PETS
a clever solution in a butler’s pantry in Sarasota, Florida. The dog tub is actually a horse feeding trough. (The owner is a polo player.) It’s about 42 inches wide and was modified to accommodate a drain. Similar galvanized stock tanks or watering troughs can be purchased from livestock supply stores. Food and supplies are kept in the base cabinet and a flip-down step allows the owner’s athletic Spanish water dogs to hop into the basin. The owner then stands on the step to wash them, says Josh Wynne, whose construction company built the LEED-certified home. The countertops are concrete and the walls are troweled clay with no added color. The upper cabinet doors are Galvalume, a carbon steel sheet coated with an aluminum-zinc alloy.
Free-standing tub: Installing a professional-style dog wash can be a lower-cost alternative to a built-in station. A plumber is still required to hook it up, but it won’t involve the tile work and framing needed for a built-in style. The model from ProGroom in this Louisville, Kentucky, laundry room includes space beneath the tub for dog bowls and a ramp that rolls out for entering and exiting the tub. The back of the tub includes a clip for tethering the bathing victim and a shelf and bracket for supplies. The most popular tubs for homeowners are those with ramps and those measuring 48 inches to 60 inches wide
Cabinetry with room for dogs. Most dogs love to hang out wherever you are, so why not give them their own spot in the kitchen where they won’t constantly be underfoot? Dedicated “all things pet” drawers are a smart move in this area too. Food, leashes, toys and other supplies corralled in one space make them a cinch to find.
a “shed duplex” with two distinct areas separated by an interior wall. The area to the left provides a place for storing tools, while the second space houses their brood of backyard chickens. To construct the shed, they used a combination of new lumber, corrugated aluminum roofing and salvaged redwood boards from a family member’s old deck. Designing a single structure to serve two purposes saves floor space and eliminates the need for additional outbuildings in the backyard. In the shed’s chicken coop portion, a hatch lifts to reveal nesting boxes for easy egg collection by Aislin and Tim’s two young boys.
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