Ten Brilliant Ways to Hide Animal Bowls

January 28, 2014

Fun and innovative ways to hide the pet food bowls.

When I added the DIY bench in the mud room we lost space for something important in this house – the animal food. :) We have four animals and their food containers and bowls take up a lot of space. Originally I was planning on adding a feeding station in the mud room but there just wasn’t room.

So now I’m trying to figure out the perfect spot for all of it. We want it where we’ll see it all the time (to remember to keep them alive) but where we don’t have to step over it constantly.

For now we’ve moved the food and water next to this sofa table: long sofa table

This is an old pic but you get the idea of where it is.

But because I’ve had an animal every day of my life and I don’t see that changing in the future, I LOVE the idea of something built in. I gathered a few fun food storage and feeding ideas to share with you today. Some of them are ideas for down the line when we redo our kitchen, others could be done sooner than later.

I found a ton of ideas with the food bowls built in to a kitchen island. I like this one with the jars handy for food and treats:

built in feeding station island

Big SWEETIE.

And THIS one, with the bowls and the drawers with the bone cut outs…I die:

built in dog feeding station island

I know with bigger dogs especially it’s important to have their food bowls up a bit higher to avoid bloat – I don’t know if it’s as big of an issue for little dogs but we have an elevated bowl for ours. I like how these are all built up a bit.

This one ties in the pretty design from over the oven:

built in feeding station island

Sorry for the small pic – by the way if you don’t see a source it’s because I couldn’t find one. If you know where these came from please let me know and I’ll add it!

I love this idea because it shows that you can make a small area super useful:

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I love that these include some storage too – it would be great to have all the animal stuff in one spot, near the food.

This isn’t a feeding area but I loved it – I just wonder if the food would smell if you had it in a kitchen:

built in food drawer

In a mud room or laundry room it would be perfect. And we’d need two, one for the dog food and one for cat food. :)

OK, this isn’t a feeding area either but I couldn't’ resist it:

dog bed shoe storage

Dog and people storage/comfort all in one! (By the way, do you see the sisal rugs at the bottom of the shoe cubbies? Brilliant.)

This one knocked my socks off. I do believe that is a WORKING sink under there people:

built in feeding station animals

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Oh my goodness, our cats would be in HEAVEN.

This one combines two of my favorite things in one – a window seat and smart storage:

built in feeding station for animals

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I would just worry about having their water in there since we like them to have access to that all the time.

This one is just adorable and a lot less involved – no built ins needed:

dog food storage

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SO cute. Too tall for our cats and Peanut but perfect for a bigger dog.

So until I have my dream kitchen with the perfect spot, I thought this was pretty brilliant and I could totally install it myself:

animal feeding station in wall

Anyone have one of these? It looks like the bowls can be pushed back up into the wall when not in use, yes? THIS is smart. Why don’t I think of these things?? They come in a few different colors too.

Do you have a great spot for the animal food? Any fun storage ideas? And where to put that cat litter…well that’s a whole other post. :)

**See how we hid the cat litter here

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Comments

  1. My husband would just die over this post. Animals are an integral part of an family. We rent, so we haven't been able to get a dog yet but we can't wait! I'm filing this away for later.

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  2. We're getting a new puppy in a couple of weeks, and I've been browsing ideas to make a stand for her bowls. I'm not planning to build it in, but I might line a drawer in our laundry room to store her food in there next to her dishes. It's gotta be cute! ;)

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  3. I'd never heard that before, that bowls for larger dogs should be higher up to help prevent bloat. We were advised to use a special bowl which slows down how fast the dog can eat. I'll have to look into this a little further.

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    1. Andrea I've heard both -- that it helps and doesn't, but I think the majority say it does because it's better for their necks and helps prevent them from eating fast. So yours sounds fine!

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    2. Yes, I've read and been told that bigger dogs should have their bowls elevated as it helps with their neck and back. What it exactly does or prevents, that I don't know. But think about it, they sure look a lot more happy when they aren't bending way, way down to get their food. If your dog eats too fast, you can get a ball with holes so they have to work a bit harder to get their food. My friend has one because her dog practically inhales her food otherwise.

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    3. Our shepard use to eat laying down (roman style)!

