Since the turn of the century, formal and traditional design elements have given way to more casual living, with a focus on family and comfort—and more often than not, the most beloved member of the family is four-legged. Design for your dachshund or dalmatian used to be relegated to a space on the kitchen floor for food bowls and a blanket at the foot of the bed, but today’s families are considering their fur babies right off the bat with custom cabinetry and spa bathrooms as part of their interior design plan.
“Most of our clients have kids and pets,” says Andrea Sinkin, principal designer of her eponymous design firm in Greenwich, CT. For example, a recent whole-house renovation for a family in Darien, CT, greatly considered the family’s two golden retrievers. “They love these dogs. They are part of the everyday. They are not locked away,” says Sinkin, who through her professional experience and personal experience with her own pets, knows that designing homes for families with pets requires considerations that go well beyond performance fabrics.
Fabrics and Textures
It’s not just a matter of whether materials are washable, says Sinkin. She considers the dog or cat’s fur and if it’s a light color, chooses light colored fabrics, as in the case of these golden retrievers. If the room is frequented by pets, she also steers clear of fabrics with loops, particularly those with a pattern. “If it gets pulled with one of their claws, if the loop is integral to the pattern and gets pulled then the pattern is ruined,” she says.
For the formal living room, she chose light colored sofas and a coffee table with rounded edges so the dogs wouldn’t hurt themselves bumping into it. She typically chooses low decorative objects like a coffee table book or flat sculpture so they are less likely to get knocked down. She is always mindful to stay away from poisonous plants and ensure planters do not have exposed dirt that dogs or cats can dig in. In this case, for the larger fig plant in the corner, a grill fits in the base around the plant to cover the dirt. Even with a gas fireplace, Sinkin likes to select fireplace tools to look authentic but when her clients have pets, she opts out. She also ties back curtains and stays away from fringe tassels on curtains and furniture. For this client, she found an elegant lucite tie back to keep curtains contained and neat. The Mongolian fur chairs have real fur, which she says fluffs and cleans better than faux fur, which tends to get matted down when you have pets. “Nothing should be too precious that your pets and your family can’t live in the space,” reasons Sinkin.
Storage
Custom drawers containing dog bowls, food storage or bedding is increasingly part of interior design for those with pets. Judith Larson co-owner of Gardiner & Larson Homes, a design-build company based in New Canaan, CT, renovated and designed a kitchen and breakfast room for clients in New Canaan with custom storage for the food and water bowls and deep drawers for storing food. The owner loved blue so she selected this shade from Benjamin Moore for the cabinetry for a pop of color in the mostly white kitchen. Given that they have two dogs with different dietary needs, each dog has its own dedicated food storage cabinet (the pull-outs in the center) and pull-out drawers with food and water bowls. She said Gardiner & Larson Homes works with a local millworker to custom build cabinetry for all their clients, many of whom have pets as part of the family. “Some people go so far as to run a little plumbing like a pot filler to fill up the water bowl,” says Larson. She is designing a home for another client right now with a dog bed built under the counter. “The projects I work on are all custom and so therefore you have the luxury of coming up with fun things like we did with the dog bowls,” says Larson. “For most of our clients, dogs are considered an integral part of the family, and we always consider their needs when designing kitchens and mudrooms. Built-in dog beds, dog baths, showers, dog bowl fillers, storage for leashes, harnesses, and dog coats and sweaters are often incorporated into our designs.”
For McKenzie Milhousen, principal designer of By George Collective, helping her client in Greenport, NY, design a reading nook with a pull out dog bed for her pet Zuzu was not only a way to provide a practical piece of furniture for her pet but also find a creative use for an awkward corner. “We were playing around with ideas for the space because it previously was an unused closet,” says Milhousen. “We focus a lot on understanding how our clients live and use their homes—where the adults and kids will eat, sleep, play and we can’t forget about our four-legged friends either!”
For her clients’ reading nook, Milhousen took inspiration from the home’s original trims and baseboards and designed details to match what was existing in the historical home. She drenched the space in a calming blue and added scalloped brass drawer handles by Unearthen. “My clients had several mementos and artwork from their wedding as well as an entire vintage collection of Nancy Drew novels that had been passed down that she wanted to display, so we incorporated white oak shelving to display these items and make the room feel personalized.”
Wash Stations
More than beds and bowls, homeowners are often turning to wash stations in a mudroom or separate space rather than scrubbing the family pet in the bathtub. When designing a wash station, consider the size of your pet and whether you want a high wash space so you aren’t bending over too much for a small dog, or a low and wide one to accommodate a large dog. When Fiona Leonard, principal designer at Fiona Leonard Interiors in Darien, CT, was called to design a mudroom with a dog-wash space for her New Canaan, CT clients’ large rescue dogs, she kept the design simple and focused on functionality. “We carved out a space in the mudroom for all items dog related—dog wash, dog food, dog care,” says Leonard. “This way dogs come in from their adventures and can be cleaned straight away.” She chose custom cabinetry by Sterling Custom Cabinetry in Bridgeport, CT, white quartz counters from Academy Marble in Rye, NY, and a glass wall tile from Tile America. Then she paired everything with a tiny dog print wallpaper in navy and white from Thibaut Baxter. “Function is important, but so is how the space makes you feel,” adds Leonard. “Walking into a happy utilitarian space makes work fun, even if it’s messy.”
State-of-mind comes into play not only for the homeowner but also for the pet. When New Canaan, CT-based interior designer Prudence Bailey designed a wash station for her client’s small dog Bauer, psychology came into play. She designed the wash station just before the mudroom and elevated it to spare his owner’s back and allow for level eye contact. “Easy-to-clean ceramic tile covered the surfaces, while an all-white scheme created a calming atmosphere for a bath-averse dog,” says Bailey. “Soothing finishes can genuinely ease a pet’s stress. We were tempted to make it fun but we put Bauer first.” She installed a handheld shower for maneuverability, a dedicated tap, open shelving for storing shampoo and brushes within arm’s reach, and cabinetry for storing towels. The result: a station her client loves. “Many dogs resist baths, and my client wanted to easily comfort Bauer throughout the process,” she adds.
