In the Doghouse: “Barkitecture” Elevates the Art of Pampering Your Pooch

By Lisa Rosen Ever since the pandemic begat the twin trends of working from home and pet adoption, “barkitecture” has been a buzzword. In short, the catchy term describes dog dwellings and furniture tailored to the needs of both the four-legged set and their humans. After all, why let a disheveled dog bed mar your Zoom background when your pet can lounge on a stylish canine couch with an orthopedic mattress like those designed by Club Nine Pets? View the Winter 2024 issue. In search of an outdoor pied-à-terre for your pooch? Pijuán Design Workshop creates midcentury modern dog homes that marry form and function so beautifully that buyers often don’t care whether their pups use them or not. Architects Alex and Sara Pijuán founded the company after Alex built a doghouse for a design competition in 2012. Not only did he win but the response was so positive that the couple turned the concept into a side business. (Alex is a senior designer and associate at AC Martin; Sara is a project architect and associate at KAA Design.) After figuring in the dog’s size and proportions, they ask each client about their dog’s likes and dislikes. “We provide a variety of spots where the dog could lay and enjoy themselves,” Sara explains. These might include “a covered area that’s more protected, an area that’s sunny, and a window for ventilation, so they can also see if a squirrel is running by.” The Pijuáns even design the roof so that when it rains the runoff drains into a planter. In addition to their customizable midcentury stunners, the Pijuáns make custom doghouses. “A London client asked for a Japanese teahouse, so we had fun with that,” Sara recalls. Many of their indoor dog beds double as side tables, all of them sleek and mod. Pijuán Design Workshop’s Beam House offers dogs space and shade in a stylish midcentury modern structure. DREAM (DOG) HOUSES If that’s not luxe enough for your fur babies, there’s the rockstar approach. Rockstar Puppy, that is. Jessica Clark started selling dog clothes and accessories on her website in 2009, but a chance meeting with Jersey Shore ’s JWoww at an MTV event sent her in a new direction. The reality star was so impressed with the brand that she asked Clark to build her a custom doghouse. People magazine wrote about the elaborate result, and soon Clark’s one-off effort morphed into a business that draws a celebrity crowd. Harry Connick Jr.’s doghouse resembles a piano. Barclays Center reached out for her to make a doghouse as a gift for Barbra Streisand when she performed there. “I made a Brooklyn brownstone because she’s from Brooklyn,” Clark says. “We used real miniature dollhouse kiln-fired bricks.” Clearly such fantastical creations aren’t just for dogs; they’re family heirlooms in the making. As Clark notes, “I think most of the time I’m building for the owner more than the dog.” If improved aesthetics mean dog-friendly structures and furnishings are more likely to stay front and center—near the humans whenever they’re at home— that works for both pet and owner. But at least some barkitecture is designed specifically with pets’ needs in mind. Take Club Nine Pets’ couches, which not only keep dogs off cold floors but feature a washable foam cushion that balances the dog’s weight and relieves arthritic joints. More permanent additions, like a doggie shower installed in a mudroom for easy paw-washing or a built- in feeding station with its own faucet in a kitchen island, might even make your property more tempting to fellow pet lovers if and when you decide to sell. Space-saving and elegant, this Lotus Branch wall- mounted cat shelf from The Refined Feline makes a luxe perch for a pet. FELINE-FRIENDLY FITTINGS Cat furniture used to be long on cardboard and short on aesthetics, until cat-loving designers decided to create what they wanted to see in their own homes: useful structures that look like nothing the cat dragged in. Mau Pets makes charming cat trees, caves, and beds that will satisfy your jungle kitty’s wildest inclinations. Tuft + Paw offers such creations as Haven, an enclosure for your cat’s litter box with the look of a midcentury modern console, and Stellar, an orb bed that wouldn’t be out of place in outer space. The Refined Feline wraps the Purrrrfect EndTable in a scratch pad, with a bed nested inside, serving multiple functions for both cat and human. Jamie Roberts, a Refined Feline customer in South Florida, says it took no time for both her and her sphynx cat Swanson to fall for the company’s Lotus Branch Cat Shelf, a curved wall-mounted perch available in sleek wood or with carpet topping. Roberts’s condo had limited room for extra furniture, “so the cat shelf was a perfect structure for him to jump on, play on, and look out at the world without taking up too much real estate,” Roberts says. “He’s a hairless cat, and so he loves anything with fur. He’s always sitting on it. He thinks it’s great.” Roberts does too. “The shelf’s wave shape fits in with the whole vibe of the area. People always think it’s a cool part of the decor.” —L.R.