Living with pets has its fair share of challenges. Like when you scold your dog for chewing on the table leg, and he cooperates by tearing all of the stuffing out of the throw pillows. He was just trying to help!
There are a few tricks that make living peacefully with pets much easier. Finding the right type of pet-friendly flooring so your furry friend can’t do as much damage is one that’s easy to try. Here are four pet friendly flooring options that will help you keep your home both pretty and pet-friendly.
1. Faux-Wood Cork
Photo courtesy of Coburn Architects PC
Cork flooring used to have to look a certain way. Vi-plank cork flooring, cork’s newest iteration, is a flooring material that’s made of cork, but looks like hardwood, so it suits every home’s style. Vi-plank cork flooring was created with pets and children in mind: it’s designed to withstand hard wear, resist scratching, and be extra-easy to clean and maintain. It’s also sound resistant, an additional perk when your pet has claws that click or toys that rattle.
2. Bamboo Plank
Photo courtesy of HGTV
Bamboo is an eco-friendly flooring material that is more resistant to water, stains, damage, and warping than hardwood flooring. If you’re worried about pet paws scratching your hardwood floors, then bamboo is a great alternative: it’s harder than most wood flooring, and scratches less easily. The best part: It’s easy to keep clean, and can be easily washed up with a mild cleaner.
3. Stain-Resistant Carpet
Photo courtesy of Fougeron Architecture
There’s nothing quite like that sting in the pit of your stomach when your dog’s tail knocks over a full glass of Syrah on your crisp nude rug. But take heart: If you can’t bear to part with the ease and softness of your carpeting, you can make it pet friendly by choosing a stain- and water-resistant brand. Pet friendly carpeting incorporates materials, coatings, and weave patterns that keep your carpet looking fresh, even when you’ve got a pet in the house. Smart Strand Forever Clean carpeting which incorporates a soil shield and built in stain protection that prevents spills from soaking into your carpet. This product is also sustainably created without using harmful materials, so you can rest assured your canine is rolling around on a safe surface.
4. Carpet Tiles
Photo courtesy of FLOR
A far as pet-friendly flooring goes, carpet tiles are pretty much the perfect solution. Carpet tiles are squares of carpeting that can be configured and removed as necessary–so when your pup knocks your drink onto the floor, you can just pick up the tile that’s born the brunt of the mess, and replace it with a fresh one. Unlike an area rug or wall-to-wall rolled carpeting, you can easily replace one tile instead of replacing the entire carpet. FLOR offers a wide variety of carpet squares that are pet-friendly, and you can find a variety of carpet tile brands in your local hardware store.
Top Image Credit: Alec Hemer
Do your pets tear up your flooring? What do you think of these pet-friendly solutions?
