You can have a beautiful home without sacrificing safety with young children and pets running around. Fortunately, childproofing and petproofing your decor can overlap, allowing you to make a family-friendly design for two-legged and four-legged family members! Consider this your complete guide to decorating a child- and pet-safe home.
Understanding the Core Safety Principles
Before we dive into the details of décor, let’s talk about what safety actually means for kids and pets. Kids and pets share a lot of similar liabilities: they put things in their mouths, they are close to the ground, and they tend to be wildly unpredictable. Your décor needs to withstand tiny exploring fingers, wagging tails and the occasional unexpected collision.
Durability, non-toxicity and steadiness are the three non-negotiables of kid- and pet-friendly décor.
Furniture That Can Take a Beating
When you’re selecting furniture for a kid- and pet-friendly home, let durability be your friend.
Performance fabrics like Crypton and Sunbrella as well as microfiber upholstery resist stains, deflect liquids and easily wipe clean. They’ll survive juice box spills and muddy paw prints.
Leather and faux leather are also great options, especially if you have an energetic Bengal that loves to mark its territory. While cats may take to leather for scratching, treated leather wipes clean in seconds and develops a “well-loved” patina over time. Distressed textures also conceal surface scratches, so this is a great family fabric for those worried about cat claws.
Avoid delicate fabrics, whether they’re natural (like silk or velvet) or loosely woven and prone to snagging. And avoid furniture with sharp corners. Toddlers and fur babies can be injured, plus you don’t want anyone to get jabbed in the middle of a lively play session.
You want sturdy furniture. Any tall pieces, like bookcases, dressers and media cabinets need to be tethered to the wall with furniture straps or brackets. Tip overs are all too common when kids climb. We don’t need to make it worse when furry friends jump on and off furniture, too. A medium-sized dog crashing into a heavy bookcase is trouble enough.
Flooring Choices That Work for Everyone
Flooring takes a beating in a home with kids and pets, so it’s worth taking the time to select it carefully. Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring is all the rage for a reason. It’s waterproof, scratch resistant, comfortable to walk on and it’s available in realistic wood and stone designs. It’s easy to wipe up spills and it’s warmer than tile, which pets appreciate.
Sealed hardwood floors can be a good choice if you’re okay with a few marks of character developing over time. Choose a harder wood like oak or maple rather than soft pine. Keep your pet’s claws trimmed to reduce scratching, and use area rugs in high traffic zones.
Tile floors are durable and easy to clean, but cold and unforgiving, so consider using some area rugs you can wash if you go this route. Choose textured porcelain or ceramic tile instead of shiny tile for better traction for your pets.
Carpet is soft but can be an issue. If carpet is your choice, look for low pile, stain resistant carpet in a darker shade or pattern that will hide spills. Carpet tiles can be a great option as well since you can replace a single tile if one area gets stained or damaged beyond repair.
Window Treatments Without Hidden Dangers
Window coverings have overlooked hazards. Corded mini-blinds can strangle children and trap inquisitive dogs. Choose cordless mini-blinds instead. Cellular, roller and roman shades with motorization work, too.
Plantation shutters provide light filtering without the hazards of cords and they’re tough. The strong construction means they can’t be destroyed by your pet in window “jail” or by a little one’s exploration.
For a softer look, choose curtains made of sturdy, washable fabric. Hang them high and wide to eliminate puddles of excess fabric on the floor for pets to “trip” over (don’t pull the drapes down on the wall!) and firmly mount the curtain rods so there’s no draping hanging down to dive under in a game of hide and seek.
Non-Toxic Paint and Wall Treatments
Paint selection impacts indoor air quality and safety. Choose low-VOC or zero-VOC paints. VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, off-gas harmful fumes from traditional oil-based paints for years after application. Kids and pets spend a lot of time on the floor and around walls. That makes them particularly susceptible to off-gassing paint dangers.
Choose satin or semi-gloss for high-wear areas for maximum durability. Satin and semi-gloss sheens are easier to clean than flat paints. They can stand up to the nose prints, scuffs, and other markings of a family-friendly space. Many paint manufacturers now make scrubbable paint for the walls of kid-friendly homes.
Wallpaper can look fabulous. Look for wipeable or scrubbable wallpaper. Peel and stick wallpaper also has the advantage of being able to replace one section if it becomes damaged rather than redoing the whole wall. This is a great option for above a chair railing.
Avoid textured wall treatments at kid and pet level. They tend to gather dust and be difficult to clean. Textures are also something kids and pets love to pick at and chew. Keep specially finished and decoratively textured areas for places that are out of reach.
Décor Accessories and Accents
Small decorative items are choking hazards and they’re irresistible to grabby little hands and mouths. Avoid displaying fragile or small decorative items altogether during the earliest years of childhood – instead stick them on high shelves, or in latched cabinets if you feel you must display them at all.
Choose large, heavy items that can’t be easily tipped over or swallowed. Oversized baskets, heavy ceramic vases and chunky sculptures add decoration without the risk of small items. Avoid anything with small parts that can break off.
Candles should be LED flameless candles in homes with kids and pets. They provide all the ambience without the fire hazard. If you must have a burning candle, place it in a location that’s genuinely inaccessible and never leave it unattended.
Make sure mirrors and picture frames are securely hung. Proper wall anchors, not just nails. And consider using acrylic (the unbreakable stuff) mirrors in kids rooms or play areas.
Storage Solutions That Contain the Chaos
- Adequate storage to ensure you can easily stow away any child or pet unsafe items
- Closed storage with latches (to keep cleaning products, medicines, etc) out of sight
- Built in storage saves space and no risk of furniture being tipped over
- Customized closets, window seats with built in storage, built in bookcases with cabinets underneath
- Accessible storage so drawers/cabinets easy to open- use soft close so fingers don’t get smashed and it’s not loud
- Bins/baskets made of fabric are great for soft toy storage so kids don’t get hurt if they are playing with a toy and it hits them
- Label everything so people know where it goes, keeps things organized, and anything unsafe can be put back after use
Creating Designated Spaces
One of the best family-friendly design tricks is to create zones for activities. A small play area with easy-to-clean surfaces and durable furniture protects the rest of your home and makes it easy to tidy up. Chic storage bins can keep toys organized but accessible.
A pet zone with a bed, food, and water, and even toys will give your pet a home base and prevent pet supplies from taking over the home. An elevated dog food bowl is a fantastic solution for a large dog so he doesn’t have to strain his neck, and it keeps the eating area organized.
You can easily ‘zone’ areas in your home with an area rug, different flooring materials, or the furniture layout in that area. The visual cues will let everyone know where things happen, making it easier to remember to keep both function and form in mind.
The Bottom Line on Family-Friendly Décor
Creating a child- and pet-friendly home doesn’t have to be ugly. By choosing durable materials, anchoring furniture, eliminating toxins and making smart layout and storage choices, you can create rooms that are beautiful for all family members.
The trick is to be realistic about your home and your lifestyle, so choose interiors that work for you not your dream Instagram vision board. That cream sofa can wait until your kids are teenagers and your puppy is a 20-hour-a-day-sleeping dog or your beloved Bengal is content and happy to stay on your lap. For now, it’s all about performance fabrics, wipeable surfaces and interiors that accommodate the beautiful mess of family life.
It’s all temporary. Before you know it, the little ones will be grown up, and the little pets will be ancient furballs sleeping the day away.
When that day comes, you can have the home of your dreams, complete with all of those beautiful but fragile objects you’re imagining. But until then, prioritise a home that is safe and functional for everyone who lives there, no matter how many legs they have.