Pet Friendly Accomodations

BY PETE MOHS

Pets are an important part of a family.

So it’s no surprise that pet needs are now becoming part of the design for new or remodeled home construction.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NOR-SON CUSTOM BUILDERS

“It’s more common today,” said Paul Maki, senior architect for Nor-Son Custom Builders of Brainerd. “People love their pets, but they don’t want the clutter of dog food and dog beds laying around the house. They like having the pet items hidden in cabinets to keep their homes looking nice.”

Some pet friendly construction projects include sleeping stations built around cabinets to accommodate pets. Other home designs have storage space around kitchen areas for pet foods and toys. And some homes are being built to include pet showers.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NOR-SON CUSTOM BUILDERS

“We’re doing a lot of dog washing stations,” Maki said. “Especially with lake homes where their dogs might go in the water and need to rinse off. We’ve done tiled pet showers near mudrooms, and others built right inside garages with heated floors. In one home we even had shelves for towels and cleaning supplies.”

Brent Gunsbury, president and co-owner of Bercher Design & Construction, said their company also receives requests for home designs with pets in mind.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NOR-SON CUSTOM BUILDERS

“Pets are no different than anyone else, and are treated like another member of the family,” Gunsbury said. “People are putting in the resources, and adding amentitles in the home to allow the dogs to fit in. So we’ve found creative ways to make it happen.”

Gunsbury said his company has also designed dog showers.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NOR-SON CUSTOM BUILDERS

“We converted a laundry area into a dog shower,” he said. “It was a lower level of a lake home where people can easily bring the dog in and clean them.”

Adding pet-only bathing stations to home construction and remodeling designs has been a national trend in recent years. Many showers are slightly raised to make washing and rinsing of pets more comfortable for the owners. A tiled shower project can cost between $3,500 to $5,000, but could be constructed at a significantly lower price.