Hidden Home Design for Pets

Maybe it’s because I am an absolute child, but the fantasy of hidden trap doors and trompe l'oeil storage furniture has never left me. Instead, I’ve gained an unhealthy obsession with cats (and, by extension, most animals - I am frequently told to not pet stray raccoons or save up for a monitor lizard of my own) and with that, am fascinated by the way in which people integrate their pets’ needs into their homes.

For instance! For myself, I find an over-stove pot filler to be a want, not a need. But looking at this alcove for pet feeding? The pendulum swings further to a need. These seem to mostly be in farmhouse/coastal/contemporary kitchens, so I’m interested in seeing how it could be aesthetically integrated into something more industrial or japandi.

Similarly, pet doors! There are two OG YouTubers in Japan, Rachel and Jun, who detailed the process of building a cat-friendly home from the ground up, allocating for design elements specifically catered to their cats’ well-being. Unfortunately that type of service seems nonexistent here in North America, but there’s been an influx of beautifully integrated cat doors and alleys, some more obviously placed than others.

Specifically, I think this lends itself best to a drywall installation; you’d likely need to create some form of faux-wall protrusion for a more concrete/brick home. Some of these cleverly use the paneling details found more commonly on shaker-style doors, but those aren’t always the preferred design choice outside a few interior design themes.

As populations mature and economies around the world stabilize, birth rates tend to lower - and maybe this is more correlation and not causation, but many are preferring to become pet and plant parents in lieu of having human babies, and I think home decor and design choices will begin to more obviously reflect that.