Animal Architecture: 14 (More!) Modern Homes for Pets

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Forget dowdy carpet-covered cat houses, plain jane dog crates and ugly plastic hamster cages – homes for household pets can be stylish, too. From unbelievably pricey luxury pooch palaces to simple IKEA hacks that make modern pet furniture accessible to all, these 14 abodes for cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, rabbits, chickens and even fish are anything but ordinary.

Stackable Cube-Shaped Fish Hotel

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(image via: design milk)

Give each fish a luxurious private room of its very own with the modern cube-shaped ‘fish hotel’ by Teddy Luong. The design is stackable so you can even create a fish skyscraper.

Geometric ‘Lulu’s Hideaway’

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(image via: gnr8.biz)

For those whose homes are so carefully outfitted that an ordinary dog bed would stick out like a sore thumb, there are creations like the $550 ‘Lulu’s Hideaway’ by Pet Project. Resembling a piece of modern art or perhaps a stool more than pet furniture, this geometric acrylic shelter pleases fans of Danish design.

Prefab Platform Dog House

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(image via: prefabs.blogspot.com)

Dog on a hot tin roof? This prefab modular dog house, made from IPE hardwood and painted cement board and topped with corrugated aluminum, would look right at home beside many modern home designs.

Duplex Aquarium/Bird Cage

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(image via: gizmodiva)

If you’ve got household pets of both the feathered and finned variety but limited space to keep them in, this unusual ‘duplex aquarium cage’ could be an option. A dome beneath the fish bowl actually allows visual interaction between the two pets.

Sleek Cat House by Leo Kempf

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(image via: leo kempf)

A cozy bed, some cardboard for scratching and a great view: what more could a pampered kitty wish for? Designer Leo Kempf made this modern cat house for his own cat, Olive, saying “She enters through a door in the bottom side and then ascends a ramp, which boosts her to the upper level. The front wall is plexi-glass, the floor is 2.5 inch thick old sheepskin rug, and my wife made some small paintings that hang on the walls.”

$382,000 Pooch Palace

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(image via: the daily mail)

How much is too much to spend on a dog house? Some might balk at anything over a couple hundred bucks, but one unidentified surgeon in England spent more than most of us do on our own houses. For $382,000, the doctor’s two Great Danes get temperature-controlled beds, a spa, automatic food and water dispensers and a 52-inch plasma TV with state-of-the-art stereo playing dog-friendly programs.

Egg-Shaped Nogg Chicken Coop

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(image via: contemporist)

Backyard chicken farmers, take heart – you don’t have to build an ugly wire-and-wood contraption to hold your birds. “The Nogg” is a modern egg-shaped chicken coop for 2-4 chickens, made from cedar wood, stainless steel and glass. It even has a little round window at the top so you can peer in and check the progress of your uber-fresh eggs.

IKEA Hack Hamster Home

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(image via: ikea hacker)

Hamster fcages are nearly always an eyesore, seemingly available only in brightly colored plastic. So Martina of Australia took matters into her own hands and transformed an IKEA ‘Expedit’ bookshelf into a surprisingly beautiful hamster home that gives her dwarf hamster plenty of room to roam.

‘Solo’ Blown Glass Cat House

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(image via: modern cat)

Blown glass is so beautiful, but it doesn’t have to be limited to art objects in the home – why not make it more functional? Like a huge glass vase turned on its side, the Solo cat house by designers Compressed Pattern and glass blowing studio esque gives cats a cozy place to sleep while also allowing them to see their surroundings.

Chic Bunny Hutch

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(image via: design sponge)

An even simpler and more beautiful IKEA hack has the ‘Besta’ shelf unit serving as a modern, super-simple rabbit hutch. Nicole used non-toxic materials to make this home for her Holland Lop bunny and shared the instructions over at Design Sponge.

BowHaus Modern Dog Crate

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(image via: denhaus)

“Meant for a home where cocktails and canines mix it up”, the BowHaus home for small dogs by DenHaus makes style top priority with a powder-coated steel design that also functions as a side table. The starburst design provides ventilation while maintaining a cozy feel for its four-legged inhabitant.

Cat Capsule by Christian Ghion

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(image via: contemporist)

Mod and comfy, the cat capsule by Christian Ghion bravely boasts an all-white sheepskin-lined design that will look lovely as long as your beloved feline isn’t a puker. So stylish, you’ll want a matching human-sized one for yourself.

Hamster Cabin with Tiny Stairs

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(image via: zooplus)

Don’t want to give over an entire section of a room to your pocket-sized pet? Sometimes a smaller home will still do, especially when that home is thoughtfully created from high-quality materials. This “small pet cage phoenix” is like a cabin for your hamster, complete with a ridiculously adorable little set of stairs leading to a loft-like sleeping compartment.

Cubix Modern Dog House

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(image via: dog milk)

No dog-loving fan of Bauhaus architecture could pass the Cubix Modern Dog House without a second look. Made of varnished wood with break-proof glass windows that can withstand all weather conditions, this dog house is worthy of a highly visible location in your yard.