I love my pets. I love nice furnishings. Sadly, these two entities do not always co-exist peacefully, as one recent emergency visit to the rug cleaner will attest. Did you know cat urine creates a permanent stain? Now I do. Good thing I love my fluffy little purrballs very, VERY much.
It was a good reminder that the right design choices must consider every member of the household, including the pets. If you own dogs or cats, you know that messes and destruction are part of the package. A small price (or a hefty cleaning bill) to pay for unconditional love and affection. Selecting the right kinds of fabrics and materials in the first place will go a long way towards keeping your furnishings looking as nice as possible with as little maintenance as possible. Having owned cats all my life, I speak from the perspective of a cat owner living with the constant threat of claws, fur, hairballs and we’ll just say “other” sorts of accidents. But I think for the most part these guidelines would apply to dogs as well. Here are a few things to keep in mind next time you go furniture shopping:
RUGS
I’ll start with rugs, which are the great unrequited love of my life. Due to the fact that one of my cats thinks rugs make for a wonderful scratching surface, I have given up on the idea of ever owning any REALLY NICE rugs *sigh*. If you have cats, and they like to scratch horizontal surfaces (some cats only scratch in a vertical direction – go figure), the best advice I can give is to stay away from rugs that have loops that will easily catch in the cat’s claws. A cut-pile rug, though not impervious to damage, will show the least damage from scratching. A flat weave or dhurrie rug may also be less appealing as a scratching surface, but again, that depends on your cat’s preferences.
Color coordinating your pets with your decor will make shedding fur less obvious. Here a nice tan and orange dhurrie goes beautifully with ginger colored pets.
As far as cleaning and stain resistance, the best rug for any kind of pet is one with a strong pattern (to hide the stains). I also recommend selecting colors somewhat in the same family as your pets’ fur, which will draw less attention to shedded fur lying on the surface. I made a mistake in this regard when I bought a blue-gray rug for a household with brown cats. I can always tell exactly where my cats have been napping!
A grey rug works well for grey or black and white pets.
A multi-colored rug with black and brown tones is perfect for a tabby cat!
An olefin fiber rug (a synthetic alternative to wool) is a good choice for general cleanability. With olefin, the dye is integral to the fiber itself, which means the rug can be cleaned more vigorously and with harsher agents without losing its color. If you still prefer the look and feel of a wool rug, be sure to choose one without a rubber or canvas backing (you should be able to see the pattern on the underside of the rug. This will allow the rug to be fully saturated when it is cleaned, improving the likelihood of complete stain removal.
UPHOLSTERY
The cushion my cat is sleeping on in this photo is covered with Sunbrella fabric, which is extra durable. And, stains wipe right off!
The key to pet-friendly upholstery is choosing the right fabric. You’ll want to look for high performance fabrics that have been engineered to be stain-resistant, fade-resistant and durable. Many of these fabrics are created from synthetic blends that could include acrylic, polyester or olefin. They’ll often have a Teflon or acrylic backing that adds durability and helps prevent saturation in the case of spills. Micro-fiber textiles are a type of high performance fabric that are constructed from tiny (“micro”) filament threads, resulting in an exceptionally dense weave that acts to repel stains and moisture. If you have pets, I’d stay away from linen or silk, which are more delicate and more difficult to keep clean. Cotton blends can be okay, but I’d definitely add stain a protective treatment at the time you purchase your furniture. Get any stain protection done professionally; the Scotch-Guard you spray on yourself wears off quickly and provides little benefit (IMHO).
This fabric is a no-no! You can see the threads, which will be subject to snags if you own pets that have claws.
My upholstery has also not been completely immune to cat-scratch fever, and unfortunately I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of remedy for this situation other than lots of positive-reinforcment based training of the cat from a young age (I refuse to declaw my cats). We keep a designated scratching post near the chairs that the cat who is vertically-inclined likes to scratch, and she gets a treat when she uses it. That said, for any pet who has claws I suggest selecting upholstery fabrics with a very dense weave. If you can see the individual threads of the fabric or pull them even slightly with your fingernail, the fabric weave is not dense enough. Even a dog, without meaning to, could catch and pull on the threads of a fabric too loosely woven. Micro-fiber, again, is a great choice in this regard. My cats have never bothered our micro-fiber sectional. Leather might also be a good option, because it can’t snag and is easily wiped down. But I have heard there are cats out there who will scratch leather, so you want to know your cats preferences first before making any big investments.
This fabric has a cut-pile surface and is similar in texture to velvet or corduroy (though it is synthetic). It’s perfect for pets because it is un-snaggable (is that a word?)
Again with color, try to choose fabrics in the same color family as your pets’ fur. If you have black, white or grey pets, then grey upholstery will hide fur the best. Brown or orange pets – then brown tones on the upholstery. If you have mix of all of the above, then choose fabrics with a strong and varied pattern to mask the shedding.
The sectional my cat is sleeping on here is eight years old and still going strong! I credit the high-performance micro-fiber fabric, which has resisted stains and snags really well. Also: brown.
Choosing the right furnishings for a pet-friendly household will keep your blood pressure down and help ensure you can love your furniture and your pets both for a very long time. Have you ever experienced any furniture-related cat-tastrophes or dog-sasters? Have any other tips? Please do share in the comments!
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Tamara Leicester is a licensed interior designer and owner of Tamara Heather Interior Design, LLC. She designs casually elegant interiors with an artistic sensibility, often drawing upon the talent of local artists and craftspeople in her work. Dreaming about updating your space? Learn more at tamaraheatherinteriors.com.