I made this dog bed for the newest member of our family Chase,It was a very quick build using pine boards reclaimed from a skip, the boards are usually used for packing materials on pallets that you have to stop moving around such as batteries, broken and cut boards are often discarded and would otherwise end up being burned or sent to a landfill and I also used off cuts from my workshop shelves!

I made a video of the project for my channel BCDesign on Youtube, please watch like and subscribe if you like it!!

Kreg Jig R3
Hand saw or Mitre saw
Hammer
Drill
Screwdriver
Wood glue
Milk Paint
Water based Lacquer
23 1/2"x17 1/4" of plywood for the base
For the sides I used 7 1/2" wide reclaimed pine boards you will need at least an 82" length
for the side post Iused 2"x2" offcuts from my workshop shelves each of the 4 corner posts are 7 1/2" tall

Step 1: Cut Your Boards to Size

I cut the 4 corner posts to 7 1/2" long
I cut the front and rear pieces to 23 1/2" long
The side pieces are cut to 17 1/4" long

Step 2: Use Your Kreg Jig to Drill the Pocket Holes and Join the Sides to the POsts

I drilled 3 pocket holes on each end of sides of the box
I used two 1/2" pieces of osb to raise the side pieces up off the bench when clamping and joining them to the corner posts,this means the sides were attached to the center of the 2x2 corner posts.
I then used a kreg clamp and pocket hole screws with some wood glue to join the box together.
Before joining the front on I cut a large curve out to allow the puppy to easily enter and exit the box.

Step 3: Cut Plywood & 2x1 to Size to Form the Bottom of the Bed

Measure the inside of your dog bed and cut the 4 2x1s to length, glue and screw them in as support for the plywood base
Next measure and cut your plywood base to fit inside the box
I cut a piece of trim and glued and tacked it to the front of the bed to hide the screw holes.
I used quick drying wood filler to cover the pocket holes before paint.

Step 4: Cut & Paint Your Dog Bone Name Plate

I cut out a dog bone shape to put the dogs name on
I sprayed it white
Use some carbon paper to copy out your dogs name and paw prints in whatever typeface you like
Next use a black permanent marker to fill in the name and paw prints
I used a spray lacquer to cover this for some extra durability

Step 5: Use Milk Paint to Finish the Bed

I used a dark blue milk paint for the first outer coat of paint on the bed and grey as the inner coat
Allow the first coat of paint to dry
Next I add the first coat of Lacquer
When the lacquer is dry,I use a light blue paint with a technique called dry brushing.
Dry brushing is when you put a very small amount of the paint on a brush and just scuff the the surface in random places, this makes the paint job look old and slightly worn
Add a final coat of lacquer to protect the dry brushing
Use some screws to attach the bone with your dogs name on it to the bed and add a nice soft cushion