The four-legged members of your family can absolutely be kept in mind when it comes to designing your cabinetry! Tailor-made especially for Spot, Fido or Mr. Jinxy! Let’s take a look at a couple of different challenges in which our clients were in search of a solution.

For our first cabinet, the client wanted a way to house the litter box. We designed it with an open interior with storage shelf above and an easy entrance. The large arch cut is an always-open door for their cat.  He can come and go as he pleases, (ooh, sorry, no pun intended!) and no one will know the cat box is even there!

This view shows off the spacious interior.  (Note: The two pieces along the bottom of the cabinet are merely shipping braces, not part of the cabinetry.)

In another situation, a client had two daschund puppies and wanted to give them a place to call their own, yet keep them close by. The dogs enjoyed feeling secure, so we designed this dog-friendly custom cabinet into their Crafstman kitchen (that we were also building). The owner has since told us that the dogs love to snuggle into their comfy bed inside this beautifully integrated haven!

Careful planning will ensure that all your desired appliances will fit

“This might seem like a weird question, but: Is there such a thing as having too many appliances? In addition to our refrigerator, range, double wall oven, microwave, dishwashers (2), and trash compactor, we also want a warming drawer, ice machine, wine cooler, and built-in coffee station.”

Despite your long list, we don’t believe there’s such a thing as too many appliances. What there may be is too little storage space, depending upon the overall size of your kitchen. If you can break the design into the appropriate zones, and place the appliances that way and not just pack ‘em in as if your kitchen is a Tetris puzzle, you should be fine.

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This design creates usable storage between the beams!

“I’ve got exposed beams in my kitchen; can I still get cabinets going to the ceiling?”

Sure! The cabinets for your kitchen (or bathroom, laundry room, etc.) can be made to fit your specific space. Probably the best way to maximize the space is shown in the photo; that is, cabinets over cabinets. They could also be designed as single cabinets going all the way up; the compromise to work out is what to do with the beam-width gaps in the cabinetry. (Create skinny cabinets, leave the space open, etc)

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