Dog owner spends $1,000 to transform spare bedroom for pet
Forget the old, rickety backyard doghouses of yesteryear. Dogs these days are getting decked-out bedrooms of their very own!
30-year-old Elizabeth Lang recently moved to Nashville, TN, and knew she wanted to turn one of her empty rooms into a blinged-out bedroom for her golden retriever, Pearl.
Lang told Newsweek she spent $1,000 on the supplies, paint, and decorations to design the doggie bedroom for Pearl’s birthday.
It features a dog-sized sofa, ball pit, wooden doghouse, rug, and toy basket.
The room reveal has been seen by more than 2 million people on Instagram and more than 300,000 people on TikTok.
Pet ownership is on the rise. 59.8 million people have dogs in the United States, and 42.2 million people have cats—and most are spoiled rotten.
“Nowadays, it’s all about fully furnished dog suites, complete with wallpaper, plush beds, and even chandeliers,” says interior designer Magda Callery.
Elizabeth Lang shared on TikTok that she wanted to use an empty room in her Nashville home as a bedroom for her golden retriever, Pearl. TikTok / @pearlgoldengirl
Pet parents are sparing no expense.
“More and more people are investing in creating spaces that are tailored to their pets, and homes are even being renovated and custom-built with their fur babies in mind,” says Mattie Sheppard, strategic interior design advisor at Real Estate Bees from Jacksonville, FL. “As pets are looked at as being true family members, pet owners have decided their fur babies should have style and comfort just as they do.”
The room has a dog-sized sofa, ball pit, wooden doghouse, rug, and toy basket. TikTok / @pearlgoldengirl
If you create a doggie bedroom, would that be a selling point when you move? “For pet owners, absolutely,” says Ron Myers of Ron Buys Florida Homes in Wellington, FL. “It’s a great conversation starter and adds charm. But, for non-pet owners, it’s just extra storage. Either way, it’s a creative use of space.”
A doggie bedroom can be a selling point for pet owners looking for a new home. TikTok / @pearlgoldengirl
Spare bedrooms are not hard to come by these days
Nationally, the number of guest bedrooms—defined as a bedroom that is in excess of the number of persons in the home plus one (to account for an office)—reached the highest levels in Census record history in 2023.
That number reached 31.9 million extra bedrooms in the U.S., up from 31.3 million the year prior and over four times the 7 million in 1980.
There are 31.9 million extra bedrooms in the U.S as of 2023. TikTok / @pearlgoldengirl
“The record-high number and share of excess bedrooms in the U.S. are driven by both an increase in the number of bedrooms per home and a decline in the number of persons per household,” says Realtor.com® senior economist Ralph McLaughlin.
Only 27% of homebuyers had a child under age 18 living with them last year, which was an all-time low, according to the National Association of Realtors®. That share is down from 30% in 2023 and 58% in 1985.
Moreover, the percentage of U.S. adults under 50 without children who report being unlikely to have children in the future increased by 10 points over a five-year period, rising from 37% in 2018 to 47% in 2023.
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Other ways to use spare bedrooms
Since people tend to have more spare bedrooms nowadays, they’re using them for a wide variety of purposes.
Home offices, home gyms, and guest bedrooms are the biggest trends.
“But some people take it even further—gaming lounges, room-sized closets, and mini home theaters,” says Callery.
Wellness spaces such as yoga or meditation rooms are also gaining popularity, according to Max Smith, Esq., a luxury real estate advisor with Spears Group at Compass in Santa Rosa Beach, FL.
Spare bedrooms are becoming flexible, multipurpose areas that cater to individual needs and lifestyles.
“The increasing use of spare bedrooms for hobbies, self-care activities, and personal interests reflects a growing emphasis on mental and emotional well-being,” says Jennie Berger, owner and design consultant of Property People in Chicago. “Homeowners are prioritizing spaces that promote relaxation, creativity, and personal growth.”
