I built this dog bed shortly before swapping out fall decorations for Christmas. So sorry it took me so long to share!  It was a spur-of-the-moment “I’m still wearing my bathrobe” idea. I went out back with the dogs and wandered into my shed (aka second residence… it’s HUGE!).  I started digging around in my scrap wood and had an idea.  BUILD A DOG BED FOR ROXY!  I know, I know…. didn’t I JUST build her a dog bed?  Yes, Yes I did. (You can see it here. It’s much fancier!)  In my defense, that dog bed is in my bedroom and she sleeps in it evvvvery night. Makes my heart smile to know how much she loves it.   The NEW dog bed would be for the living room to try to encourage her NOT to sleep on the furniture. She’s a finicky old soul… and I cater to her every whim. Guilty as charged.  Dana = sucker.  Roxy = spoiled.

Back to business…. I ran in the house, measured a standard store-bought $5 bed pillow, then skiddaddled back to the shed. Yes, still in my robe. Stop judging me.

I found some plywood scraps that would work for the sides and then used some leftover furring strips for the front, back and bottom. I used the miter saw to cut the plywood down to size. It was a little tricky because I had to flip the board over and make another cut to go through the full width. No worries though… that laser came in handy!  I also used the miter saw to cut my my furring strips to same-ish lengths. You’ll see in the photo below that I wasn’t particularly careful with this step. See how the strips don’t all quite line up?

The bed was assembled using wood glue and my brad nailer. SUPER simple. No really… SUUUUPER simple. Seriously. I promise. And the plywood already had those blue paint strips on the side. I was going for a very rustic crate look on this project so it didn’t really bother me. I decided I could always add some black paint on the edges and then sand some off for a weathered, worn look.

Next came stain!  At this point I might have had an hour tied up in this project. That even includes my trip back inside to measure a pillow!

One quick coat of dark walnut Minwax stain…

I let the bed dry for the day and was ready to move it inside that evening!  Just to be sure the stain wouldn’t rub off on the carpet, I placed the bed on the bottom shelf of a table. Didn’t seem to bother Roxy one bit!

Don’t mind the bits under the table legs. I’d just had the carpets shampooed and left those to protect the carpet until it was DEFINITELY dry. Better safe than sorry!

The pillow was a perfect fit. I threw a waterproof, washable pillow protector on it and plopped it in the bed. Not too long later…..

It’s so hard to see her. White dog + White pillow + iPhone snapshot = terrrrible exposure and camouflaged dog!

I love the idea of adding a design to the outside. Maybe something on the ends of the crate to make it look like an old apple crate or something of the sort. What do you think?

Please be sure to stop by and visit some of the uh-mazing link parties where I love to hang out. They’re GREAT sources for inspiration, ideas and encouragement.

Special thanks to Home Stories A2Z!

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