Trend toward dog-friendly design a paws-itive thing

The human home is now just as much the dog's.

Homeowners who are building or remodeling have taken to considering their pets' needs as much as they do those of their biped family members, turning "pet-friendly decorating" into industry buzzwords.

This is about more than stylish dog beds that cost upward of $350; this is about stain-resistant fabrics, easy-to-clean flooring, colors that match a pooch's coat and out-and-out design and architectural elements.

In Chris Rudolph's case, it's about "dog overlooks" and a "Doggy Detox," a large porcelain-tiled shower with a hand-held showerhead, the Chicago architect included in his country home in Three Oaks, Mich.

With dual entrances from outdoors and the garage, the shower is where cleanliness is next to dogliness for his Labradors, Elmslee and Priscell, upon return from an outside romp.

The "dog overlooks" are two square openings, one for each dog, cut into the wall of the second-floor loft that overlooks the first floor. This way, the Labs "can know where their humans are without running all over the place," Rudolph says.

Rudolph — like many of the millions of pet owners in the U.S. who spent $36 billion on their four-legged friends in 2005, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association — has become part of the growing trend of creating a home with sensitivity toward pets' housekeeping and style needs. Below are a few ideas for making your home pet-friendly.

Tips for feathering a pet-friendly nest

Materials matter. Choose high-performance textiles, such as Crypton fabrics, and consider matching the color to your pet's coat to hide shedding hair.

Grazing in the grass. Many houseplants are toxic to pets, but oat- or wheatgrass is safe. Not only does the color go with any interior, the grass actually helps the hairball situation with cats. Try making a little "mat" that can be used as a centerpiece or accent in front of a fireplace by filling a large jellyroll pan with potting mix and wheatgrass seeds.

Floor talk. Hardwood is best for floors since it is the easiest to clean, says Julia Szabo, author of "Animal House Style, Designing a Home to Share with Your Pets" (Bulfinch, $19.95). But you don't want them to be too dark. "Stick with light to medium wood on floors, as scratches show up less," she says. "The furniture should have minimally exposed wood because of canines' propensity to chewing.

Think vinyl. Yes, vinyl. "Vinyl has come up in the world," Szabo says. She recommends a type of vinyl flooring called Lonseal (www.lonseal.com). It comes in primary colors, and some have a texture. It also is easy to clean.

Watch the walls. Choose a paint that is pet-safe in case they are tempted to lick it or eat flakes of it. Szabo recommends Benjamin Moore's Pristine ecoSpec, a paint low in volatile organic compounds that is recommended for hospitals.

Prepare to patch. If you are wallpapering, buy an extra roll in case your pet peels a piece off.

Climbing the walls. Charlotte Reed, a New York pet-care expert, has cats that like to climb. So she put up wooden sconces on the walls, not for decoration but as a kitty version of mountain-climbing in her apartment.

Bed protection. Reed's cats love to lounge in her bed. So when she leaves for the day, she places a sheet with rubber backing (you can also use a plastic tablecloth) atop the bed, "so if someone vomits, it won't go all the way through."

Gurgle, gurgle. A running water fountain not only takes care of pets' drinking needs, it also can add an element of feng shui to a room.

Playing keep-away. Use cedar to keep cats from places you don't want them to be. Limit figurines and other fragile items in places where pets might knock them over.

Mary Daniels, Chicago Tribune