Living With Fur And Function: Pet Friendly Interiors That Actually Work

My biggest tip for pet friendly interiors is to test the click-clack mechanism before you buy. Some cheap sofas have flimsy metal hinges that bend after a few uses. I visited three furniture stores and sat on every sofa bed I could find. The one I chose has a steel frame and a locking system that stays put when Charlie jumps on it. The velvet upholstery has a stain resistant coating, which I reapply every six months. I also bought a washable cover for the foam mattress, because Charlie once vomited on it after eating grass. The cover comes off in seconds and goes straight into the washing machine.


Your home does not need to be large to feel large. It needs reflective surfaces placed with intention. A decorative mirror can open a corridor, amplify a dim corner, or echo a favorite color from your velvet upholstery. It can make a pull-out sofa feel like a real guest room instead of a folding mattress on the floor. It can catch the last ray of afternoon sun and hold it for an extra hour. I hung mine at eye level, directly across from the window, about six inches above the sofa back. That height catches both seated and standing reflections. It also prevents glare when someone is watching television. If you try nothing else this year, try one mirror. It is the cheapest renovation you will ever


I was standing in my eight foot by ten foot living room, pivot foot lodged between the sofa bed and the wall, when I realized the truth: I had been fighting my own space. That old pull-out sofa dominated the floor plan, swallowing light and leaving a narrow channel of walkable area. No matter how I shuffled the furniture, the room felt like a cardboard box. Then someone suggested I hang a large decorative mirror across from the window. It wasn't magic, but it felt like it. The mirror doubled the visual square footage and bounced sunlight into the shadowy corner behind the armchair. Suddenly my cramped layout had breathing room. That single reflective surface cost less than a new area rug and delivered a bigger spatial payoff than any paint color I had tr


When I first moved in, I avoided mirrors altogether. I thought they were for hallways and bathrooms, not living rooms. I had a budget of about two hundred dollars and assumed that price point meant flimsy plastic frames or scratched glass. I was wrong. I found my current decorative mirror at a secondhand shop for forty dollars. The brass had a slight patina, which I like better than a polish. The glass was clean. I spent an hour cleaning the frame with vinegar and a soft cloth. That single purchase changed the acoustics of the room as well, which surprised me. Hard surfaces amplify sound, but the mirror seemed to diffuse the echoes from the hardwood floor. The room felt less like a shouting cham

Another trick is to use the bed with storage as a multi purpose piece. In my daughter’s room, the bed has three deep drawers that hold her art supplies and winter clothes. The slatted frame keeps the foam mattress ventilated, so no mildew grows even in humid weather. The bed frame is low to the ground, which lets Charlie jump up without straining his hips. I painted the drawers with a washable matte paint, so paw prints wipe off easily. No more nagging the kids to keep their room tidy. The storage hides everything.


Now about windows. Small apartments often have one or two windows that barely let in any natural light. You cannot change the building, but you can change what sits near the glass. Never place a tall bookcase or a dark armchair in front of a window. Instead, keep the area around the window as open as possible. Use sheer curtains instead of heavy drapes. If you need privacy, get double-track curtain rods with a sheer layer on the inside and a blackout layer on the outside. During the day, push the blackouts to the sides. The sheers will soften the direct sunlight while still letting in maximum brightness. This is especially important if your living room doubles as your dining room. I once lived in an apartment where the only window faced a brick wall six feet away. That wall reflected almost no light. So I painted the window frame and the wall around it the same color as the wall. It sounds strange, but eliminating the visual contrast made the window feel bigger. The light that did come in seemed to spread further across the r

Speaking of corners, the biggest hurdle for most DIYers is the 45-degree cut. You will mess up the first few. I certainly did. The trick is to measure the wall length, not the molding length, and cut your pieces slightly long. You can always shave off a millimeter. A good miter saw with a sharp blade makes all the difference. But if you rent or have no tools, many hardware stores will cut your pieces for a small fee. Bring a sketch of your room with the exact measurements. Tell them you want inside corners cut with a coping saw, or just ask for simple butt joints if you are painting it all the same color. A butt joint is just a straight cut, and it looks fine once caulked and painted. Do not let the fear of angles stop you from adding decorative molding to your space.