Custom showers and designer crates: welcome to the ‘barkitecture’ boom

Jasmine Roth, designer and host of the HGTV renovation show, Help! I Wrecked My House, made this chic bedside table that doubles as a dog crate. Photograph: courtesy of Jasmine Roth

In 2021, Johnathan Lower, then a real estate agent in South Carolina, posted some old photos on TikTok that showed how he had turned a closet into a miniature home for his golden retriever, Teddy. The post racked up millions of views and Lower set out to build an even more elaborate indoor dog house for Teddy, this one including lights, wall decor, a miniature television, a faux fireplace and a tiny magazine called “Playdog”. (“I just did it because I’m extra,” Lower said.)

The popularity of Teddy’s custom doghouse helped Lower build an 11 million-follower social media empire under the name AGuyandaGolden, and led to partnerships with brands like Petsmart, Subaru and Hilton. Lower, 31, is now a full-time content creator.