By Kyle Cox
When you have pets, your world revolves around them. Your chosen home decor often revolved around them as well. When choosing things like carpet, upholstery, and, yes, even window coverings, you have to consider your pets. After all, they live in your home too!
Choosing the best pet-friendly window covering for your home involves taking into consideration things such as how much they attract danger or pet hair, safety, and any damage pets may do to your chosen covering.
Here are some quick tips on pet-friendly choices for window decor:
Go With Blinds
Compared to curtains, blinds are a safer and cleaner option for homes with pets. Curtains are just asking to be chewed on or clawed. They run the risk of being regularly pulled down by a playful pet. Also, fabric will attract dander and pet hair. To keep fabric window coverings continuously clean, you will have to launder them regularly. In addition, the fabric will hold pet smells far more than non-fabric options. Choosing blinds as a window covering makes keeping a clean home far easier.
The Best Option
Wood blinds, whether faux or real, are an excellent option for people with pets. They are easy to clean and don’t hold pet scents as fabric blinds or curtains do. Wood blinds are sturdy (to stand up to overzealous pets on a mission to destroy), and many wood blinds feature larger slats so pets can still look outside.
Going with a cordless wood option will also keep your pet safe from possible choking hazards that come with cords.
Roll with Roller Shades
Another excellent option are roller shades. Pets can easily stick their heads around the shades without damaging them. They’re also easier to clean than traditional fabric curtains.
What to Do If Your Pets Wreck Havoc on Your Window Coverings
Sometimes, even when taking precautions and training our pets to not wreck things, destruction happens.
You can mostly avoid destroyed blinds and shades by keeping them up or only halfway down, allowing your pet to peek out without bending blinds or ripping fabric. Flimsy plastic or metal blinds cannot hold up to a cat or dog attempting to paw their way through to see what’s on the other side.
Blinds are also easily cleaned with a damp cloth in most cases. Wood blinds, which we mentioned as your best option above, are especially easy to keep clean in case of accumulation of pet hair and dander.
You can also provide your pet with alternatives for scratching and biting, like cat scratch towers and chew sticks. A lot of damage is wrought by bored pets who have nothing better to chew on or scratch.
Children + Pets = A Need for Durability
When you add kids to the mix, your need for durable window covering options multiplies. Kids can be just as hard on window dressings as pets. Wood blinds remain your best bet. Their sturdy build quality can typically stand up to anything rambunctious kids and pets can throw at them.
Again, steering clear of window coverings with dangerous cords will eliminate the choking hazard they pose.
When you choose to share your home with beloved pets and active kids, you have to consider the items in your home carefully. Videos of cats attempting to climb up metal blinds or dogs gleefully gnawing on curtains may make for funny entertainment, but it’s not so funny when it’s the decor you’ve spent good money on.
By being extra thoughtful about the durability, safety, and maintenance level of your chosen window coverings, your decor and your pets can coexist peacefully.
