6 Creative Pet Door Ideas You'll Love For Your Home

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Pet doors are a game changer for dog and cat owners alike. They give pets the freedom to enter and exit a room or home on their own while maintaining most of the privacy behind the large door. Decades ago, the only options for these openings were a pair of simple rectangular or square white frames with a flap. Today, creative minds have provided more exciting choices, including sliding barn doors, mini French doors, real trim framing, and a cat head-shaped entryway. Styles range from $40 to $300 and up.

You can secure your own stylish doggy or kitty door kit or frame online from stores like Amazon, Chewy, and other retailers. Or, take the DIY route and create your own from scratch to customize it to your home or pet. Just be sure you've done your reading and understand everything you should know before installing a dog door or cat door. Regardless of which route you take, at the very least, you'll need a jigsaw or similar cutting tool to create the opening in your full-sized door, cabinet, or wall.

Cats have a pretty distinct head shape, so it's difficult to confuse their silhouette with that of another animal. The Kitty Pass Interior Cat Door from Amazon capitalizes on this with their adorable round opening with cat ears on one side of the door and a cat tail on the other. It's also large enough for pets up to 21 pounds. You can purchase The Kitty Pass' interior cat door for about $30. All items required for installation are conveniently included in the kit.

With this nifty idea, you can install whatever pet door you'd like, since the emphasis is on the framing, not the door or opening. You can use either real stones or a wallpaper with a stone pattern, but the latter will probably be easier and less time-consuming to work with. The designer also added material to mimic door trim and a roof, as well as a pair of light fixtures and a welcome mat to create the illusion of a miniature pet house. This option would be best on an interior wall.

The front entrance to a home typically includes a door and trim framing, so why not make Milo's or Luna's entrance look the same way? What's nice about this alternative is that it eliminates the need to lock and unlock an entry flap door, if you have one. If you want to temporarily prevent your pet from walking through the opening, you can simply close the miniature door. You'll likely need to make a custom door, though, due to the size.

The Beacon Hill Interior Cat Door from Amazon can be the ideal selection if you like the look of trim and a miniature human door, but don't want to have to assemble it all from scratch. The kit comes with everything you need and costs only $40. In addition to a decorative frame, the kit includes a solid door with an imitation, non-functional lion head door knocker and mail slot, available in white, black, or white with gold accents. The opening can accommodate dogs or cats up to 20 pounds.

If you want a minimalistic, but still charming pet door frame, consider PineconeNovelties' Interior Cat Door from Etsy for $44. It features a simple two-sided white frame shaped like a house with a chimney, and the seller accepts customization requests. As an interior frame, it can be used for openings in bedroom, bathroom, or cabinet doors. The frame can be painted in the color of your choice or covered with decorative tape. You can even add adhesives that look like brick or stone to make it look more like a house.

Give your feline friend easy access from room to room with DynamiteDesignLab's Custom-Designed Thru-Wall, Interior Tunnel from Etsy. Although intended for cats, some small dog breeds might be able to use it, too. Your furry friend will love having the option of a shortcut to get to where they want to go, instead of having to go through the "human" doors. Choose from more than two dozen colors, including candy cane, army green, and baby blue. It's available for $70 and up, depending on if you'd like to purchase the product with screws.