DIY $12 Pet Bed!!

Learn how to build this easy DIY Pet Bed for only $12 in materials with free plans by Shanty2Chic! This is a great beginner project!

I love the way it turned out, and the best part??  This thing cost under $12 in wood to build.  Yup… That makes me love it even more!

I had the whole thing done in a couple hours.  I made this bed to fit a standard smaller dog bed.  I actually found the cushion for the inside at HomeGoods, but you could also use something like this bed on Amazon.  I will be sharing a plan for a large dog bed soon!

 So… Let’s get started!

DIY Pet Bed

Supplies

• 3 – 1x4x8 furring strips
• 2 – 1x2x8 furring strips
• 1 – 2x4x10 furring strips

Step 1 – Build the Base

Start by making your cuts.  The base of this bed is made with 5 2×4 pieces each cut at 22″ long.  I used my ” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Kreg Jig to attach each of them.  I used 1 1/2″ pocket holes and 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws.

 The base looked like this when I was done.

Step 2 – Build the Back

The back of the bed is made with 1×4 furring strip.  I made 3 cuts, each at 22″ long.  I used 3/4″ pocket holes and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws to attach the boards. You can see where I put my pocket holes below.

Step 3 – Attach the Back

To attach the back to the base I used my cordless Ryobi AirStrike Nailer.  I ran a line of Gorilla Wood Glue on the back like this…

Then, I used 1 1/2″ nails to attach it like this…

Step 4 – Build the Sides

Now to make our sides!  Each side use three 1×4″ furring strip cut to 18.25″ and two 1×2″ furring strips cut at 10.25″.

I lined my boards up like below, and ran a line of wood glue down each side.

Next, I used my cordless nailer to attach the 1×2 on each end.

Both sides will also use two 1×2″ cut at 15.25″.  I like to measure before making these cuts.  Wood always varies just a tiny bit and I find that if I measure as I go I get the most accurate cuts, rather than going off of a cut list.  I used wood glue and my nailer to attach these pieces to the top and bottom.

Step 5 – Attach the Sides

Once I had both sides built, I attached them to the base and back.  I put the base on it’s side like this and ran a line of wood glue on the end.

Next, I used my nailer with 2″ nails to attach the sides.  Don’t scrimp on your wood glue.  The nails are basically holding it all in place until the glue dries.

This is what my end looked like attached.

I repeated the same thing with the other side piece and my bed was almost done!

Step 6 – Build the Front

For the front board where his name would be, I used a 1×4 cut at 24″. I used wood glue and my nailer to attach it all the way around.

Step 7 – Build the Feet

Time for feet!   The feet are also made with 1×4.  I cut 4 pieces at 4″ long each.

I used wood glue and my nailer with 1 1/4″ nails to attach each one at the corners.

And that’s it!

Step 8 – Apply a Finish

I chose to stain mine using Varathane Ultimate Wood Stain in Early American.  This stuff is awesome.  Just like Rust-Oleum, it only requires one coat and dries in under an hour.  You can find it at the Home Depot.

Once that dried I used my Ryobi Corner Cat sander to distress the edges.  I love the look this gives the wood.

For the chalkboard label I taped off a rectangle on the front of the 1×4 using painter’s tape.

I used Rust-Oleum Chalkboard Spray paint to make the label.

Here it was drying.

Once it dried, I used my sander to lightly rub the edges just to soften it up a bit.  I used this ” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>wet erase chalk pen to write his name on it.  These are my favorite chalk pens ever.  I use them on all of my chalkboards.

That’s it!  I made this one for my sister’s dog, Gizmo.  I had him come over and try it out so I could photograph it.  What do you think?  He looks like a satisfied customer, right? 😉

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Let me know if you have any questions at all!

I would LOVE for you to share this bed and PIN it with your peeps below!

Have a great day!

~Whitney