1. Choose high-performance textiles, such as Crypton fabrics, and consider matching the color to your pet's coat so shed hair is not so noticeable.

2. Many houseplants are toxic to pets but oat- or wheatgrass is safe. Not only does the color go with any interior, the grass actually helps the hairball situation with cats. Try making a little "mat" that can be used as a centerpiece or accent in front of a fireplace by filling a large jellyroll pan with potting mix and wheatgrass seeds.

3. Hardwood is best for floors, says pet journalist and design diva Julia Szabo, as it is the easiest to clean. But you don't want them to be too dark. "Stick with light to medium wood on floors as scratches show up less," she says. "The furniture should have minimally exposed wood because of canines' propensity to chewing.

4. Think vinyl. Yes, vinyl. "Vinyl has come up in the world," Szabo says. She recommends a type of vinyl flooring called Lonseal, see www.lonseal.com. "It is really beautiful flooring and comes in primary colors. Some have a texture like Diamond Plate, which has an embossed pattern." It also is very easy to keep clean.

5. Watch the walls. Choose a paint that is pet-safe in case they are tempted to lick it or eat flakes or peels of it. Szabo recommends Benjamin Moore's Pristine ecoSpec, a paint low in volatile organic compounds that is recommended for hospitals. Their Regal Matte line is the first wipe-able flat paint, Szabo adds.

6. Prepare to patch. If you are wallpapering, buy an extra roll in case your pet occasionally peels a piece off with his or her teeth.

7. Charlotte Reed, a New York pet-care expert and author, has cats in her apartment that like to climb and need to exercise. So she put up beautifully crafted wooden sconces on the walls, not for decoration but as a kitty version of mountain climbing.

8. If you have a pool, Reed recommends making "a nice enclosure around the pool. Many dogs drown in uncovered pools in the summertime," she says.

9. Reed's cats love to lounge in her bed on which she has some very expensive bedding. So when she leaves for the day, she places a sheet with rubber backing (you can also use a plastic tablecloth) atop the bed, "so if someone vomits, it won't go all the way through. "

10. A running water dog fountain not only takes care of pets' drinking needs, it also can add an element of feng shui to a room.

11. Hang plants from the ceiling. Or, for plants on the floor, put aluminum foil around the base to keep cats from using them as a litter box.

12. Use cedar to keep cats from places you don't want them to be. Limit figurines, pieces of silver, glass bowls in places where pets might knock them over.