Page 30 - 2018 Your Home Your Way

30 THE BRANDON SUN • YOUR HOME YOUR WAY • 2018

This undated photo provided by Vern Yip shows Yip at his home in Atlanta with his family and dogs. Families with pets have several options for durable, attractive flooring
that will stand up to even the most rambunctious pets, including wood flooring with finishes that resist scratching from claws and waterproof ceramic tile designed to look
like stone flooring. (Associated Press)
DESIGNING WITH THE PET IN MIND

It’s gotten easier to have a Here, Yip and two other inte- in my island in my kitchen.’” “It used to be, a few decades
house full of pets without sacri- rior-design experts — Betsy Often, the planning starts ago, that if you put down a ce-
ficing the home decor you want. Burnham, founder of Los An- with the biggest elements: walls ramic tile floor, it just looked
Interior designer Vern Yip, a geles’ Burnham Design, and and floors. like ceramic,” Yip says.
judge on HGTV’s “Design Star” small-space expert Kathryn Paints have become much This tile is good for animals
and a dog person, says new tech- Bechen — offer some tips: more pet-friendly (and kid- because it “looks like stone, but
nology has led to a variety of friendly) in recent years: “There unlike stone it doesn’t absorb
stylish and pet-friendly home- PET PLANNING are a lot of paint companies now urine or other things if your dog
furnishing options. Many pet owners today “are that have flat paints that are has an accident.”
“The furniture and home- designing a space around their wipe-able,” a feature previously And don’t forget the little
decor industry has really animals,” Burnham says. “Most offered only with glossy paints, things: If your pets are very ac-
rounded the corner and come to of the time, I hear, ‘Oh, we’ve Burnham says. tive, minimize the number of
realize that this is a way of life got dogs and a couple of cats Flooring options have also ex- items on tabletops and put more
for a lot of people,” Yip says. and three kids, so please be panded: Wood flooring compa- fragile things on higher shelves,
Durable, easy-to-clean paints, mindful that we can’t have any- nies have developed finishes that especially in small rooms,
antimicrobial stain-resistant thing too precious.’ Then there resist scratching, Yip says. Ce- Bechen says.
rugs and more mean that a are these really specific requests, ramic tile designed to look like Add a lidded basket or storage
beautiful home and a furry pet like, ‘I’d like a built-in dog bed stone flooring is another practi- ottoman to stash pet toys when
are no longer incompatible. cal option. guests come over.