I love having animals in the house, but between beds, bowls, leads, toys and all the other bits that come with them, they can very quickly start taking over.

The designer trick is not to try to hide every sign that you own a pet. Instead, give their things a proper home. A few simple zones can make the house feel so much calmer and more organised — and none of them need to cost much.

Here are my five favourite ways to do it.

1. Fake the look of a built-in pet nook

Before buying another pet bed or piece of pet furniture, look at the unused spaces already built into your room.

The open space underneath a console, the end of a window seat, beneath a bench, inside the lower section of an open shelving unit or even a redundant furniture cubby can often become a brilliant little pet nook.

Add a simple cushion or existing pet bed that fits the space and suddenly it looks like it was designed to be there.

Designer tip: The secret is filling the space properly. A bed that is too small can look like it has simply been shoved underneath the furniture. Choose one that almost fills the width, then use a cover in a fabric or colour that relates to the rest of the room. It gives you that lovely custom, built-in look without actually building anything.

2. Create a tiny pet station near the door

Leads, poo bags, towels and harnesses are exactly the sort of things that end up dumped on benches.

A few inexpensive wall hooks and a basket near the door can solve the problem instantly.

If you’ve got a console or entry table, add a good-looking basket underneath for towels and dog-walking bits. No special pet furniture required.

Designer tip: Use the same style of hooks, baskets or storage you already have in your home. Natural cane, timber, canvas or a simple black hook will usually look far better than brightly coloured plastic pet storage.

3. Make the feeding area feel deliberate

Pet bowls have a habit of slowly migrating across the kitchen floor.

Pick one permanent feeding spot, preferably somewhere slightly out of the main traffic path, and place the bowls on a simple washable mat or tray.

You can even use a small leftover tile, timber board or inexpensive tray underneath. It defines the area, protects the floor and makes cleaning much easier.

Designer tip: Stainless steel or ceramic bowls in simple colours tend to visually disappear into a kitchen far better than heavily patterned ones.

4. Corral the toys

This is possibly the easiest change of all.

Instead of toys scattered through every room, keep one low basket where your pet can still reach them. At the end of the day, everything goes back in.

A basket you already own is perfect — it definitely doesn’t need the words DOG TOYS printed across the front!

Designer tip: Open storage works best for things you use constantly. If putting something away requires opening cupboards and moving three other things first, chances are it will live on the floor.

5. Give messy pet jobs their own zone

Think grooming brushes, pet wipes, food, medication, spare leads and all those mysterious little packets that seem to accumulate.

Give them one drawer, basket or section of a cupboard rather than spreading them around the house.

I particularly like keeping a small towel near the back door for wet or muddy paws, along with anything you regularly grab before or after a walk.

It’s such a simple thing, but good design is often less about buying something new and more about deciding where things should live.

And that really is the key with pets.

They’re part of the family, so their things are naturally going to be part of the house too. Give them a few well-considered zones, use colours and materials that work with the rest of your interiors, and suddenly all the practical pet paraphernalia feels much more at home.

Beautiful house. Happy animals. Everyone wins.

Juliet x

BONUS TIP: Give them a designated sofa spot

If your dog or cat is going to sit on the sofa anyway — and mine certainly are — work with it rather than spending your life trying to keep them off.

Choose one end of the sofa or one particular chair as their spot and protect it with a good-looking washable throw or small blanket. Pick something in the same colour family as your sofa or cushions so it feels like part of the styling rather than a pet cover.

It also means that instead of throwing a huge cover over the entire sofa, you're only protecting the area that actually needs it.

Designer tip: Look in the normal homewares section rather than the pet aisle. A simple cotton throw, waffle blanket or even a nice bath sheet in the right colour will often look far more stylish — and can cost less too.