I know I spoil my dogs. My reasoning is that, before we got them, they both had difficult lives living homeless on the streets and then doing time in the shelter, so I love to pamper them now that they’re in their forever home. Plus, they’re really cute.
In the spirit of anthropomorphizing, I decided to make them a dog bed that is something special — you know, not the kind you’d pick up at Costco. On top of that, I also wanted it to be an artsy piece of furniture that would match my creative home décor.
So, here’s my canopy dog bed made with an upside-down IKEA Lack side table and a sonotube. If you’re not familiar with the Lack table, it is the ubiquitous parsons-style table that sells for $7.99. No doubt you know someone who owns one. And a sonotube is a cylindrical cardboard tube builders use as a mold for pouring concrete to make support columns. They’re sold at home improvement stores such as Home Depot or Lowe’s.
The simplest way to make the bed would have been just to attach the sonotube canopy to the table and paint it, but because I’m obsessed with Pantone colors, I gave my dog bed a “Panbone” theme and decoupaged it with paint chips, also known as paint swatches. My directions here explain how I put my bed together. For your own version, you can make it as simple or as “ruff” as you’d like.
What you’ll need:
- IKEA Lack side table, white
- 20-inch diameter sonotube
- Mod Podge decoupage glue
- Foam brush
- Permanent spray adhesive
- Acrylic polyurethane
- Colored paper
- Paint chips
- Box cutter
- Screws and screwdriver
- White plastic chain
- Seat cushion
Step 1: Decoupage the tabletop
Step 2: Decoupage the table legs and apron
Step 3: Decoupage the sonotube
Step 4: Attach the canopy
Step 5: Add the rails and cushion