DIY Tips & Tricks: Creative Dog Doors (Cats Too)
My brother recently bought a house that he loves – it has a great open floor plan, huge floor to ceiling windows, and an awesome yard! Everything looked good to go, this was the one. There was one little problem though… he wasn’t going to be living alone and someone was not going to be happy that there is no back door to the yard.
Meet Bruce! Or as I like to call him, Fat Head. (Dog’s got a meaty head.) No back door and no dog door means that every time Bruce wants to go out to play in the yard my brother has to walk him out the front door and through the gate. So we started to get a little creative with our ideas for solutions. He decided he’s just going to install a door to the yard in one of the bedrooms, with a traditional dog door in it – something like this:
But there are SO MANY options for pet doors. I’ve seen some pretty creative stuff in homes around Salt Lake.
In my house we have a sliding glass door, so the easiest solution there was to use the dog door inserts you can buy at most home improvement stores. One day though I’d love to get one built into the glass with double doors.
One of the most popular options I’ve been seeing is installing the dog door through the wall. This way you can have it pretty much anywhere in the house you want (given that there’s access to the yard from that point). If you have a cat you can even put cat scratcher bristles around the edges.
Some of the exteriors are dressed up pretty cute, and you really can use your own personal style to make the dog door fit your home, instead of being an eyesore. You can keep it really simple, or go all out creating a luxurious entrance for your pet.
My absolute favorite idea, which I have yet to see in a house, is to tuck the dog door away in a cabinet or kennel area.
And if your layout allows, turning the storage under the stairs into a dog kennel area is pretty genius! It’s not like you use that space for much anyway.
And if you have a house cat that may not very trustworthy when it comes to wandering the neighborhood, or you’re concerned about safety but still want your kitty to get some fresh air and sunshine, maybe it’s time to consider a catio!
Plus, you can tuck away that yucky cat litter in the garage through a little door too!
I love seeing all kinds of new innovations for pets in homes – If I find any new cool ones while showing homes in Salt Lake, I’ll be sure to share them with you, and send me your neat ideas too!
All photos here via Pinterest