Dog Kennel Console Table (Reclaimed Materials)

Some of my most favorite projects that my husband and I have created for our home are that which we have crafted using reclaimed materials. Although the use of reclaimed items sometimes takes a bit more work, inovation, and problem solving skills versus building from new materials, the end result is very satisfying. You allways end up with something unique that has a character of it's own. It is quite fun to enjoy the new use of a reclaimed item and know the little secrets of it's past.

Our most recent project is a console dog kennel for our new puppy. I knew I wanted to reclaim a baby bed for this project but I didn't want the kennel to look like a baby bed when we got finished. I thought about the size of our little dog and the specific place in our home that we will display and use it. I knew I wanted a decent height and table top area there as well and I decided that a really tall kennel area for a small dog would be kind of silly but a short kennel/bench type piece was not something I would actually use well in my space. As I pondered the design concept and scanned the internet for ideas, I saw a photo of a mud bench that had been reclaimed by cutting a coffee table in half lengthwise and butting the halves up end to end. Bingo! That gave me a great idea because we had replaced our living room tables a few months back and I couldn't bear to throw out my old coffee table (which was now taking up some major space in my office at our shop). I asked my husband if he thought it would be possible to cut the coffee table in half and put the kennel (baby bed rails) into the bottom of the piece. He said we could do it so I measured the length of my wall space, my desired console height, and the width and height of our current metal kennel.

Next, I drafted a pattern for a beautiful parquet table top design and with plans and measurements in hand, we started on the build that utilized not ONE but TWO old items to create this beautiful piece of usable furniture that we and our dog can enjoy for years to come.

Step 1: Gather Materials and Tools

Here are the materials and tools that we used on this project:

Tools:

• Miter Saw
• Table Saw
• Circular Saw
• Band Saw
• Router Table, router, and bit
• Brad Nailer
• Orbital Sander
• Belt Sander
• Clamps
• Drill & Bits
• Welding Machine and Rods
• Paint Brushes and Sponges
• Paint Tray
• Crow Bar
• Square
• Pocket Jig
• Vice
• Torch
• Screw Drivers

Materials:

• Baby Bed
• Coffee Table
• One 3/4" 4x8 sheet of plywood
• One 1/2" sheet of plywood (we used some left over plywood scrap)
• Metal 1 1/4" Flat Bar
• (4) small Rollers (for sliding glass door, rivets included)
• Screws
• Brads
• 1/2" metal tubing (approx. 4" total length of material)
• (4) 1"x1/4" blind rivets with screws
• Wood Glue
• Tack Cloth
• Painter's Tape
• Blue Shop Towels
• Flat Black Spray Paint
• Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner
• Water Based 1-2-3 Primer
• General Finishes: Water Based Stain ( I chose Espresso color)
• General Finishes Water Based Milk Paint ( I chose Red Brick color)
• General Finishes Water Based Glaze Effects ( I chose Pitch Black color)
• General Finishes Water Based High Performance Top Coat ( I chose flat finish)

Step 2: Disassembly of Coffee Table

We removed all of the old hardware and took the metal legs off of the coffee table. Then, we removed the top. Next, we removed the drawer and cut it down to my desired length. Finally we cut the table lengthwise at my desired width.

Step 3: Adding the Plywood for Structural Support

We cut the plywood to our desired width and height and mounted it to the back of the coffee table using a pocket jig, screws and wood glue. A floor was also installed into the base using the same method. It was then clamped and left to dry overnight.

Step 4: Cutting the Rails and Legs

My husband used a band saw to cut the baby bed pieces to form the kennel rails, front legs, and facing piece to our desired height and widths.

Step 5: Attach the Front Support Legs

We predrilled our front leg attachment points then glued, squared, and screwed them into place. These were clamped and left to dry overnight.

Step 6: Attach the Kennel Rails

The kennel rails were then glued and screwed into the base of the coffee table (that now had legs) to attach and anchor to. Clamps were installed and the project was left to dry overnight.

Step 7: Cut Table Top Pieces

We cut, fit and assembled a plywood top to serve as a base for the table top. The old coffee table top was then cut into strips that were used to cut the pieces of the parquet top according to the plan that I drew up (as shown in the photo).

