22 Feb Interior Design with Our Furry Friends in Mind: Pet Friendly Design

Here at down2earth we love big mutts and we cannot lie. We love small mutts too. And we know it can be a struggle to create thoughtful interior design with both yours and your pets’ needs. Recently we’ve had some projects with larger dog crates to design around and did some digging to find creative solutions that incorporate these crates without sacrificing space or style. This blog post by design consultant Stephanie lays out some products and strategies that can turn this design challenge into a pawsitive experience. (P.S. all puns are intended.)

Planning the Space

Sometimes the best way to rethink the space plan of a room is to see if you can pare down the number of furniture pieces. This can open the space and/or allow you to lay out the room in more ways. For one of my recent clients, I tested out combining the TV stand and dog crate functions into one piece of furniture, which makes the room feel less crowded and freed up some space to create a cozy, little reading nook in the corner where the dog crate used to be. The crate was also blocking a bookcase, so instead I proposed adding some wall shelves around the dog crate/TV stand so the books are more accessible.

I found a company called dog & crate that builds stylish, customizable dog crates. Not only can you pick finishes that work with your space, but they also have options for adding in some storage which could be a great way to keep all of your pet’s toys in one spot, which we know can be ruff.

Fitting Your Style

It’s totally paw-ssible to design a beautiful space that doesn’t have a not-so-beautiful crate in the corner. If you and your furry friends are into the rustic, farmhouse look, Dog & Crate is a great place to check out with their barn doors and rustic stained woods. But if your style is more modern, we’ve got options for you too. This Is Urban Made on Etsy has some great walnut wood crates perfect for mid-century interior design. Play Fetch Pup has some sleek, contemporary crates and even some stylish stairs for our older pets who need a little extra help getting up on the sofa.

Another client I am working with has a dog crate against an empty wall in their bedroom. Here’s an example of how we can upgrade the crate to a functional furniture piece and style it to feel more cohesive with their eclectic, mid-century taste.

Building it in

Sometimes a space just calls for some built-ins. They can be a great way to maximize a storage and customize it for all your needs. When our Design Director, Amy, designed her mudroom she was able to create a little pet zone with an alcove for her dog crate and easy to access storage for those big bags of dog food.

Amy also designed something similar for a client in Center City.

Quality interior design with our pets in mind isn’t too far-fetched. There are lot of solutions for successfully creating a comfortable home for your non-furry and furry family. What pets are you keeping in mind when you design your home?