Our crates are in our (generous) clutter room. I have a few friends with in home kennels - one was even featured in Architectural Digest years ago. The only reason I didn't do an actual kennel room was because we really do want the dogs with us most of the time. That said I am a huge proponent of crate training, not only for housebreaking but because a dog needs it's own sanctuary and most importantly it's for the dog's protection. I cannot even begin to list the number of things I have taken out of dogs' GI tracts. Not to mention chewing electric cords etc. Our clutter room has a dutch door. I really admire those of you who allow your dogs free roam of the house at all times...... we live on a farm, mud, horse crap, burrs etc are part of our live. Without a full time maid I would spend the large majority of my time cleaning up dogs or their footprints etc. ( we have 4). When they come in from outdoors it's essential to have a place to contain the dirt/mud etc. For us it's the clutter room and/or crates. PD

cindyandmocha, I honestly wasn't referring to your post at all. I completely got what you were trying to convey and I totally agree. Something else about crating people often don't understand is it should never be used for punishment. It's supposed to be their safe haven, like a bedroom would be for a child. Punish them to it and they will not enjoy being there. We don't punish our dog. We use positive reinforcement instead and as a result we'll often find her relaxing in her crate. We seldom ever close the door, but when we do, she still doesn't mind. I think it really helped to make her feel secure in her new home. She was one of 11 so very used to company and we ended up having to bring her home at the young age of 6 weeks. From day one the crate has been her spot and she never cried once for her mother or siblings, not even at night. She also gets a little put out when the cat decides to give the crate a try. She knows it's hers and likes that. But I do have to say, she doesn't sleep with us unless we crash downstairs on a Saturday night. She sleeps downstairs and we're upstairs. If you have more then one pet, it does seem to help. Our cat seems to fill any void she'd have if she were alone instead. I don't believe that one style will fit all. Our dog is a Lab, very even tempered and eager to please. The techniques we used may not work well with another breed or dog. You sort of have to customize each technique to fit your situation.

Wow! Who would have thought there'd be so many companies making these disguises for crates? Based on what I can tell, I'm partial to the ones from Crate Haven. For me, it's desirable to be able to slip a standard metal crate inside, thus averting possible cleaning or chewing issues. Of course, the real issue is where to put these things. Our dogs are medium/large, so these are not small crates I'm dealing with. I'd prefer to have them back in the kitchen/service area and not in the living room. Pretty stupid of me to get this far into the design process without considering this. So those of you that are still planning: Take note! I've emailed our architect and we're going to see if we can reconfigure the mudroom to accomodate the crates. We'll compare the cost of having the cabinet maker build in something to what crates from Crate Haven will cost - sort of a hybrid solution, maybe, combining Allison0704's concept with the Crate Haven concept. It means I'll lose some storage cabinets, but c'est la vie. I'll let you know how it turns out (many months down the road).....Thanks, everyone.

OMG I love those Medallion kitchen cabinet doors! I've gone so far as to replicate them. I LOVE LOVE LOve their lines! I've had a pic of them forever, and have not given up on the idea of buying the doors for other cabinetry. My replicas are pretty darned good, though. LOVE them. I also live and breathe for inset cabinetry. It makes me go, "ahhhhooooooohhhhhhaaaaaaaa..." I disagree with FriedaJane that there is "a lot of lost space" with inset cabinetry. This has been beaten to death, but once the inset cabinets are put together, they're brought out to match the 12.75" "standard" cabinets, which makes the inside space the same. I'm here to tell you. Plus, if you were to order them, you can order them as deep as you'd like. (Brian @ The Cabinet Joint.com does it for me, yet the ones I've picked up at the H4H were the same depth!) A couple of commercial (Norcroft) base cabs I bought before I knew any better have really stupid upper drawers: 3" tall. Just look at that and get what you want. I've never heard that independent carpenters can't make frameless. It's so much easier than inset, because there's so much less precision. I'm one, who has no set, follow-the-lines design style. I think you can achieve a combination of the items you enjoy, and it'll look collected, vs. purchased. I feel sorry for people who buy the showroom and talk about their "eye." I must admit, that table is over the top fancy and oh, so fun. Right now I'm negotiating a butt-ugly armoire on CL. It's so ridiculously contrived it makes me laugh every time I look at it. Someone has painted it, so it's fancy-ness is somehow under control, but again, so over the top. If I get it, I'll make it work and love it. I really look forward to seeing what you bring together!