How to DIY a pet bed that finally fits your style.
How to DIY a stylish pet bed that finally fits your interior style.
When I first got a puppy, shopping for the essentials frustrated me immensely. I had a very specific interior taste, but all affordable and essential dog accessories were buck ugly. So, I did what any sane woman would do, I “pinterested“ the perfect dog collection for Missy. Who doesn’t have it, the hundred recipe boards, a secret wedding board (even if you’re already happily married) and at least one, who am I kidding, several dog/cat related boards (dog parent or not).
Alas, I found a bunch of really cute dog beds that I did like but just didn’t love. I had just moved across the Atlantic, sorting out all my belongings and throwing away years’ worth of unloved “stuff” I had accumulated that I was determined to only get a dog bed I truly loved. After a couple of days researching and only finding overpriced dog furniture or Australian websites with the kind of style I wanted - nothing wrong with Australia but I truly believe in sustainable shopping and ordering a dog bed from the other side of the world does not fit into my world view. Sadly, the environment over style.
I envisioned my bed to offer Missy perfect comfort, be slightly elevated, have cushion rolls and higher sides to offer a sense of protection. It was simple you would think…in my head it looked something like the sketch below.
One day I browsed through Target, as you do, and fell in love with the most precious floor pillows and matching side rolls. From there my mind went a million miles a second and made up this grand chaise like furniture in my mind. I knew I had to realize this vision and give Missy the fancy bedding she was born to sleep on.
This is what I did:
Plan!
Approach the project well organized, take a pen and paper or your iPad and sketch away. If you feel super plush, make a mood board for it (especially helpful if you are envisioning an entire dog nook or room. Then go through your measurements! It might be good to either know exactly which pillow to get or to make them yourself (in case your measurements are not standard). To plan also means to budget. Make sure you know exactly what your project will be costing to not be surprised in the end. I spend all together about $65 for the bed itself. I spoiled Missy rotten with the cushions and payed around $100 on them, though you can of course go a lot cheaper. Especially if you make them yourself.
Size does matter!
Make sure the bed is the right size for your pooch! I googled all kinds of recommendations but before I finalized my decision. Therefore, do your research and compare with what size beds you may already have at home. Here’s a quick list for reference. However, every dog is different. Consider your puppy’s sleeping habits when deciding on the size:
XS Poochies: Less than 20 lbs: ca. 20’’ x 30’’
Small sugar pups to 40 lbs: ca. 25” x 35“
Medium doggies 30-60 lbs: ca. 36” x 30“
Big babes, 60-90 lbs: ca. 47” x 37“ x 10”
Shop.
Get your wood, screws (hinges if necessary) and legs. If you measure everything beforehand ordering online is easy peasy.
Get to Work
Be sure you feel comfortable with a screwdriver. Depending on how big your bed is going to be, you may want to have someone help holding the boards to give you extra support. I did it all by myself and nearly killed myself more than once (not recommended).
Done
Put it all together and be excited about your project. Post it online and tag me, I’d love to see your pet beds!
According to the measurements of the pillows, I drew up a sketch, made sure it would be big enough for my pupper and made my way to Lowes and
I had two big obstacles: Though I’d consider myself pretty handy, I had no tools whatsoever, no one to ask to help me and no idea how things worked here, a German girl lost in the big city. So Tool Time Karen had to think of something.
I wanted to keep the project as simple as possible. I could always plush it up later I thought. So, I went for super simple: Prepacked wood! These usually come in very “common” sizes and you don’t have to mix and match as much.
I had the boards cut at the store (each cut was only 50 cents more), and stained them at home (I used a clear stainer)
Feet: The land of the free and home of tapered legs. Perfect for my mid-century minimalist interior style I picked 1.5-in x 6-in tapered legs that I ordered on Lowes’ website and picked up in store a couple of days later.
What you need:
Pillows, matching the size you need. I got mine from Target, similar to these
Wood, I used white pine board, cut into three pieces for the sides and one big board as the base.
Table Legs, I used round tapered legs, 6’’ . Get them from Lowe’s here (not affiliated)
Angle Top Plates (for the mid-century look). like these.
Plenty of screws
Screwdriver (and Drill)
Hinges matching your bed size, you can find small brass colored ones in more decorative designs like here, if you are working on a small bed!
Problems I ran into, so you don’t:
Meassurement:
Indeed, I ran into one problem: due to the precut dimensions of the boards, the corners of the sides did not meet (and yes, I thought to myself when I figured it out before I got the wood: I’ll make it work SOMEHOW). I fixed this with golden hardware angles, actually hinges - this stabilized the walls even more. In the end it looked really pretty too, but in hindsight I should have just done it right from the get-go.
Ask for help:
If you don’t have professional equipment like a carpenter bench etc. please get a friend to help you. I was struggling with the accuracy and screwing in the screws evenly in a right angle. Damn near killed me. Big no go! If you work with heavy tools like a drill etc. please don’t do it alone, unless you have he-man or Wonder Woman strength arms and can hold and balance several big boards together long enough.
So why should you build your own pet bed? Not only is it super satisfying to make something yourself but this way you have full control over your home aesthetics, in a price friendly and sustainable way.
I am super happy with how the bed turned out and would recommend anyone to tackle a project like this if style were important to them.
Post your projects online and tag me to be featured in my stories!