Parenting, pets and partners: tips for home performance
There comes a time in life when certain upgrades are needed in your home to reflect something new you need out of the home.
And sometimes, it’s the best additions to life that require these changes…like parenting, partners, and pets. Safety, priority, functionality and comfort will be the name of the game when someone new is in your home.
In the case of a baby or a puppy, for example, maybe you’ve already tried for a while to keep damage to the minimum. How’s that going for ya?
There are some expert designer tips and tricks that you can use to update features of your home AND make your life a whole lot easier. Making your home more resistant to scratches, mud paws, marker on the wall any everything else will surely bring some needed peace of mind!
There’s no doubt that you adore your kids, your partner and your fur babies as well, but keeping your home in a functional design while protecting it from any trouble anyone gets in is in everyone’s best interest. However, it’s definitely NO easy task, and it can get even more complicated without organizing your priorities and talking to a professional about material options.
We’ve heard many times from clients who asked us to make their homes pet-friendly, kid-friendly, or at times even husband-friendly! And today, we’ve decided to share some of the most universally successful ideas with you. If you think any of these will be suitable for you, we will be 100% on board to make your space comfortable and functional for every member of the family. In the meantime, you can click on this checklist article about baby-proofing to download our free infographic for any of you new parents out there!!
To read more, check this article out.
Our top 7 tips and ideas for a pet, parenting or even partner-friendly home:
1: Choose your flooring wisely…the floor is one of the surfaces that will suffer the most damage, so be sure to choose one that is scratch-resistant and that easily maintained AND CLEANED every time something happens in your home. Popular types of flooring that are suitable for most families with extra scratch-resistance needs include laminate tiling and distresses wooden floors (also known as “hand scraped” or “brushed”). If you do choose wood, keep in mind that it’s not water resistant!
2: Use outdoors rugs inside the house…yes, you read that correctly! Inside rugs are usually going to “come up short” in performance when you have a home full of kids and pets. They easily become dirty and you have to spend a lot of time cleaning them. The solution is to find a good-looking rug that was initially made for outdoors, and use it inside. These types of rugs are made to endure harsher conditions than indoors rugs, of course, and it will be MUCH easier to clean properly when the mud piles up.
3: Window treatments…of course, for parenting OR for new pets, your window treatments are best if they’re cordless. And yes, window treatment technology is a thing!! They have remote lifts as well as cordless lifts…and so many styles. Maybe the need for a window treatment update comes with making your new home with your partner! At any rate, there are SO many options that you might not know where to start!! And you don’t want to miss out on specials and savings, either. Read our “101” blog about window treatments or contact us today to look at gorgeous Graber blinds and shades.
4: Mudrooms…your mudroom, or that special space in the house where kids can take off their muddy shoes and raincoats (and where doggos can get their paws clean) is a MUST for any pet, parenting or even partner-friendly home. To keep your house as clean as possible, this special room near the entrance should be equipped with cubbies and coat-hooks—you will be THRILLED with the difference it makes.
5: Two-tiered countertops…picture it…your space can be clean and clear for cooking WHILE inviting your kids or partner to accompany you while the work or do homework. More family activities can happen here, too. And if you do leave the dirty dishes unwashed some night…it doesn’t count if they’re on the counter’s lower tier and you can’t see them from the living room, right?!
Some special tips for pets, specifically
6: Pet doors…these are SO helpful, and today’ there’s even a new spin on them beyond the simple in-and-out pet door. These can be made for any pet whose access you want to control to certain rooms. Yes, INSIDE pet doors. These can be extremely helpful in limiting where your pets can roam when you’re not home. Pet doors today come equipped with locks you can open and close, which is what has given them this dual functionality.
7: Doggie-eating stations…if you want to get those slimy, sliding bowls off your floor and avoid some SERIOUS scratches, installing a doggie-eating station is a wise idea indeed. Today, you have your pick of variations, some including leaving a floor-level floating cabinet in your kitchen open and doorless so that food and water bowls can be easily accessible to different-sized four-legged companions. Some might laugh and say that this is a luxury for your dog, but it’s truly an attractive and easy-to-clean solution to the sliding, spilling food bowls.
Your home is about more than just design that looks good, it’s about design that functions. As your family live changes, your home can respond with design you can really live in. What parenting, partner or pet hacks have you come up with? What are your priorities in keeping your place spick-and-span? Start the conversation with us on Facebook and let us know!
Bonus, get this free resource!
