Creating a Multipurpose Dog Crate

 Creating a Multipurpose Dog Crate

By Basic Organization team member Debbie Baker.

Need an economical, easy, space-saving DIY idea for your dog’s crate? How about turning it into a bedside table?

I recently downsized from a single-family home to a small townhouse. I needed to get serious about purging possessions and being creative with those that I couldn’t part with. One was my dog and his crate! Dogs love to sleep near their owners anyway, so having the crate as a bedside table works great. I needed a cheap, but attractive, top for the crate and came up with this solution. Which by the way required practically no tools (most of which I’d purged in the move!).

The first thing I did was measure the top of the crate carefully, to get the measurements for the ¼” plywood. Off I went to the home improvement superstore for my supplies. I had the plywood cut by a clerk, and then I used their miter saw and box to cut the trim that I’d chosen for the top’s frame. It was easy to purchase a small can of stain/poly mix to match my bedroom furniture. Once home I used wood glue to secure the trim to the edges of the wood and clamped them until dry. To hide the inevitable (at least for me) gaps I used stainable caulk, and when that was dry I applied the stain. That’s it!

My dog loves his home, and I’m happy that it isn’t taking up valuable real estate in the middle of the room!  Creating this multipurpose dog crate was just what I needed.