Sealy pet bed

If your pets are anything like ours, they appreciate any soft spot you let them curl up on (even if they don’t necessarily appreciate your efforts in other areas). During our recent trip to Global Pet Expo 2014, we noticed that the options for pet bedding have grown exponentially, and we wanted to share some of the bigger trends with you.

For one thing, a pet bed is hardly just a pet bed anymore. Sealy — yep, that Sealy — was there with options for pet beds, which are available online, at pet boutiques and even at the Sealy mattress stores where you shop for your own bed. Happily, the prices for the pet beds, which include memory foam and a few other features we’ll get to in a moment, are considerably lower than the prices for the human versions, ranging from $99.99 to $169.99.

It’s not just a matter of quality — bedding manufacturers are paying close attention to what pets need, particularly when it comes to dogs and cats with hip and joint issues. Orthopedic beds seemed to be everywhere, and at a wide variety of price points. Petmate’s Sporty Bright orthopedic bed, which will be available in stores this summer, should retail around $69.99, while another bed that caught our eye, the K-995 Luxury American Bison Leather Bolster Orthopedic Memory Foam Pet Bed (available now) runs between $280 and $1,885.

Made in America Bed

That brings up another major trend. It’s not just the pets these manufacturers have in mind; it’s the pet owners too. They know that many of us have our pets in our living rooms, offices and bedrooms, and they’re creating beds designed to fit right in (and stylishly stand out). Companies like West Paw Design, Molly Mutt and P.L.A.Y. have made their name using bold colors and fashion-forward fabrics, but this year it seemed that nearly every booth that offered a bed also offered something in a trendy print.

And it goes well beyond the fabric too. Bed frames are big in the world of pet beds this year, with some companies taking a whimsical approach, like Smucci Too and its line of customizable contemporary beds ($159), and others sticking to more traditional bed frames, like Petmate and SSS PetCare ($99.99–$119.99).

There’s a lot happening right now in this small part of the pet product industry. Have you noticed anything new and exciting on shelves in your local stores? What other bedding trends would you like to see take hold?

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