Home Design Options for Pet Owners

Over the years, you’ve collected an extensive collection of pets that your new home needs to cater to in its design. Thankfully, the best home design in Cedar Rapids and Marion, Iowa can craft pet-friendly apartments that serve your needs and make your pets happy. At Martin Built Homes, we have worked with a large number of pet owners over the years and know that you want and deserve the following design concepts for your house. And we’ll work to ensure that you are satisfied with these ideas.

Pay Attention to Your Materials

When you’re building a home, you have many materials from which you can choose. Each of these materials provides you with many benefits that make them worth consideration. Pet-friendly materials, in particular, are important for you to pay attention to in your home. Doing so can help make life easier not only for you but your pets as well.

For example, many experts – including us – believe that material options like vinyl, laminate, stone, and marble are all good options for pet-friendly homes. These materials are very strong and should be hard for even the most dedicated pets to damage. They can also be used in many ways, such as creating floors, adding decorative elements, or even putting up walls of some of these materials.

As a result, your home design should center around items that are as strong as possible to keep your pets from accidentally damaging your home. Please note, though, that some animals have a hard time walking on certain types of materials. That’s because they are often more slippery and do not provide a good foothold. Stone and marble, in particular, are tough for dogs and cats.

Protect Against Cat Scratches

If you’re a dedicated cat lover, you know that they are usually quite easy to take care of for the most part. However, there are times when a cat can be a very frustrating pet, no matter how much you love them. For example, all cats have an impulse to scratch to keep their claws sharp and to wear them down a little as they grow. And often, they scratch up furniture or other areas in a rather destructive way.

As a result, you need to consider a few home design concepts to protect your home. Place scratch guards on the edges of all of your furniture and in hallways. Cats often attack these areas because they allow them to scratch both of their front hands quite easily. Beyond that, you also need to scatter as many cat-scratch pads as you can throughout your home to keep them busy and entertained.

For example, a large cat tree in your living room is not only entertaining – cats will naturally love exploring and hanging out in these areas – but beneficial for scratching. Most will have a large number of scratch pads that your cats will gravitate towards in your house. So make sure that your home builders integrate these trees throughout your home. Even if they don’t build them by hand, at least they can create areas that are large enough for them.

Make a Strong HVAC System

Even the most dedicated pet owner probably hates the amount of pet dander and hair that their favorite furry friend creates on a daily basis. All of this fur can collect quite easily, stain areas, or create an allergic nightmare that can trigger asthma attacks in many people. Thankfully, there are many home design ideas that you can use to minimize this issue in your home, including a reliable HVAC system.

Make sure to spend good money on a system that has a strong filter that is easy to change and clean. Try to scatter as many vents throughout the possible as you can – these help to suck up the hair and keep it from going airborne. Beyond this step, you also need to make sure that your floors are as safe from pet fur as possible. There are a few different ways that you can achieve this goal.

For example, harder floors are often easier to clean than carpeted ones. Though they may be more damaging to a pet’s paws and claws, harder floors don’t collect dirt, dust, or dander and make it easier to clean. As a result, you may want to spread some harder floors throughout your home to ensure that you don’t run into any complications with your house and its unique area and design concepts.

Create a Pet Bedroom

When you go to bed at night, does your favorite cat or dog follow along? There’s a good chance that they do – pets often love to be as near their owners as possible, particularly at night. Dogs especially love lying in bed with you because it makes them feel safe and like they are protecting you at the same time. But even cats love lying in bed with their owners, even if just for the warmth they provide.

So it is crucial to create a bedroom that is pet-friendly. Soft carpet is often a good choice because it makes it easier for most pets to jump on the bed. You may also want to consider pet stairs as an option for your furry friends. These home design options are very simple to integrate into a bedroom and, if you teach them how to use them, can also help save on wear-and-tear on their bodies as they get older.

However, have you ever considered creating a separate room for your pet where they can play and be themselves? These rooms should have soft floors and plenty of places where your pet can scratch, chew, and have fun. Place their toys in this room and put plenty of soft blankets and small pet beds throughout the room. And make sure you pet your cat litter in here – it helps to keep the smell from spreading too far through the rest of the house.

Creating Your Dream Pet-Friendly Home

As you can see, the best home design in Cedar Rapids and Marion, Iowa can provide you with the kind of high-quality pet-friendly home that you need to feel comfortable. These experts will work hard to ensure that your house meets the needs of you, your pet, and much more. So please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Martin Built Homes to get the kind of help that you need for your house. Your pets will be happy, and you’ll be glad that you took the time to pay a little extra for our help.