mud room amenity keeps canines clean
Tails and tongues are wagging over dedicated dog-wash stations in new home builds
Mud rooms, it seems, are going to the dogs. But in a good way.
They’re no longer just for dumping coats, wet or dirty footwear, or hockey gear. Today’s newest versions are getting a makeover tailored to keeping our four-legged friends clean with dog-wash stations now front and centre.
A number of Edmonton-area homebuilders are adding these mutt-friendly mud rooms as an option on new builds, and previewing them in their show homes. Others have already built some for their clients and these features are in the works or on the radar for new multi-family offerings.
In one of Edmonton’s newest subdivisions, Anthem United’s Glenridding Ravine in the southwest, Homes by Avi and Pacesetter Homes have dog wash stations in their show homes, a first for both.
Carrington Communities, a prominent condominium developer, is discussing the possibility of adding them into future projects. West Block in Glenora, now under construction, will include a ground-floor dog-wash station.
“Our Glenridding Ravine show home is our first showcase of a dog-wash, and here we took the design a little further by adding a built-in dog bed and shelving unit with hooks,” said Priyanka Parihar, marketing specialist with Homes by Avi (Edmonton). “It’s without a doubt a pet owner’s dream.”
It just made sense to use this new subdivision as the neighbourhood to launch these canine corners, said Parihar.
“In Glenridding Ravine specifically, we’re in what is quickly becoming a very pet-friendly area. Just five minutes away is the Paisley Dog Park, which opened in late 2017, and in Glenridding Ravine itself, the community is expected to have nearly six kilometres of interconnected trails. The area in and around is also very well suited to pet owners, with Pet Planet and Petland at nearby Currents of Windermere along with several veterinary clinics,” said Parihar.
“For every buyer group, be it individuals, newlywed couples, a growing family or retirees, we are consistently seeking ways in which we can improve our floor plans and model options to best suit the needs of today’s buyer. We want to provide ways in which we can help our homeowners live easier, and the dog wash is a feature that does just that …”
Buyer reaction has been phenomenal, added Parihar.
“It’s quite a standout feature in the show home, and people are really drawn to the intrinsic value a dog wash brings to their home and family life. It’s a warm and fuzzy feeling, creating a home that is not just functional for you, but for your animals as well.”
At the Pacesetter home, also its first with a dog wash, reaction is positive, said area manager Mark Hampton. “It’s nice to have especially if you have a dog in the spring or the fall,” said Hampton. “People like it. A lot of people have dogs and people see the function of it.”
As with the Homes by Avi version, they’re designed so that they tie into the rest of the house. Pacesetter’s echoes the feel of its master ensuite’s tiled shower as both use the same dark green subway-like tiles, with hints of black, and have identical cabinetry and hardware.
In the Avi home, the same floor tile is employed in the mud room as well as the master ensuite. Tile walls for the dog shower are similar to what is found in the other bathrooms; the dog shower’s darker tiled walls were picked to help hide the dirt.
Clean dog, happy life!
That definitely works for Tanya Breault, owner of two older chocolate labs, Griz who is 12, Mocha who is eight, and one younger black lab, two-year-old Tucker.
“My other homes never did have a dog wash and when you have animals they track a lot of dirt and other unwanted matter into the home,” said Breault, who has always been an animal person having grown up on a ranch. “I always treat my animals like part of the family. They come inside — that’s just how we are.”
When it came time some two years ago to build her dream home on an acreage in Sturgeon County’s Pinnacle Ridge Estates, one of the must-haves was a dog wash.
“When we were going through the house plans — it was a custom home — I said I wanted to put a dog wash into the garage,” said Breault, who didn’t opt for placing it in the mud room.
Being that it would be a four-car, finished garage, there was plenty of space for not just a dog wash but cabinetry to store her dog’s accessories, their food and the cleaning supplies. The space was also configured to have an adjacent door opening directly onto the backyard so that the dogs wouldn’t be tracking mud, dirt or snow too far.
“The dogs really love it,” said Breault, who notes that they had the dog wash built so it was raised off the floor making it easier to wash the dogs. “Of course, when they’re done and we dry them off they do the typical dog shake, which is another reason I like the dog wash in the garage.”
doggone helpful
That’s how Lisa Alves-Antunes, of St. Albert-based Alves Development, describes the new-found popularity of dog washes in new home builds.
Alves built the Breault home and said that over the last two years interest in this option has risen. They also built one of the two grand prize home options in the current Big Brothers Big Sisters Dream Home Lottery and that home includes a dog wash.
“We try to match them with what’s in the house,” said Alves-Antunes. “They can be pretty elaborate. We do them in tile, with a hand-held shower head, similar to what’s in the home. It basically depends on what the customer wants to spend.”
But they’re not just for dogs. “People ask me if it will have value after when you sell your house, but it can have lots of uses,” added Alves-Antunes. “People can wash off their dirty shoes or boots. It just makes for easy cleanup so I think it adds value even if you sell it and the buyer doesn’t have a pet.”
Pricing will vary by builder but expect costs to range from $1,500 to around $2,500 for starters.