Say Goodbye To The Eyesore Of A Dog Crate With A Clever DIY Solution

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While they're often cozy and comforting dens for our pets, large wire dog crates almost always look clunky, subsequently making the room around them appear crowded and unsightly. Luckily, you can turn your unattractive dog crate into a modern dog house by creating a chic fabric kennel cover for it. This gives the illusion that the kennel is a piece of furniture and looks similar to a decorative counter. While the DIY fabric curtains cover the sides of the crate, a wooden board on top really transforms this kennel cover, helping it to blend in with your decor. For this project, you'll need some scrap fabric to create the curtains and wooden planks or a large wooden board for the top.

Any fabric will work for this, and it could be a perfect way to reuse old bed sheets, curtains, or tablecloths for a pleasantly low-cost DIY. As long as the material matches your space, your kennel cover will look stylish. If you're concerned that the wooden top will be too heavy for the top of the crate, you can construct a wooden frame as well that fits around the kennel. Paint or stain, meanwhile, will make the wooden aspects of your cover look fashionable and match your furniture, turning that eyesore of a crate into an eye-catching decor addition.

Even if you aren't the sewing type, you should be able to easily craft the fabric portions of your cover by using a heat bond product, such as HeatnBond Iron-On Adhesive, or fabric glue instead of a needle and thread. Measure the sides of the crate to get the correct sizes for your fabric pieces. Cut individual panels to hang over each side like curtains, cutting them a little larger than their respective crate side so you can hem the edges a bit for a clean look. Add button snaps to individual curtain pieces along the top edge to clip them onto the crate. Alternatively, attach the four side pieces to a piece that goes on the top of the crate, which will allow you to drape the cover directly over the kennel. Lastly, attach two ribbons to the door-side fabric panel to hold the curtain whenever you need to roll it up.

If you only want a tabletop, join several boards (such as 1-by-6 pieces) of the same length along their edges by applying wood glue and drilling pocket holes. Or, simply use one large wooden board cut to fit the top of the dog crate. Stain the wood, and set it on the crate for an adorable look. For extra support, you could instead make the wood surface slightly larger than your crate and attach four legs that are taller than the kennel onto the corners, enclosing the crate between them. Paint or stain your frame and tabletop before screwing them together. Now, simply set the frame over the kennel, and use the top as a functional surface to store dog items or even hold small pieces of decor.