Wow...A book That is a must in my home....

Cover image of Pretty Pet Friendly by Julia Szabo
Pretty Pet-Friendly: Easy Ways
to Keep Spot᾿s Digs Stylish
& Spotless

As a pet parent, you know the challenge of trying to keep your home clean and stylish while maintaining a Pet-Friendly environment. When Julia Szabo, a renowned author and pet columnist for the New York Post and Country Living Magazine, faced this challenge she was inspired to write Pretty Pet-Friendly: Easy Ways to Keep Spot’s Digs Stylish & Spotless.

Pretty Pet-Friendly combines high style with an environmentally friendly standpoint to show you how having a Pet-Friendly pad can actually mean having the prettiest place on the block.

Pretty Pet-Friendly is filled with ideas to live well with your furry kids. It walks you through each area of the home, from the kitchen to the living room to the bedroom, providing practical tips, helpful how-tos, and unique recommendations for keeping things neat, Pet-Friendly, and chic.

Here’s an example of what you’ll find in some of the chapters of Pretty Pet-Friendly.
This cat enjoys a clean home environment
Floor Plan

As Szabo writes, “the floor is your dog or cat’s eminent domain. They eat there, sleep there and play there. And even the most well behaved pet will make messes there, too. Which is why your floor has to be designed to take a beating—or at least conceal the evidence.”

In Pretty Pet-Friendly, Szabo gives you easy, practical ways to keep your floors clean without sacrificing style—from your entryway and throughout each room of your home.

Learn what makes modular carpet tile an excellent flooring choice, especially for apartments; why, when it comes to hardwood floors, the harder the better; and why ceramic tile is the ideal option for large surfaces in any pet residence.

Szabo also gives her perspective on pet beds, including her point that where you position your dog or cat’s bed in your home is almost as important as the bed itself.


I have been convinced that all of the articles I read, blogs I subscribe to DO NOT HAVE PETS!...How on earth could they? Or...more reasonable to conclude....photo shoots take a very long time and the hounds and felines scatter. That must be it.

I have been trying, with little success, to shoot my new burgundy bedroom. There is always at least one cat reclining on the bed. Now this is a normal state of affairs but for the feline phobic I'm sure it is distressing.

I pride myself on being the queen of stain and odor removers...I've tried them all, and I know which ones are for the birds. But to physically remove a cat from her designated spot...it needs a vacuum cleaner set up very close. Believe me they scatter.

Just an aside.....my home in Carefree Az was on the market for on and off five years. Tell me I didn't have some tricks up my sleeve. The ultimate sale of the house had nothing to do with the critters,but the ambiance. It was an artist home..all light was geared to the shadows and light. Not everyone's cup of tea. Also the location....that was the major drawback, except for adults. It hung precariously from a cliff. So you just know...after I worked for hours de-odorizing, de staining, and the realtor brought up a couple towing toddlers I very nearly screamed. Enough of this.

I'm happy to say I can order this book pronto. It is a must read. After all this glamorification of the farm house it better look and smell like Coco Channel.RD