Union Tribune Feature | Beautiful interior design, with kids and pets? Yes, you can have both.

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If you live in a household with kids and pets, you can also trick out your home in winning ways to include the evolving needs of your children, dogs and cats.

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Traci Taylor, principle designer at Arise Interiors, was interviewed for this piece by the San Diego Union Tribune, by Caron Golden.

Traci believes it is crucial to take kids into account when designing kitchens and bathroom, two of the most used spaces in a home.

“When we have clients who have the opportunity to do creative solutions, we’ll do things like toe-kick ladders to help kids reach the countertop level to help cook,” she said.

Traci is all about longevity of materials. Clients with young children sometimes suggest using cheap furniture, like Ikea. But Traci points out that it’s likely to get chipped or break and is going to need to be replaced after a couple of years.

For dogs and cats, there are both cool design solutions that incorporate their needs, as well as defensive solutions that will help keep them from ruining your furnishings.

Traci is excited about small pocket doors that function as high-end dog gates.

“Instead of a baby gate to keep a pet in or out of a room, there are custom-designed pocket doors about 30 inches or 36 inches high that fit in with the rest of the home design,” she said.

Taylor has built little kennels into kitchen cabinet areas that also hold food, leashes and other pet paraphernalia.

During the interview Traci shares specific tips on materials to use for easy cleaning in various rooms in the house:

• Steel-topped counters can be great for families with kids. They’re don’t stain like granite and are easy to clean. Design by Traci Taylor of Arise Interiors.

• Use fun, colors, patterns and objects for a children’s bathroom — from shower curtains to towels, wallpaper and paint. They can easily be changed out as the children get older. Design by Traci Taylor of Arise Interiors.

• A removable slatted teak mat in this design by Traci Taylor of Arise Interiors helps keep fur from the drain when bathing dogs — and most of the grime of muddy kids.

You can read the rest of the article via the original article on the Union Tribune website – Beautiful design, with kids and pets? Yes, you can have both.

Many thanks to Caron Golden for taking the time to reach out to Arise Interiors for this piece.

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