Asked on Jan 12, 2013

What would you do with this?

Mary Insana
by Mary Insana
I found a place that has this vintage dog crate for sale.I didn't buy it.....yet. It was from an estate of a lady that used to show dogs. In one of the other pictures it was a little engraved plaque with a dogs name on it. Wouldn't it be great to use as an end table and prop it open for your doggie or kitty to take a nap? I was thinking of maybe a little off white chalk paint and distress it. All ideas are welcome :)
  9 answers
  • Z Z on Jan 13, 2013
    Mary what a neat find. I've seen end tables that were also dog crates so that's a great idea. If you wanted to dress it up more you could add legs/feet and a routed edge top to make it look more like a piece of furniture too.
  • Gail Salminen Gail Salminen on Jan 13, 2013
    @Mary I. I think the end table idea is an excellent one! I like you idea of the chalk paint, maybe consider where it is going to be before you decide on the colour. You may want to accent another colour from the room. I am partial to a combo of furniture paint with a finished wood top - to me it adds richness and class :) I notice some type of a rectangular piece, not sure it can be removed, but if not you could add a piece of leather to that area. Please post your results, love to see the rewards of one's efforts. Thanks for sharing.
  • Mary Insana Mary Insana on Jan 13, 2013
    I didn't buy it yet. I wanted to think about it first since its $75
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Jan 13, 2013
    Clean it up, disinfect it good and then just wipe it down with some wax or a good wood polish...not a lot of work and expense required. If you have kids, let it be a toy chest! It could actually become a playhouse for their stuffed animals! What fun they could have. And the top could hold books, a lamp, even a sit on the floor coloring table...a tray of crayons and coloring books on top! No
  • Z Z on Jan 13, 2013
    Ouch. That's a bit steep, isn't it?
  • Mary Insana Mary Insana on Jan 13, 2013
    Jeannette, I do have kids.....a 20 year old son and 16 year old daughter, its my furbabies that would go in it to get away from each other. Three kitties and a little dog. Becky, the price is high and thats whats keeping me from buying right now. Its at an "antique" store, thats why its priced so high. I'd offer less though and see if they'd take it :)
  • Love the side table idea - and you could store blankets inside
  • Xena Nierobisz Xena Nierobisz on Jan 13, 2013
    what about cleaning and painting it and then adding some shelves inside ( maybe even 1) and transforming it into wine bottle storage? just an idea:)
  • Mary Insana Mary Insana on Jan 13, 2013
    I LOVE the idea of a wine rack. This could be something I re-purpose as a gift for my siste in law and her husband. They could use the end table space, love vintage things and love wine. I really want to get into re doing furniture and selling it but I guess I'm a little afraid to take the plunge since I dont have a lot of work space or storage space. I do like the blanket storage idea too. I always have blankets and throw all over the family room after the kids are down there. Not that they'd pick them up lol. They'd probably ball them up and see how many they could shove in.