HOME SPECS FOR PETS

Does your dog˜s irritable colon require a specially located restroom?     Does the cat who owns your home view the Chicago land area exclusively through double-hung windows?   Relax.   You’re not alone in treating your pet as you would a family member in your home.     In fact, according to American Pet Products Association, 62% of us have at least one furry child.   Why should your home be any less a haven for your pet as it is for you?

Home builders, hear this:     We take our furry children seriously, and we also want our home designs to be pet-friendly.

Have a canine who suffers from crippling arthritis?   Be sure to tell your architect, who might suggest a stairless ranch design as a natural support for your lovable companion.     Just ask architect Kevin Kazimer of South Barrington, who made this reasonable design accommodation for a differently-abled dog and his owner.

Architects Orren Pickell Designers & Builders in Lincolnshire are also animal friendly in their design sensitivities.     Jeff Eichorn of Pickell says the idea of designing a dog shower or tub in a garage or laundry area is quickly becoming a need among dog owners.     Why not?   Just take the hand-held sprayer, and bath time is no longer the ordeal it once was.

What about your introverted cat who wants a nice private place to reflect?   Call architect Anthony Perry of Libertyville, who has been known to design the “cat cave,” under a stairway.   Perry also creatively placed a tree from floor to ceiling in the same home.   Not for the people, mind you.   For the cat, who requested her own private tree house when Perry did the specs.

If your cat isn’t toilet trained and you still use the tried-and-true litterbox, take heart.   You can not only give your cat the privacy you’d want in the loo, but you can also conceal the cat facilities and keep the air smelling fresh.   Just ask South Barrington’s Evan Harris, litterbox cabinet builder extraordinaire.   Cabinets are kept in a laundry room, whilelow-volume fan runs and works as a natural air freshener.

Worried about wear and tear on your flooring from those adorable little claws?   Jeff Eichorn says that new building materials have built-in distress marks.   Pet hair problems are also less visible with the innovative color variations now seen in wood.

If you’re worried about your dog’s mouth being less than dry, use a high-gloss paint for your walls.   It’s a simple cleanup solution for active canine salivary glands.

So, if and when you decide to build, be sure to consult with your pet when it comes to tree houses and accessible restrooms.