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  4. So many cute ideas for feeding stations! Love your sofa table and decor in the first pic by the way:)

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  5. Love this post ... and it's so timely! I'm getting ready to build shelving/storage under our breakfast bar (like anyone every sits there anyway - it's too tall and too narrow) and it's right where the pups get fed. Your post has given me some great ideas!! Of course we have two dogs and have to keep their bowls separate (the boy will eat the girl's food - yeah, he's a piglet!) but this can be easily accomplished with all the great ideas out there! Thank you! Stay warm!

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  6. We will be doing some major remolding in the next few months (adding a garage, framing for new mudroom and kitchen expansion) and I love the idea of adding a feeding station for our animals. We keep the dog and cat food in a container in a kitchen cabinet, but I love the idea of adding it to the trash can drawer or built in below a cabinet. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Great post!

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  7. Love it. We have three cats, and they definitely have their own space (and I need to find a better litter solution; works great for them, but not s'much for us!), but nothing this awesome. Can't wait to see what you do.

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  8. Sarah, I love the idea of a built-in feeding station. My favorite is the one with the working sink...my cats, too, would be in Heaven! Can't wait to see a post about where to put those kitty litter boxes! Jill @ Everyday Coziness

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  9. Great post and love your inspiration pics! We have 2 large dogs and 1 indoor-only cat. I would love to combine the clever and pretty storage area with their bowls, as well as find something that my 2 yr old twins would kind of stay out of. They just love making "dog food soup" in the water bowl as soon as my back is turned.. GAHHHHH!!

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  10. Bowls up to prevent bloat is no longer recommended, when I was in college (and a vet tech) my mastiff had it and I did a bunch of research about it because we did feel her elevated. It is actually now recommended NOT to feed them elevated.

    http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/bloat under the heading "How can I prevent bloat/GVD"

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    1. Yeah I've heard both, but our vet still recommends it (for comfort/neck as well), but I'm no expert! Everyone should ask their vets for their thoughts.

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  11. I made a dog feeding station out of an Ikea Algot system! We LOVE it!
    http://www.createbakecelebrate.com/2013/07/create-dog-station.html

    Since your dogs are bigger (ours is only about 50 lbs) you would probably have to adjust the shelving, but it should still work!

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  12. The pullout drawer for dog food shouldn't smell. My pullout garbage doesn't. We have our cat litter box in the basement in a back room with a cat door in the door. The food is in the basement kitchenette area. The dog food is now in our mud room so that it's on tile instead of the kitchen hardwood as the one cat likes to splash the water. The dog food is in the adjacent laundry room in a large rolling plastic container.

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  13. When we remodeled the kitchen, we redesigned the pantry with our two labs in mind. The top half is pantry, the bottom is a separate cedar lined doggy house so they can be comfy and out of the way. When guests come the dogs go outside and I close the door. Probably one of the best projects we ever did.

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  14. Open dog food storage... NO!!! You can smell it... and so can bugs and mice. Definitely have something with a tight lid.

    Trust me...

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  15. Love these ideas! We have two separate areas as our little one is upstairs and our big one down more than not (his buddy, who we sadly lost in June, could no longer do stairs so they stayed there). Would love something built in, particularly upstairs where it is in plain sight.

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  16. We don't have a dog (yet) but I love all the thought that went into the feeding space for mans best friend! I love functional, yet pretty spaces. Glad to be a new follower!
    Tiffany
    http://thiswholehouse.blogspot.com

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  17. I created a nook under my kitchen banquette for the 3# Yorkie as a hideout/feeding station.
    I had a giggle at the next to last pic of the food storage under bowl cabinet with 'SAM' on the side... my old Beagle woulda' had SO much fun with that one!
    Ang
    SoLongFarm.blogspot.com

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  18. I absoultely love all of those ideas!!!! So smart!

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  19. SO many cute ideas. Thanks for sharing, Sarah! Fun to give the pooch an attractive place to dine. :)

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  20. Is it just me or does that last picture remind you of a urinal? Maybe because it is built into the wall and I have 3 sons?

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    Replies
    1. No, it's not just you. That's exactly what I was thinking!

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    2. I was just about to post the same thing! Clever, but I would be weirded out everytime I walked by....

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    3. Little bit. That color doesn't help much. :)

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  21. Our cat boxes are downstairs, luckily we have a downstairs!

    As far as the food goes, just be sure to keep it covered. Some of these show open bins and that is just asking for ants and other bugs to come over. Plus, the food will be fresher if it's covered.

    We have our bowls on the kitchen floor and we are constantly running into them. However, the food is in the pantry next to that spot, so it makes the most sense. If we move the bowls, the food will be further away. This has me thinking of other options though.

