While the kitchen is the most used area of the home, pet owners may face many challenges. The kitchen should be safe and comfortable for you and your pets. That’s why designing a pet-friendly kitchen before renovating will make your job easier in many ways.
In addition to a safe and comfortable design, planning to improve the functionality and appearance of your kitchen will be a beneficial solution to your needs. In this article, we will give you some guidelines to help you design a pet-friendly kitchen.
1. Detailed and Accurate Planning
You need detailed planning to make your kitchen pet-friendly. Start by making a checklist of your furry friend’s habits, likes, and dislikes. Consider where they eat, sleep, and what they like. This will allow you to fit them into the new kitchen layout. For example, if your pet likes to climb on the table and push glasses around, it’s important to plan ways to prevent this in your new design for safety.
When remodeling the kitchen, important factors to consider include your pet’s age, energy level, and any medical conditions. Based on this information, deciding where to put the food bowl and water will make his work easier and provide a comfort zone. You will also need to measure the kitchen area and simplify a complex space if you have children. This is crucial to ensuring their safety and mobility.
2. Suggestions for a Comfortable and Easy-to-Clean Kitchen Floor
When choosing pet-friendly kitchen flooring, there are several elements to consider to create a safe and comfortable space for your pets. These include ease of cleaning, durability, and scratch resistance. Each type of kitchen floor has its pros and cons. Here are the types of flooring you can choose for a hygienic and safe pet-friendly kitchen design. Consider the following types of flooring:
Bamboo
Its natural structure is hard, making it scratch-resistant. It is simple to clean and environmentally friendly. However, it can become deformed if exposed to too much water, so it is important to keep it clean and maintain it regularly.
Luxury vinyl
Water, scratch, and impact resistant. This makes it an ideal choice for pet-friendly kitchen flooring. Because it has a soft floor, it’s simple to clean and comfortable for your furry friends. The downside is that it’s difficult to repair if damaged, and you may have to buy a new floor.
Tiles
Its durable material ensures long-term use. It’s simple to clean, keeps you cool in the summer, and protects your furry friend from the heat. However, spilling water can cause it to become slippery and generate noise, which is a disadvantage.
Treated wood
It is scratch-resistant and has a stylish look that adds aesthetic appeal to your kitchen design. It feels like a warm floor, so your pet will feel safe. On this type of floor, however, stains can be permanent.
3. Identify Your Safe Areas
Your furry friends can be quite energetic and misbehave during the day. Kitchens with lots of items and accessories create an ideal space for them. So when designing your kitchen, make sure you choose functional items that will keep them safe. For example, you can prevent them from getting in while you are cooking by installing a baby gate at the kitchen entrance.
Make sure you use pet-friendly kitchen cabinets to prevent them from injuring themselves. You can store sharp tools and chemicals in closed cabinets that are difficult to open. Choose lidded bins to prevent them from accessing trash cans, and use cable organizers to remove cables that they can chew.
You can also create resting areas for them in certain corners. We recommend using soft materials such as floor cushions, blankets, or rugs in these areas.
4. Choose Non-Toxic Kitchen Ingredients
Your pets’ health is just as important as their comfort. That is why you should pay attention to the ingredients in the materials you choose for your pet-friendly kitchen. Paints, varnishes, and cleaning products that do not contain toxic chemicals are important for both your health and that of your furry friend. Some of these materials include
- Natural low-VOC paints
- Bamboo or wood flooring
- Organic and eco-friendly cleaning products
- Bio-based surface materials
- Stainless steel kitchen utensils
- Rugs, pillows, and cushions made from natural fibers such as wool or cotton
5. Choose Durable and Pet-Friendly Kitchen Countertops
No matter what, curious pets love to climb on kitchen countertops when you’re away. For their safety, make sure you keep products containing sharp objects and chemicals in closed cabinets. Additionally, it’s crucial to take measures to prevent countertop surface wear due to your pets’ movements. For this reason, it would be wise to consider pet-friendly kitchen countertops when designing a kitchen.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Durable and highly scratch-resistant quartz or granite surfaces offer a wonderful design solution.
- Although marble is a durable material often used for countertops, its porous structure makes it simple to stain.
- Easy-clean tiles or glass splashbacks are also very useful. These stain-resistant materials can be easily cleaned if your pet spills food or water.
6. Choose Pet-Friendly Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are one of the most important design elements in terms of the kitchen’s usefulness and functionality. In addition to aesthetics and use, consider these pet-friendly cabinet ideas:
Mechanized cupboards
For your and your pet’s safety, choose cabinets with soft-closing mechanisms that prevent accidental jamming. This will protect your furry friend and children who get their paws in the drawer, as well as prevent annoying door noise.
Shelves with drawers
You can use pull-out shelves for the items you use most often. You can use these drawers to store basic food supplies or pet products for quick access.
Locking latches
To keep your curious pets out of harm’s way, we recommend that you use locking latches on the cabinet doors. This way, you can keep your friends from getting into the cabinet and putting themselves in danger.
7. Create a Functional and Safe Living Space
While you are creating a functional and aesthetically pleasing kitchen remodel, consider the needs of your furry friends. You can create pet-friendly areas for your friends who want to spend time with you in the kitchen during the day.
Rest corner
You can create a cozy area where your pet can rest or sleep. You can choose a quiet corner of the kitchen or a window seat. For creating this space, a kennel or soft cushions are ideal. Alternatively, you can create a crate resting area under the kitchen island.
Special feeding areas
Placing food and water bowls in specific areas of the kitchen may not be a beneficial option, both in terms of kitchen layout and preventing potential tipping accidents. Instead, you can dedicate a drawer to your pet and create a feeding area with a mechanism inside. Raised feeding designs with legs and sliding raised feeding designs are also very functional options. These designs are also useful in reducing tension on your pet’s neck.
8. Consider Your Pet When Choosing A Rug
Carpets, one of the complementary aesthetic elements of spaces, are unfortunately not as innocent as they seem. Dust and bacteria adhering to rugs during the day can jeopardize your pet’s health. When choosing pet-friendly kitchen rugs, you should pay attention to the following:
Low Pile Rugs
They do not retain odor and are simple to clean. Although high-pile rugs are a bit challenging to clean, they are very comfortable for your pets thanks to their soft structure.
Nylon and Polyester Rugs
They are stain-resistant. Thanks to their durable structure, they can be used for a long time and are very easy to clean.
Microfibre Carpets
They stand out with their soft structure, so they are comfortable. They are minimally stain-resistant and simple to clean.
9. Careful Choice of Accessories
Accessories are one of the most important elements of kitchen design. To ensure the safety of your pets and the organization of your kitchen, you must choose your accessories correctly. In particular, accessories that are too small for them to swallow or have sharp edges should be kept out of their reach.
You can use wall shelves, cabinets, or hangers to create more space in your kitchen. To keep your pets safe, store small kitchen items that you use the least.
If your kitchen floor or rugs are slippery, protect yourself and your pet. You can use non-slip mats.
10. Create Storage Space for Your Pet
You should create storage areas for your kitchen that are useful, stylish, and safe. In this area, where your pet friend spends a lot of time, solutions that allow you to store their belongings or toys will make your job easier. You can build separate cabinets or use drawer organizers to create a special space for your furry friend.
These kitchen remodeling ideas serve as a guide to creating a pet-friendly kitchen. By making this most used part of the house functional, you can create a safe, stylish, and comfortable space for your lovely friends.