4 Ways to Embrace the Pet Nook Trend

By
Sophie Vershbow
White woman with long brown hair standing on a New York City Street wearing a black sleeveless shirt.
Sophie Vershbow
Sophie Vershbow is the Assistant Director of Social Media for a big-five book publisher and a freelance writer for brands like The New York Times, Vogue, Self Magazine, and more. A passionate dog-rescue advocate, she is a proud dog foster-mom and new owner of a bonafide super-pup.
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Updated on 02/09/22
Woman sitting on a stool playing with her small black dog. They are in the living room, there is a dog teepee.

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Pets have always ruled the house, but these days they’re influencing everything from real estate decisions to home decor. According to a major 2021-2022 survey by the American Pet Products Association, American pet spending has more than doubled in the past decade and dogs are the biggest influencer driving first-home purchases among millennials. Is it any wonder that pet owners are looking for a way to make their furry companions feel at home in their space as they do?

Interior designer Tiffany Leigh Piotrowski has seen this trend firsthand. “Especially through the pandemic, people have adopted more and more pets, so creating comfortable and functional spaces for them is crucial,” she said.

Whether her clients purchase couch covers to protect new furniture or create an entire room just for their pets, her clients have their animal friends on the brain when designing their dream home. Take the private dog bath and spa she recently created for a client’s pooch to get pampered in. Talk about doggy’s dream home! 

White bathroom with a black door. There is a large tub set up to bathe dogs it has grey tiles. There are two black and white prints above the bath.
Credit: Patrick Biller

Get Creative

Pet-specific rooms are no longer uncommon.Cindy Rayner in Irvington, Virginia, had always put her dog’s bed in a partially enclosed spot under a desk or spiral staircase, but after moving into a nook-less house, she and her husband had to get creative. They transformed a 3 x 4-foot air pocket in their closet meant for an HVAC system into a private room for their 8-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, George, complete with tiles, paint, a rug, a mailbox, family photos, and more.

“George’s new home complements the foyer and gives him a snug alcove…I like to think he’d do the same for me," Rayner said.

A king charles cavalier spaniel sitting on a dog bed in a small nook in the wall.
A white staircase next to a blue wall. There is an opening in the wall for a pet nook.

Take It Outside


For those with outdoor space, there are ways to create a special spot for your pet out of the house, too. Amanda Molnar in Virginia built a “catio” with her husband as a fun project to keep her cats occupied during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. One of the kitchen windows now has a cat door in it,” she explained. “Outside is a three-level enclosed area with areas to climb, scratch, hammock.”

All four cats in the Molnar household enjoy their private outdoor space year-round; two even sit out there on rainy days to watch the weather. Amanda said her husband is proud of what he built, and they’ve both found immense in joy watching the cats enjoy their catio. 

An outdoor patio built for a cat to sit in. A large orange cat is in the upper left corner.
Cat door in a window. There are two cats standing on a chair poking out, and another cat outside on a patio made for cats.
The inside of a pet nook. Light green walls and a tile floor. There are framed pictures and a dog bed.

Make Space


While it’s not always possible to give your pet a room of their own, there are many ways to carve out a spot for them that’s just right. Colleen Donnelly Pearson made a pet nook in the corner of her Astoria apartment before her mini bernedoodle Molly even arrived home. “We always imaginied creating the main window and corner area for a dog,” she said. “We had envisioned it as the perfect little nook for them to relax and look out the window.” Molly loves her nook, which contains a basket of toys, her crate, and the dog bed. 

Inside a NYC apartment. There is a small curly blonde dog sitting in a tan dog bed in a nook in the wall.
Inside a NYC apartment. There is a small curly blonde dog sitting in a tan dog bed in a nook in the wall.

Make It Work for You


Like Colleen, my one-bedroom apartment doesn’t allow for an entire room dedicated to my rescue dog, Simon. After weeks of moving his bed around the apartment trying not to trip over it, I had a spark of inspiration.  I moved furniture and rehung frames to turn the dead space next to my desk into a pet nook. A pouf, a basket of toys, artwork, and string lights went a long way to make Simon feel at home.

A medium sized dog sitting in a large white pouf bed. There are string lights above him, a basket of toys, and framed pictures above.

As devoted pet parents, all we really want is for our pups to be cozy, happy, and healthy. Sometimes, like in Simon's case, our creature's comforts look even more comfortable than our own!

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