Pet Bed

Marj MRC Creations
by Marj MRC Creations
4 Materials
$20
Easy
What better feeling is there than to make something out of something you got free? Okay, so it does mean I pulled over onto the side of the road to pick through someone's garbage, but I have no pride. No, really, I don't. ;)
I've seen many drawer projects here at Hometalk, and everywhere else online and when I spotted two drawers in a pile of rubbish, I had to grab them. They were pretty disgusting, but nothing some cleaning couldn't change. I decided to turn one of them into a pet bed. Here is what I did. I hope you find ideas for any spare drawers you may have in your home, or your friends' homes, or you know, the garbage somewhere ... don't knock it 'til you try it!
Pretty gross, right? I had to peel off that contact paper and it was covered in dust and, gasp, cobwebs! It took some elbow grease, but well worth it.
I painted a coat of latex primer, Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 and then two coats of Americana Decor chalk paint, in Primitive, on the outside and a homemade navy chalk paint, three coats, for the inside. Recipe that I use is: Mix 1/3 cup of plaster of Paris and 1/3 cup of cool water; stir until completely smooth. Mix that with 1 cup of latex paint and stir thoroughly.
Because the bottom was still tacky from residual glue from the contact paper, I decoupaged some black tissue paper and gave it three coats of Mod Podge for durability. I had filled the holes left from removing the drawer handle and printed out some Nova Scotia tartan print and cut a dog bone out of that, adding it to the drawer facade for decor, using white glue and three coats of Mod Podge on that as well.
For fun, I used painters tape on the sides to create some lines in bright colours.
I bought some deck topper posts to use as feet and primed, then painted them in white. They cost around $4 each at most hardware stores. My husband helped me figure out how to screw them into the bottom of each corner, which I reinforced from the inside with a small block of wood. The whole drawer and four feet were waxed and buffed.
I stuck some felt pads on the wooden feet so as not to scratch the floor.
I filled the drawer with a poofy cushion and that was that!
Sammy seems to enjoy it quite a bit! :)
Suggested materials:
  • Drawer   (Trash!)
  • Chalk paint   (bought and homemade)
  • Wood feet (pretreated deck post toppers)   (Home Depot)
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  • Sherry Sherry on Mar 17, 2019

    Super cute Sammy! And the bed is great

  • FarmerTracy FarmerTracy on Jun 27, 2020

    I absolutely love it! Very creative. I have some drawers I’ve been saving & will definitely be copying your dog bed

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