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ash6181

Making a room for the dogs?

ash6181
10 years ago

Hello everyone, I have an idea, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea, or just seems like a good idea because I haven't had time to think on it too much. One of the things that was suggested several weeks ago when I got feedback on my floorplans was to move the powder room which is currently located off of the mudroom to an area off of the foyer, for greater privacy for bathroom occupants and to keep the master suite area more private from guests. Here's the first floor plan so you can get an idea of the spaces I'm talking about- the areas in question are marked with red dots (try to just focus on the rooms I'm asking about if you can- this is not the most recent plan so some things in the kitchen, etc. have changed- but this is the most recent on my computer.).

A bit of background- I have four dogs. Three labs and a beagle. I don't imagine that we'll always have four dogs, and probably would not want to have four dogs again (we took in two of the labs after their owner, a friend of ours, passed away unexpectedly). But I do think we will probably always have at least one dog. My idea is to take the area that is currently the powder room and make it into a dog room. This would be an area where their food and water would stay. We could store dog food, treats, meds, etc. in the closet currently marked for linens. Food bowls would go along one wall, and I would still run plumbing to the room so we could install one of those self-filling water bowls. It would be nice to have a dedicated area for this, as I've been scratching my head trying to figure out where we'll feed them all. The labs, one in particular, are super messy water drinkers. Not just sort of sloppy, but makes you want to weep there's so much water everywhere kind of messy. I figure if there's plumbing already there, we (or someone else) could always convert the room back to a powder room in the future.

If we make the dog room, the area off the foyer, below the pantry, that is currently a closet would become the powder room. We'd probably steal a foot off the pantry to make this happen and keep the small hallway. I would keep the hallway so that the powder room didn't have a window to the front porch- I think that would be weird and you'd have to keep the window covered all the time anyway. Here's an idea of what that might look like.

What do you think?

Comments (17)

  • mrspete
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'd put a dog room in the front location. Several reasons:

    - You could bring a wet dog straight in from the garage without allowing him to parade through your house shaking his fur. (Or a sick dog straight to the car.)
    - They'd have a window. I'm not a dog person, but I know that cats LOVE to sit in windowsills enjoying the sun and watching the world go by.
    - That room seems to be move "convertible" for other uses in the future. Yes, I know that the dog room makes perfect sense for you right now, but at some point you (or a future owner) might want to convert it to a tiny study, a sewing room, or something else. Keeping a space versatile always makes good sense.

    If I were doing this, I'd use all tile up to perhaps shoulder height so that the dogs couldn't scratch things up. Or laminate on the floor and up the sides of the walls -- no need to use fancy finishes for a dog. They'd have dog beds or blankets to keep them comfortable on the tile.

    I'd consider a Dutch door so you could open the top half and look in on the dogs without letting them out in the house.

    If you're already going to the trouble to put in a water line, how about a dedicated dog bath (with hand held shower) in this area?

    I'd also do a shelf up above the dogs' heads for toys, storage of canned food, clean blankets, medicines, or whatever else your dogs might need.

    Definitely include a place to hang leashes.

  • lavender_lass
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think the dog room idea is wonderful!

    That being said, I agree with MrsPete...I'd put the dog room where you can have a window and easy access to the garage or front door.

    I'd rather have the powder room close to the mudroom...so muddy people don't have to use the master bath :)

  • caymaiden
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think it's a great idea and wish we had a space for something similar in our plan. Having two rather messy dogs myself, I can understand why you chose the location beside the mud room and laundry room rather than a space right beside the foyer. If my own dogs were housed there, guests would be likely be greeted by howls, ear-deafening barks, wet dog smell and a flurry of husky fur. Might be a nice deterrent for burglars, however.

  • mojomom
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We share out house with two dogs and I think the dog room is a great idea. In fact we've already discussed a variation of that idea for our retirement home in a few years. I agree with Caymaiden, your current location is best. As I understand your post, the "dog room" is not where you will keep the dogs but instead is where you will feed them, have their water, and keep their stuff. Your current location is really more convenient for that. I don't know how you plan on the dogs going in and out of the house but I assume that you'll probably have a fenced yard and they won't be in and out through the garage very often anyway (or at least mine don't).

    Caymaiden, there really isn't anything that compares with husky fur, is there? During full shed, I think I can knit a whole new dog with the fur my husky sheds in a single day!

