Minimalist Living with Bunnies and Other Pets
Some might think having a pet is not minimalist at all, but that misses the point. Minimalism is about making intentional choices that align with your values. If your pet brings you joy, it is not “un-minimalist” to share your home with them.
My husband and I have two Netherland Dwarf bunnies, Nacci (short for Fibonacci) and Flicka (Swedish for “girl”). They are constantly entertaining us with their cute and silly antics—they can brighten even the toughest days. We’ve intentionally curated a set up for them that is both functional and beautiful. We don’t want their items to be an afterthought as they contribute to the overall aesthetics of our space.
I’ve done extensive research to source attractive pet accessories for our home. In this post, you’ll find a list of recommendations with links to my favorite items. While this was written with bunnies in mind, many of the same principles can be applied to life with cats, dogs, and other small animals.
I also created a video tour of the bunnies and their set up on Instagram, which you can watch here.
The larger the enclosure, the better! Bunnies need a lot of space to explore, so they are mostly free roam when we are at home.
Include your pet in daily life
Set up your pet’s space so that they can be with you. My husband and I both work from home, so we decided to put the bunnies’ space in our home office. This way, they spend most of the day with us and are able to be out and about since we can keep an eye on them. The more freedom they have, the happier they are.
We searched for items in natural colors and materials. Bunnies tend to chew on things, especially in their primary space, so we opted for a chew-safe floor covering with the LOHALS jute rug from IKEA. To our surprise, they haven’t shown interest in chewing the rug. It’s given them great traction when they get in the mood to do binkies and zoomies.
To protect electronic cords from being chewed, we use the CritterCord cord protector. It’s clear and unobtrusive.
For their toys and enrichment items, we also went with a lot of chew-safe natural jute and seagrass options, which bring visual warmth to the room. A few favorites include the Prevue Hendryx grass tunnel toy, Oxbow Timothy hay mats, and the Oxbow Timothy bungalow in medium (also available in large). I’m generally a fan of anything from the Oxbow Enriched Life series. The bunnies also love the LURVIG igloo from IKEA—it’s one of their favorite places to nap. The whole LURVIG pet series from IKEA is pretty cute!
Just as kids can get overwhelmed by too many options, pets don’t need an endless supply of different toys and treats. They mostly want to be with you!
We’ve selected toys that blend with our interior.
Nacci loves to lay in the sun in her Hop n’ Flop!
Keep enclosures clean & simple
Bunnies, like most pets, need a lot of space to explore and should not be left locked in their cages all day. They are much smarter than most people realize! While Nacci and Flicka are mostly free-roam, they do have cages for when we need to leave the home or go to bed at night. Finding enclosures that were not an eyesore was a real challenge. We finally landed on these Living World small animal cages in size large. We would love to get the cage in the extra large size and have them live in it together, but they are not fully bonded and would fight.
We looked for enclosure accessories that would be safe and effective for the bunnies, but also visually quiet. Nacci and Flicka love these Oxbow Timothy bungalows in medium (also available in large) for hiding; it makes them feel safe and snug. We use Lixit wide mouth BPA-free water bottles and a small black bowl for pellets. Per our vet’s recommendation, we feed them a diet of primarily Oxbow Western Timothy hay with just a small side of Kaytee Timothy Complete rabbit food.
If our bunnies spent more time in the main living areas, we would 100% invest in one of Bink’s gorgeous enclosures.
Keeping the bunnies’ environment clean and fresh is a priority, especially since we share the room with them. We have our Dyson nearby for quick clean ups and our Molekule Air Mini+ helps keep the air fresh and dander-free. We use blank newsprint sheets to line the bottom of the cage—we do not recommend shredded style bedding as it is unnecessary and makes a huge mess. Lining the cage with newsprint makes cleaning it twice per week easy and fast. We found small beige cat litter pans and we use Fresh News recycled paper litter, which is what our vet recommends as a safe option for bunnies in case they try to eat it.
We keep the cage simple with clear zones: a woven hole for hiding, water, food, and their litter box.
Incorporate pet storage seamlessly
When we moved to this home last September, we transformed all of the closets with Elfa shelving from The Container Store. In our home office, we use the closet to store office supplies as well as bunny supplies.
Most of our bunny supplies are stored in containers from MUJI. We use the same type of containers throughout the home so they can be interchangeable as our needs evolve. This makes it less of a “pet zone” and blends with the rest of our storage. We use the FILUR bin from IKEA (discontinued, but the HALLBAR bin is similar) for their hay and a small clear container for their pellets.
We’ve installed an Elfa shelving system in our home office closet and use MUJI bins to organize bunny supplies.
We store their food (pellets and hay) just inside the closet.
Nacci and Flicka love to be near us. Here they are snuggled up under our desks.
I am often asked for sources, so I decided to pull together this list of things that have added value to my life with pets. Many of these are affiliate links, so I will receive a small commission if you purchase something. As always, please do not purchase anything unless you need it. My intention is for this list to be used as a value-adding resource, not consumer encouragement.