Doghouses, even the classiest ones, may soon be passe. About 70 percent of America's dogs now spend more than half their time indoors, in the Big House -- the family home, which increasingly tends to feature dog-friendly walls, floors, upholstery.

We're not talking about mere cutesy, decorative nods to the adorableness of dogs, but about substantial human commitment - and dollars - to safer, more comfortable environments. Art and design celebrates the species that is at home with 43.5 million American families.

Talk about creature comforts. A house in Culver City, Calif., is being built from the ground up to ease life for a French sheepdog named Hobbes, a humongously hairy 6-year-old who's not too steady on his feet. Hobbes' owners, public relations consultant Joanna Brody and her husband, writer Thomas Small, say they've altered the architect's plans to include steps with a very gentle incline, almost like a ramp, because, as Hobbes gets older, he won't be able to climb traditional stairs.

Their architect, Whitney Sander of Los Angeles, says, "Floors will be rough nonslip concrete instead of the polished finish we'd planned, because Hobbes tends to slip around on anything smooth."

The finish of a large interior wall, a major design element of the house, will be changed "so Hobbes' hair won't snag, which would be painful," Brody says.

The couple has named the house "Residence for a Briard," because, Brody says, "Hobbes is as important a resident as we are. He brings such constant joy. Anyone who knows us knows him. We take him everywhere. We've even taken him to France to see his homeland."

These are obvious extremes and only for the well-heeled. But at many levels, the dog's status in the home is on the rise.

Dog portraiture is booming business in this new era of pets. The Internet and dog magazines such as Bark, the New York Dog and Hollywood Dog are awash in ads for portraitists who claim to capture the essence of an animal in oils or photos. Prices charged by top talent range from a few hundred dollars (for a photographic sitting) to the high five figures for an oil.

Tigerlily and Harvey Rosen, for example, have a pet portrait by Beau Bradford in their Los Angeles home. The portrait, which dominates the Rosens' entry, depicts their two now-deceased English bulldogs, painted in the manner of Frida Kahlo. For fees from $2,500 to $15,000, Bradford will copy your favorite painting by a great artist - Matisse, Monet, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Warhol -- and insert a likeness of your pets into its midst.

Actor and director Eric Stoltz displays art of his (and other) dogs throughout his New Mexico house. These days he's awaiting a portrait of his late Labrador retriever, Nestor, which he commissioned from the dog portraitist Roger Henry. "Roger visited us and got to know and spend time with Nestor before he died," Stoltz says. "That's an important part of the process of portraiture. And, of course, we have thousands of photos."

Dog photographer Amanda Jones, 37, based in North Adams, Mass., says she's booked solid on weekend trips to 20 major cities around the country at which time she meets with dogs and their people, who've prepaid $850 for a photo session weeks or months in advance.

Then there are those like New York design consultant Julia Szabo who are so enamored with the look of their pets that they try to duplicate it in the decor. Szabo says she once reupholstered her sofa to match her dog. "I covered it in Ultrasuede the exact same gingery shade as my pit bull, Pepper. I just loved his color, loved looking at him and couldn't get enough." The monochromatic meld of canine on couch became the cover photo for Szabo's 2001 book on interior design for people who live with pets, "Animal House Style: Designing Your Home to Share With Your Pets."

Szabo, who recently commissioned a bronze bust of another pet, Sam, (by sculptor Jennifer Weinik), says "so many advances have been made in fabrics, paints and flooring just since the book came out, that it is now possible to design interiors almost impervious to damage from pets."

These improvements weren't created with pets in mind but to solve all sorts of other commercial and residential problems. They just happen to work with animals.