  • graywings123
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Is there any way you could get a floor drain put in that room? Or a shower to be used as a dog washing station?

  • lolauren
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey...

    I like your idea. I have commented on your previous threads and think that bathroom is much better at the front of the house. I still think it would benefit you more if it were a full bath, although that would be a luxury. We have a full bath in a 5x7 sized space, so it's doable. My previous home had a bathroom with window to a porch/near front door. Yes, the blinds were always closed but there was still nice light that filtered through. You could put a clerestory window there or similar so you don't waste room on a little hallway.... However, I do like that the current concept makes the bathroom NOT viewable from the front door.

    We have two dogs and made our laundry/mud room larger for them to sleep and eat in there. I do like your idea. Where will your dogs sleep/do they get free reign of the house at all times? (In your case, I would consider combining the dog and mud areas to get more floor space so they could sleep there. If not, it looks like the mud room and laundry area is enough for four dogs to sprawl out.) With our design, I wish our mudroom opened directly to the back yard so we could easily let them in or out without getting dirt everywhere.

    I would NOT put my dogs in a room by the front door unless I wanted to scare people away and make my dogs obsess about every sound. (....a legit. positive for some people, but not for us.) Also, we never let our dogs out in the front yard.

    With large dogs, a dog bath isn't going to be small. At the least, consider a handheld sprayer in your master shower that would help you wash them.

    Last comment... what is your flooring in all the master suite/laundry areas? (Consider making it the same hard surface throughout all the non-bedroom areas, including the closet, if you haven't already. Our closet has carpet which isn't ideal for a husband who comes home with dirty work boots.)

  • dekeoboe
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with your placement for the dog room. That location makes the most sense to me.

    If you are thinking about a dog wash, you might want to do what we did and replace the sink in the laundry room with a dog wash. It is really much better for your back if the dogs are not on the floor, as they would be in a shower, when you wash them. That is why groomers all have raised dog washes.

    We put a dog wash in the laundry room and, being stainless and large, it can be used for washing all kinds of things. If you want to soak laundry, you just put a smaller, plastic tub in it. We also put a rod over the top of it so I can hang my drip dry clothes when I take them out of the washer.

  • kellyeng
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Placement is great.

    We will always have at least two dogs and I really wish we had planned something like this.

  • jenswrens
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fabulous idea! I prefer your current location also, near the kitchen and mudroom. Much more convenient there for everyday feedings, etc. Also, who wants the smell of wet dog (even nicely shampooed wet dogs still leave that "wet dog" odor behind) lingering in the foyer to greet guests? Not me. A dog room in the foyer seems wildly out of place with the formality of that space.

    My MIL's house has the powder room off the foyer, and it is so much more private there, away from the kitchen/dining, etc. and I certainly wouldn't want to give guests the opportunity to wander around my bedroom area just to use the bathroom.

    I also agree with the floor drain idea.

    I want a dog room! And a cat room too!

    Great idea! I hope you implement it.

    This post was edited by jenswrens on Thu, Jul 4, 13 at 12:19

  • zone4newby
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like the idea of a dog room, and the placement near the mudroom.

    If it were me, I'd rather have a larger powder room with natural light and curtains that are always down than that little hallway and a cramped, windowless powder room.

    Good luck!

  • Janet
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We have three dogs - have had 4 - and have a dog room for them. It'd next to the laundry and has its own door to the yard (and a dog door too.) We have the Dutch door recommended by an earlier poster and highly recommend it as we can keep our dogs in their room when we need to but they can see and hear us and vice versa, We have a sink in their room, but no bath (would be a nice feature.) Our dogs love their room - they know it is theirs even though they of course spend a lot of time in the house with us.

  • allison0704
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with you all that the dog room needs to stay in the back of the house. A full size tub is not needed for dog bathing. They sell smaller sink/tubs that will work or you can free-form the shape by using tiles or slabs (real or cultured).

    You could also do a custom pet/gate instead of a Dutch door, so they can see out. Our gate is pictures 1 and 2.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Utility Room Pet Sink

  • lavender_lass
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beaglesdoitbetter has a dog room in her new house. It's really cute and very practical. You can check for her posts here and on the kitchen forum. Here's a link to a few pictures on Houzz.

