The £15,000 dog shower

Dedicated dog showers in bespoke boot rooms are mere entry level luxury now. Your UHNW whippet or minted maltipoo expects nothing less. In 2025 the aspirational mutt’s must-have will be a custom spa in a shepherd hut. Plankbridge, the Dorset-based makers of fine huts and cabins, has long been committed to pleasing its furry clients. In past projects it has fitted extra low windows so that dogs can enjoy the view from its cabins, designed dens under beds and installed ramps for easy access for little legs. Richard Lee, the founder of Plankbridge, says his workshop routinely accommodates a pack of eight canines: several spaniels, a couple of collie-spaniel crosses, plus his own yellow labrador, Dipper, and border terrier cross, Shrimp. “The dogs are such a big part of everyone’s lives,” he says. And so, he explains, is cleaning the mud off them after their lunchtime walks — which is how the idea for the Dog Wash hut came about (£15,000 plus vat, plankbridge.com).

The 2m x 2m mobile parlour, on sturdy cast-iron wheels “forged over Dorset charcoal”, features a raised shower area. “We’d take into account big dogs, small dogs, labradors with dodgy hips … and the height of their owners. I wouldn’t want people to be leaning up and over an awkward angle. It’s supposed to pamper the dog and their human.” There is a wall-mounted dryer, a heated towel rail and a ten-peg Shaker shelf for hanging coats and leads. There are also spaces made for shampoo and conditioner, colognes, nose and paw balm, combs, clippers and trimmers. Why settle for a paltry corner of a utility room when you can have a private salon? Here is the very pinnacle of pooch pampering.

Pets are increasingly important stakeholders inside the house as well — from the dressing room, where dog wardrobes are incorporated, to the kitchen cabinets, which are tailored to accommodate pet beds and conceal secret tunnels into the garden. Occasionally designers are asked to create entire dog apartments.

In a Chelsea duplex Naomi Astley Clarke converted the space under the “Coco Chanel-inspired mirrored staircase” into a flat for the two family dogs, furnished with a deeply cosy sheepskin bed, photo portraits of their (canine) family and a faux potted plant. This pet apartment has its own country cottage-style entrance, courtesy of the muralist Freddie Wimsett — an artist engaged by the likes of Kate Moss, Alice Temperley and Rita Ora.

Of course it’s not only dogs that dictate floor plans. Some homeowners create luxurious residences for their reptiles. Charlton Brown, a London architecture and interiors practice, designed a tortoise house, with a private garden and pool. The dwelling was created in close collaboration with the tortoise specialist at London Zoo. “The vivarium is part of the new-build summerhouse, because the family wanted their pet to be part of their lives,” says David Bulmer, a Charlton Brown senior associate. “It has its own stable-style door so they can open the top section and feed him, or they can let him out into a garden specifically designed for tortoise tastes, planted with dandelions, lettuce and grass.” This was the only section of the house where the designers worked with an M&E (mechanical and electrical) consultant, and the vivarium has its own heating systems, with different zones so the inhabitant, a cold-blooded animal that relies on external heat sources, can regulate its own temperature, moving from a warmer to a cooler environment at will. The pet’s name? Lucky, naturally.

Among her most peculiar pet-focused projects, Charu Gandhi, the founder of Elicyon design studio, has created an indoor aviary for a client whose brother is a breeder of exotic birds. Elicyon transformed the lower ground floor of a central London property into a home for up to 20 psittacines. The basement in question was about 1,000 sq ft — which at Knightsbridge prices, according to my maths, equates to about £2.8m worth of real estate assigned to the flock of African parrots. Gandhi consulted an aviary expert for her design of the space. “There are no windows. All the natural light comes from a skylight, so there was no issue with opening windows. A study/viewing room takes up about a fifth of the space. The plan was for the client to let one or two birds at a time into the study while he works. The birds are pets and can form strong attachments.” For avian rest and recreation, ropes hang from the ceiling, where the parrots can perch, and there are nooks where they can sleep. For the benefit of humans sharing their home, Elicyon has installed an acoustic ceiling for sound absorption. Even ornithophiles don’t want to be woken by a dawn chorus from the basement.

The design tweaks decorators are asked to oversee are not always in homes. Mark Lawson, a partner at the Buying Solution, has noticed his international clients like to travel with their pets and will ask their interior designers to create comfortable in-flight furniture for them. “A US client of mine had a bespoke leather seat and bespoke fold-down food table designed in their private jet for their shih-tzu.”

And what goes for the Gulfstream is equally true on the superyacht. Lyne Arbid, the director of interiors at Studio Indigo, has frequently designed adaptations that make life on board more agreeable for dogs. “A lot of our superyacht owners really invest in the wellbeing of their pets,” she says. Her most recent pet-friendly project was an Explorer superyacht by Sanlorenzo, whose owners have staff on standby to take their tiny mixed breed terrier, called Winston, for comfort breaks. “If the dog needs to go to the toilet, usually the crew puts him on the tender twice a day and takes him to land.”

She tailors each interior to suit its individual human and canine inhabitants. “We had one lady who was very specific that the sink in the galley had to be a certain size and depth because her King Charles spaniel needed to take a daily bath in that sink,” Arbid says. For the same owner she designed bespoke upholstered steps to allow the spaniel easy access to her bed.

The most frequent dog-related onboard design modification is the addition of ramps to make it easier for pets to get in and out of the water. Arbid says: “You usually have ladders or steps from the swimming platform — and they are not easy for dogs to go down, without being scared. We put in little custom ramps, so that the dogs can get off the swimming platform, have a swim and then find their way easily back on the yacht. It’s a way to make sure the animals are enjoying the holiday with the rest of the family.” After all, it’s not luxury travel unless you can share it with your best friends.