Home design has officially gone to the dogs, with clever barkitecture elements that support how pets live, move, rest, and interact with the household each day. Not only is pet ownership on the rise, but pets are also increasingly considered part of the family, and their needs are now on par with the rest of the household, including home design features.
The American Pet Products Association reports that 95 million U.S. households owned a pet in 2025. Dogs still lead the pack, but cat ownership is growing quickly, and many households now include more than one pet.
In a recent webinar, Mollie Carmichael, principal of master plan and product insights at Zonda, NewHomeSource’s parent company, echoed the popularity of dogs with homeowners, and revealed that 44% of pets live indoors, pushing the need for pet-friendly home design.
Meanwhile, in its 2026 Trend Outlook Report, the American Society of Interior Designers highlights behavior-based design as a leading residential trend this year. Behavior-based design focuses on how end users, animals included, interact with a space, shaping design decisions around those daily patterns and experiences.
In the past, pet-friendly features were strictly utilitarian and stood apart from the rest of the home’s aesthetic. Today, these elements integrate naturally, creating spaces that feel intentional.
This is in part because many design features that benefit humans also benefit pets: natural light, smart layouts that encourage easy movement, and indoor/outdoor connections, while new pet products offer a designer-grade vibe.
Blending Pet Design Into the Home
The key with pet-friendly features is incorporating functionality without disrupting the aesthetic, with innovative designs that address gaps in earlier solutions.
Take, for example, the pet door, previously, essentially a steel frame in a wall. Pawport’s smart pet door rethinks the concept, offering 14 different finishes and styles, rounded edges, and color-coordinated collars and smart pet tags. It's stylish and more secure than traditional pet door design.
“While the pet door’s focus has always been security and functionality, those goals don’t have to come at the expense of design. Ultimately, we wanted to offer people something that they would love to have in their homes. We approached Pawport more like an architectural element,” says Martin Diamond, Pawport’s CEO.
Design is catering to cats, too. Cats covet height, so leveraging vertical space is essential, with integrated perches into millwork or wall design, giving cats access to height and observation points without adding visual clutter.
Additionally, there are several other pet-friendly design elements that blend beautifully:
Cabinetry-look, built-in pet crates, often in perimeter cabinetry, or centrally located in the kitchen island.
Pet crates built in underused spaces, like beneath staircases.
Integrated feeding stations in pull-out drawers, or in toe-kick plates in cabinetry.
Furniture-style pet beds are hidden in the living room and bedroom decor.
Floor Plans That Follow Your Pets
Floor plans matter for pets just as much as for homeowners. Pet owners should look for these layouts and features that are designed around how pets move and intuitively experience space.
Floor plans that loop, rather than run into dead corners, give pets room to move freely. Dogs like to patrol, rather than move from point to point, so floor plans with multiple entry and exit points and wide passageways work best.
Homeowners love the wide sightlines that come with open-concept floor plans because of how they amplify the sense of space. Pets like open sightlines too, because of how they help them to track movement, which can help them stay oriented and grounded.
Pets like to feel cozy, which is why corner nooks and “Zen dens” are helpful. Often tucked off from main living rooms, these small spaces give pets areas to rest but remain connected to the rest of the household.
Mudroom Makeover
The mudroom is already pet central, but in 2026, it’s evolving into a true care hub, with functional upgrades that support daily routines while helping keep the rest of the home tidy.
Look for:
Built-in, concealed storage of varying sizes and configurations, for everything from pet food to beds, linens, leashes, and toys.
A dogwash with integrated drying zones. A drying zone is an enclosed or partially enclosed area to dry the dog after bathing, and contain the mess. Adding built-in fans speeds up dry time.
Task-oriented lighting to help with grooming.
Added ventilation to mitigate odors.
Designing Around Indoor/Outdoor Connections for Pet Needs
Home designs that center on indoor/outdoor connection are a popular health and wellness design feature, and pet owners will like the added benefits for their fur babies.
Watching outdoor activity, like people, other animals, and the weather, provides a steady stream of visual stimulation, especially for indoor animals. For dogs, it can help reduce boredom. For cats, it taps into natural instincts like tracking movement and observing territory. This kind of low-level engagement can help prevent restlessness and destructive behavior.
Pets can make the most of indoor/outdoor connections with window seats or dedicated viewing spaces, and windows with lower glazing.
Pets benefit from natural light, much like their owners do. Natural light influences circadian rhythms, which help to regulate sleep wake cycles. Pets also love spots where warm sunlight streams through windows, perfect for a cozy nap.
Rethinking Pet-Friendly Outdoor Space
In past designs, a pet-friendly yard usually only required a fence and some grassy areas. Now, it’s a space with real paw-sibilities.
Yards with shade structures and cooling areas.
Plumbing for water access to fill pet bowls.
Designated zones, dedicated to play, pet relief, and rest.
Durable ground materials, beyond traditional grass, such as gravel or turf.
Beyond the backyard, many master-planned communities are now designed with pets in mind. When house hunting, pet owners should look for designated dog parks with separate areas sorted by dog size, looped walking trails that support daily routines, and shaded seating so owners can stay longer. Some communities are adding agility elements, splash zones, and pet washing stations near trailheads to handle the transition back home.
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Hero image courtesy of Pawport
