We knew pets are popular among Houzzers but were blown away by the response to our first-ever survey of how our community caters to their pet at home: over 10,000 responses in Houzz markets around the world!
The survey revealed that dog and cat owners in Australia and Italy are most likely to have made pet-related upgrades to their home in the last two years (43% each). More than one-third of those in the U.S. updated their home to accommodate their pet in the same timeframe (35%) from flooring (38%) to landscaping (21%) to room layout (19%).
Pet parents in the U.S. are most likely to allow their cat or dog to sleep in their bed at night (53% and 41% respectively). Meanwhile, only 14% of dogs in Spain are given a spot in their master’s bed and less than a third of cats have nightly snuggle privileges in France and Germany (30% each). Perhaps this is why pets in France are most likely to have their own bed, bench or seating area in the home (66%), followed by those in Germany (60%) and Spain (59%).
Globally, 37-68% of pet owners have special areas in their home for their dog and cat. German pet owners are most likely to designate a dining area (75%) versus just 37% in the U.S. and 28% in Russia. Built-in nooks for pets are most common in Italy (57%) and least likely in the U.S. (20%) and Canada (19%). With this low percentage of designated pet spaces in the U.S., it stands that pets in the States are most likely to have free reign of the furniture (78% of cats and 48% of dogs).
While cats are more likely to have full furniture privileges, dogs command more dollars. In the U.S., one in five dog owners spent more than $1,000 on pet items for their home in the last two years (22%) versus 14% of cat owners. For the same category, cat owners were nearly 50% more likely to spend less than $100 than dog owners (27% versus 15% respectively).
Homes in the U.S. are the cat’s meow, however, with 13% of cat owners reporting that their cat rules the house versus just 8% of dog owners. Overall, pets are most likely to be in charge of homes in Italy (12%), and least likely to rule in Russia and Denmark (4% each).
Additional global findings can be found here:
