Photo: Madeline Harper.
A faucet in a pet-food station designed by Daley Home makes it easy to add water to your pampered pet’s bowl.
Need an indoor shower designed for your dog? How about a built-in food and water station? Tim McKeough writes in the real estate section of the New York Times that for some wealthy pet owners, amenities know no bounds.
“When you’re designing or decorating a home, you have to consider the needs of the occupants — and that means not just people, but any resident animals,” McKeough writes.
“ ‘Our clients are very serious about their animals,’ said Jimmy Crisp, the principal of Crisp Architects, in Millbrook, N.Y. … Many of the homes he designs have built-in amenities for pets.
“Amy Storm, the principal of the interior design firm Amy Storm & Company, in Glen Ellyn, Ill., thinks along the same lines. … ‘It would actually be unusual that we wouldn’t be working on some sort of location for the pets to eat and bathe.’ …
“One of the most popular features is a dog shower. Usually placed in a mudroom or laundry room with direct outdoor access, it offers a convenient way to rinse muddy paws and fur.
“Kate Marker, an interior designer in Barrington, Ill., added a shower for her two dogs to the lower-level mudroom of her own home. … There is no shower curtain or glass door to get in the way, which makes it easier to reach in and scrub the dog.
“For larger dogs, a shower with an opening at the floor makes the most sense, Ms. Storm said. But for smaller dogs, it’s often better to raise the shower, so that it resembles an oversized sink [and] you don’t have to hunch over. …
“Food and water bowls can look like an afterthought if separate dishes are simply placed on a waterproof mat. A better alternative is a built-in pet-food station.
“Shelby Van Daley, a founder of the interior design firm Daley Home, included an open cabinet with built-in dog bowls when she was designing a kitchenette for a family room in Austin, Texas. The pet dining space is lined in quartz countertop material and has cutouts to hold removable stainless-steel bowls. …
“ ‘A lot of our clients look for things they can add to their home to make it easier having pets,’ Ms. Van Daley said.
“If you don’t want to see bowls sitting out all day long, there’s another option: Install a low drawer in a bank of cabinetry, with cutouts for bowls, so you can slide it closed when it’s not in use. …
“Crate training your dog shouldn’t mean putting up with an ugly wire structure in the middle of your living space. Many designers are creating upscale custom crates that are built into homes.
“Ms. Van Daley designed a pair of crates with brass-mesh doors and enough space inside for dog beds as part of storage cabinets in the primary bedroom of one project. And Mr. Crisp designed a custom crate to fill the unused space under a staircase.
“If you don’t need a crate, but want a place to hold wet dogs in the mudroom, there are other options.
“For one client, Ms. Storm designed a mudroom with a half-height screened pocket door that pulls out of the wall like a baby gate. Compared to a solid door, ‘you still have good light and good air, and everyone can still see each other,’ she said, ‘even though the dogs are secured.’
“While dogs can usually get outside to play, indoor cats don’t have that opportunity. To compensate, some cat owners design their interiors to double as feline playgrounds.
“Alexandra Barker, the founder of the Brooklyn-based architecture firm BAAO, prioritized cat-friendly features while renovating a Brooklyn rowhouse for a couple of cat lovers. …
“The home’s defining feature is a built-in bookcase that runs along one wall of the living room. Some of the shelves project out into the room to serve as cat steps, and the top of the structure angles up and down to serve as a cat run. At one end, the run reaches a ceiling hatch that opens to the primary bedroom above; at the other, a hatch opens to an art studio.
“For another client in Brooklyn, Ms. Barker is designing a cat bathroom that conceals the litter box. ‘It’s a door into a closet with a portal in it,’ she said, so the cats can come and go as they please and no one has to look at the litter box. …
“If you want to create an indoor feline playground but aren’t ready to renovate, there are products that can be installed on an existing wall. Mike Wilson co-founded Catastrophic Creations, a manufacturer of cat-play equipment in Grand Rapids, Mich., after devising a wall-mounted rope bridge for his own cat. …
“On Etsy, the bridge was a hit, and the company soon developed a range of wall-mounted cat runways, steps, scratch posts and hammocks.
“Jackson Cunningham started Tuft & Paw in Vancouver, British Columbia, for similar reasons. ‘The idea came from our own experience of living in a smaller space in the city and caring about the stuff we put in that space,’ Mr. Cunningham said. …
“Tuft & Paw now makes cat hammocks, perches, beds and litter boxes that are as considered as any piece of designer furniture.”
More at the Times, here. OK, what do you think? You still have to walk the dog and empty the litter box. And do you think such things would improve the value of a home at resale — or would all those amenities have to be torn out?
Photo: Catastrophic Creations.
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