The doggie apartment in the laundry room

Where to put the dog bed? That is the question.

In my own house, I tend toward the philosophy of: Let's put the dog bed in the middle of the living room so my fur baby doesn't get lonely. But not all people are going to warm up to this idea.

I've never crated a dog in my life, so designing a "cage" for a dog in the laundry room, as did this family in Mandeville, La., seemed odd at first.

But the more I thought about it, the more I saw the beauty in this set-up. After all, dogs love tight quarters. Think coyotes in an underground den.

So why not build into your laundry room a permanent crate, a little apartment of sorts for your doggie? This would be a safe place for little Rover during big parties, and perhaps a nice and quiet place to spend the night. Plus, you have a place to put the food and water dishes other than in the kitchen where you tend to kick them and get water all over your shoes once or twice a week. Or is that just me?

In the photo at the very top of this story, though, I wonder about that gate. Unless it's closed, it would block the door behind it. And that means the gate is always closed, when the dog is inside or outside of it, except for when the newspaper photographer comes by.

I rather prefer the "freedom nook" in a remodel I wrote about for Remodeling Magazine, which you see above and to the left.

If I was designing the gated doggie nook, I'd make sure the gate could stay open most of the time so little FeFe could come and go during day.

Other than that, I'm totally on board.

Top photo: Times-Picayune

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Comments

[Suzan]

Hey, remodeling is all about getting your specific needs met and sometimes that includes accomodating pets. "Fido! Bad dog! Go to your apartment!"