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  22. I remodeled and enlarged my laundry room last fall and added a utility sink (never had this luxury before and I love it, btw). While it was being plumbed, I had the contractor run a line for that very same built in water bowl. Got it from gundogsupply.com and I love it because it is never empty. We mounted it on the side of the cabinet under the laundry sink and added a food bowl at the same height on the other side.

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  23. I have the "in-wall" pet feeder. I really like them. It is great that the dogs don't keep knocking over the water bowls anymore. The in wall bowls do not fold up into the wall. They can easily be taken out for cleaning. You just slide them up and out. The only down side I have seen is that the water bowl seems to run out often, but I have a LOT of pets. So far, I love them and would get them again.

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  24. I love some of those built-ins but like you, I'm not a fan of the ones that close up the water. This is what we did for a feeding station. It's not built-in but it at least has a little style. http://www.theimpatientgardener.com/2010/09/classy-doggy-dining.html

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  25. A cat door to the basement is a great way to put litter boxes down there!

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  26. This is what I did for my litter box issues - it's not the most beautiful solution in the world, but it's super practical and incredibly easy to clean: http://screwedonstraight.net/cat-hacks-top-entry-litterbox-for-4-50/

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  27. Um, let's see...my genius idea is her bowls stuck in the corner of the laundry room, with a snap top bucket of food next to it. how's that for clever?!?!

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  28. Hi Sarah! Oh my goodness, what a fabulous compilation of built-in feeding stations! I have seen some cool ones on Pinterest, but nothing as cool as these! We do not have a built-in station for our 90-pound Boxer, Titan, but when we renovate our kitchen, it is something I would LOVE to incorporate since {like you} I think we will always have a pet in our lives. Can't wait to see what you decide on AND the progress in your mudroom!

    - Tasha @ Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body {http://www.designertrapped.com}

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  29. They all look great, but one of our dogs really wouldn't like putting his head into anything to eat. He is very nervous- scared of brooms, electric cables, hoovers, a plastic bag next to his food bowl...- and our other dog would have no qualms at all ;-) but he really wouldn't like it. (They were both rescue dogs).

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  30. Love all these ideas! My problem is the littler box for my house cats, I never know where to put it. any ideas???

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  31. I only have cats so I don't know how this would work for houses with dogs. I have a cat door installed in the pantry door and the food and water bowls are in there so they are out of site and don't get kicked over. There is a cat door in a hallway closet and the litter box is in there, again out of site.

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  32. They're all great! I can tell you one thing though. That set-up in the first shot wouldn't work for us. My Edgar would take care of those treats in no time! ;)

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  33. The people who we bought our house from redid the kitchen a in 2010, and installed cabinets to make a U shape. They put the trash bin all the way on the opposite side of the U - this isn't making a good visual . . . Anyway, they put the trash bin in such a location that we would have to walk around the bar to throw anything away. We ended up getting a stainless steel trash bin for the trash, and using the built-in trash bins for dog food and recycling. You can smell the food right around the bin, but since it's out of the way, we can't smell it unless we're standing in front of it.

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  34. These are great ideas! But I hope my dog doesn't see this post - she may go into a severe depression cuz we just slap her bowl on the floor in the laundry room. LOL! Julia

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  35. I'm pretty sure the Lab in that first picture is just staring at the treat jars, waiting till the photographer walks away so he can knock them over and help himself. At least that's what mine would be doing... :)

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  36. Thank you for addressing an issue that so many of us deal with on a daily basis! I loved the post and have learned so much today just by reading the comments! We really appreciate you and your insights, Sarah.

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  37. maybe it's been commented on before, but on the last photo... wouldn't the food fall out when tipped up to close? just my observation :)

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  38. BTW -can you show a close up of your drapes in the first picture or is there a link to these?

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  39. I thought the last one was really cool! Something we NEED, till I looked at the price...Yowzers!

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    1. Yeah I didn't notice that at first either. Trying to think of how I could DIY it. ;)

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    2. Please do figure out how to DIY that! I saw those a few months back and decided not to buy them because of the price and many of the reviews said they were flimsy. I would love to copy whatever great thing you come up with. ;-)

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  40. http://www.bobvila.com/secret-compartment/46819-storage-where-you-least-expected-it-10-sly-spots-to-stash-your-stuff/slideshows?bv=mp#!7

    I just found this one!!! It could be an easier solution!

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