    Also, here's a link to an ehow article on creating a dog room.
    http://www.ehow.com/how_6505071_design-dog-room-home.html

    Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Beagle's kitchen

  • beaglesdoitbetter1
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We do have a dog room. It was one of the greatest features I put in our house. All of their food, vitamins and ear cleaning stuff are there, as is their dog wash. Their crates are there for eating in and for the one dog who stays in the crate when we go out, and leashes are there as well.

    When I go to FL for the winter, the dog room in the PA house is one of the top two things I miss out of the entire house.

    Dog room pics:

    We even put in a beagle chandelier and beagle knobs, just for fun!

  • ash6181
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I typed out a long response on my i-Pad last night, and then accidentally hit a wrong button and poof, there it went. Let me try it again.

    Thanks to everyone who has offered their advice. I think the dog room is a go!

    I prefer to keep the dog room in its current location because it makes more sense to me to have it in the same area as the other utility areas. It would also be closer to the areas where we spend more time. My dogs are the type that like to bark at every noise, real or imagined, so I wouldn’t want to keep them by the front door. They won’t be spending time in the front yard, so proximity to the front door wouldn’t be a plus.

    To answer some questions, I imagine this room will be where they eat, and where their water bowls, toys, and other stuff is kept. I might occasionally use it to contain the dogs if I’m doing something that I don’t need their “help” with or if someone stopped by that would prefer not to have four dogs all over them. They are free to roam throughout the house while we are home. At night, the beagle mainly sleeps in the bed with my husband and me, and the labs would too if we let them. (Beaglesdoitbetter- have you discovered what a nice footwarmer a beagle makes?) The labs sleep in beds on the floor in our bedroom. Our female lab sometimes likes solitude (I understand the need to get away from the boys-I have brothers) so she may end up sleeping in the dog room sometimes.

    We probably would not put a grooming tub or doggy shower in that area. For one, I wouldn’t want to take up the floor space in that relatively small area. Also, since we have three labs we’d have to get a large tub, and then there’s the issue of wrangling them into the tub. What we plan to do is put a handheld shower in the master shower with a long enough hose that we can use it to wash the dogs. We have them groomed regularly, so we mainly bathe them only if they need a touch up in between appointments, or have been in the lake or met a skunk or something.

    We are not sure exactly what flooring we are going to use in the mudroom/laundry yet, but it will be some sort of tile and we will probably extend that into the dog room. I definitely want a durable, easy to clean floor in there. I actually would really like to put sheet vinyl down in there for ease of cleaning, but for aesthetic considerations I don’t think that will work. I’m thinking that having a solid surface with no grout lines, etc. would be great, especially if there are accidents. I’ve seen some people on the kitchen forums use Marmoleum; I may investigate that. Depending on what floor we go with, I may tile part way up the walls. But if not, I’ll definitely use a paint that is washable.

    Caymaiden and mojomom, I would imagine that a husky does shed something fierce. But three labs make for plenty of hair in the floor, too!

    Beaglesdoitbetter, what are the dimensions of your dog room? Do you find it to be a good size, or wish it was bigger/smaller?

    I’m definitely going to implement the dog room. I’m still thinking on the best layout for the powder room off the foyer.

    Thanks again to everyone for their help!

    Ashley

  • Terri
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are making our mudroom EXTRA large just for this very reason! Four dogs also, 3 Jack Russels and a Border Collie. So the front of the house would not be an option for us either, they bark at the same imagined things as yours do :)

    We are building a doggie shower since my dogs are smaller, and the Border goes for grooming. And our cabinet guy is doing a food storage cabinet I think the size of a trash pullout.

    Have you found a self filling water bowl yet? I could only find one online and it just came in so would be interested in what you are using.

    I just WISH my dogs would sleep in their room, but noooo. In the bed. Wonder whose fault that is....... :)

  • StellaMarie
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think it's an awesome idea! I have two young med-large dogs, and the amount of *stuff* they have is crazy. :) I don't know if yours have a lot of chews and toys, but I would want a good amount of storage for that, as well.

    A friend of mine did this in her custom build (full bathroom with stand-in shower, dog door -- I was super jealous), and she decided to tile halfway up the wall after living with it a bit. Especially if you have messy drinkers, I think that makes a ton of sense.

    I would also love to have a (safe) dog door to a contained dog run, too, in case that's something you would want to consider.

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