6 Reader Space: Take Notation of this Pet Station!

I have been getting some questions and comments about pet stations, so I know that this week's Reader Space will definitely give many of you oodles of happy tingles.  And even non-pet owners can find insane amounts of inspiration from the project being featured today, because it's just that fabulous!

Jane {who is also one of my AMAZING sponsors!} wrote:

Hi Jen! 

I don't even know how I found your blog, but I love it!  I'm addicted to organizing, and it's nice to find that I'm not alone!

I wanted to share a little project with you that I know non-organizers might find to be silly - but for me it totally made my day.  There was an odd "nook" in our basement, in the area that led from the guest room and TV room to the guest bathroom and laundry area.

When we moved in in May we made that space home to the pet feeding station and the cat litter boxes. It was functional, but not attractive.  Last week I was inspired to dress it up on the cheap. Since the updates are spread over three blog posts, I've attached one "after" photo that has numbers.  Here are the explanations that coordinate with those numbers:

1. I designed and built this work table to hide the cat litter boxes and create a laundry folding & gift wrapping station.  I used fabric and an old curtain rod to create a skirt to further hide the litter boxes.  There's a shelf under the top of the table that holds my wrapping paper and photo frame storage bins, and the little glass jars on top of the table hold ribbons, tape, pens and scissors.  
2. Dog food bins - each dog is on a different special diet - are labeled with the dogs' names and their feeding portions, to make things easy for our pet sitter.
3. The cats eat on this shelf.  The dogs were still stealing their food, so we created a barrier by inserting a coordinating drawer for the wardrobe / bookshelf.  A little opening is cut in the drawer so the cats can still jump in.  Now the dogs leave it alone!
4. Both dogs and one cat are on medications, so I created a little "pet pharmacy that is both cute and functional.  The jars are all labeled with pet names and dosages - again, making things easy for the pet sitter.  And the boyfriend.
5. I corralled all my candle junk into some white boxes, and added some colorful labels to pretty them up a bit. 
6. (not numbered) I used more leftover fabric to dress up the small basement window, and I added a grid of 8x10 pet photos to the wall (not shown).  I just thought it was fitting artwork, and I already had the stuff on hand.

The whole project took me a few hours - spread out over a few days - and cost only $45 - for the hardwood boards I used to build my table.  Now, every time I walk in to feed the pets or do laundry, the space just makes me feel good.  Gotta love results like that. And now my overnight guests don't have to see a mess when they walk to their bathroom.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Here's the link to the "pet pharmacy" project: http://theborrowedabode.com/2010/08/pet-feeding-station-part-2-pretty-pet-pharmacy/
Here's the link to the final stages of the project: http://theborrowedabode.com/2010/08/before-after-multifunctional-basement-nook/
Here's the first part of the project - the least exciting bit. http://theborrowedabode.com/2010/08/pet-feeding-station-part-1/

Take care!
-Jane

Totally incredible right?!  Let's check out some more eye sugar from Jane's project, shall we?!

That under table storage really get's my heart racing!  So SMART!

Seriously incredible!  IHeart these labeled jars!

I can't even begin to explain how genius this whole setup is!  Her small time and moola investment, now gives her kitties a safe to place munch down their food, tells her pet-sitters all the necessary information to keep the pets safe and healthy, her space is personalized and beautified and has a ton of concealed storage, not to mention a whole work table!!!  I could go on and on, but her picture really says it all so perfectly!

Although pet's come with A LOT of extra stuff, such as foods, meds, grooming supplies, leashes, etc... Jane has shown an inspiring and easy solution to keeping it all under control, and look good while doing it!!

Thanks Jane for taking time to write and share your incredibly creative pet solution!

P.S.  Have an awesome story to share?  How about some organizing tips and tricks?  Maybe a project completed from an inspiration found?  Please send your story and photos to iheartorganizing@gmail.com and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!