Step 8: Assemble Parquet Center Square Pieces

Next, we fit the pieces together according to my plan using wood glue to form it together. We used a homemade jig to temporarily hold the square pieces together tightly while the glue dried. This helped ensure that we had everything square during fitting the assembly and enabled us to mount the parquet to our table top more easily. We let the pieces dry overnight. Once the glue dried, we used the belt sander to even out the outer edges.

Step 9: Glue the Parquet Top Into Place

Now that our three fitted squares were dry, we applied wood glue to the table top base and centered the front and left border pieces around the perimeter (making allowances for the trim pieces that would be installed in the next step.) The three fitted squares and center separator borders were placed in next working from the center of the table to outer edges on both sides. The final two border pieces were placed into the back and right side, then everything was clamped in place and brad nailed.

Step 10: Making and Installing the Trim Pieces

We cut some 1/2" plywood scrap lumber that we had in the shop into 1 1/2" wide strips to serve as trim. The top trim pieces where mitered at the corners, and we routered the bottom edge. The middle trim pieces that we placed where the top joined the bottom rails, were mitered, and routered on both edges. We hand sanded all the trim pieces. Finally, the trim pieces were then glued and brad nailed around the top and also the middle area where the table top joins the kennel section.

Step 11: Fill and Sand

We filled and sanded the parquet top, trim pieces, and all other places on the kennel console table where needed using orbital sander and hand sanding. Working from heavy grit to fine grit sandpapers.

Step 12: Stain the Tabletop

Since the wood is a soft pine, we treated it with pre-stain before applying the stain. To apply stain, sponge on and then wipe away excess untill you have your desired shade. Once the stain dried completely, we lightly sanded it witth 220 grit sandpaper.

Step 13: Paint on the Primer

We chose to prime our piece since there were two different types and colors of wood. Our goal in priming first was to achieve a more even finish. I ended up having to apply 4 coats of primer (allowing each coat to dry completely in between coats.)

Step 14: Paint on the Color

I chose red for the color and this took 3 coats of General Finishes Milk paint. Each coat of paint was allowed to dry completely in between coats.

Step 15: Glazing

Only one coat of glaze was required to achieve the look I was going for. The glaze was applied with a foam brush onto small sections at a time and wiped away with a blue shop towels before moving to the next sections. I chose to leave the walls and floor inside the kennel area unglazed to get a contrast effect.

Step 16: Protective Top Coat

Once the glaze had cured and dried, I added 4 coats of top coat to seal and protect the console kennel table since it will need to stand up to heavy use.

Step 17: Build the Sliding Barndoor Style Hardware

My husband cut the flat-bar for the upper and lower guide rails using the band saw. He sanded all of the cut areas with the belt sander to keep everything smooth and snag free. He cut the length 1 1/2" longer than the front of the kennel and put a 90 degree bend at each end by heating the ends with a torch and using a vice to hold it while bending the angle. Because of the longer length of the guide rails, he cut (4) spacers from metal tubing and welded it into the back side of the bars to serve as extra support. Next, he cut (2) 2" long strap pieces and (2) shorter 1 1/2" strap pieces from the flat-bar, and drilled two holes on each end to enable mounting. Then he welded the two 1 1/2" straps on both ends of the top guide rails and welded the 2" straps to the bottom the guide rails to allow the guide rails bars to mount to the front of the kennel. (2) door straps were cut to fit the height of the door piece to mount the door. The door straps were then drilled at the center of the top and bottom ends for attaching the rollers. The rollers were then attached to the holes at the ends of the straps with the 1/4" rivets that were included in the package with the rollers. The completed pieces were then spray painted with flat black spray paint and left to dry completely.

Step 18: Mount Hardware and Hang Door

Finally, the drawer pulls were remounted to the top section and the guide rails were installed into the kennel using screws. We hung the door with blind rivets, taped off the areas around the screws and rivets so we could protect the furniture and spray painted the screw heads. We were now completely finished with building and assembling the project. Our puppy loves his his new space and he was voluntarily going inside of it during the days we were building this project.

Step 19: Put Your Dog in the Kennel

The final step is to style your tabletop decorations, put your dog inside the kennel and enjoy for years to come! Thank you for reading. We would also really appreciate your vote in the Reclaimed Contest in the box at the header of this page. Happy Reclaiming.