Whenever you start decorating your next pet-friendly space, keep these ideas in mind as you go.
