Whenever we’re working on a project, our dog Layla is always by our side making sure everything goes according to plan. Given that she’s a valuable part of our team, we thought it was only appropriate that she has her own dedicated space to relax at our shop.

You can watch the entire build video on Youtube >>>

Before diving into the build, we listed our must-have features for her bed.

First, it needs to be enclosed to minimize dust and debris build up.
Second, it has to cover and house her food and water bowls.
Lastly, it needs to be off the ground to separate her bed from the cold concrete floor.

We browsed Pinterest for inspiration and found a few designs we really liked, so we mixed and matched and made some modifications to fit our criteria.

After getting general dimensions based on her current bed, we modeled the design on Fusion 360. This helped us lay out the cut list. The 3D model and cut list are available for download through the link below:

Download the Plans!

Layla is big in personality, but small in size, so we were able to design the bed to use about half a sheet of ¾” plywood. The overall dimensions of the bed measures 24.5” long x 17.25” wide and 16.5” tall

Everything we used on the project is linked below:

Dog Food Bowls: https://amzn.to/3wxHS7j
Birch edge banding - https://amzn.to/3wvc7M5
Kreg Accucut Circular Saw Guide - https://amzn.to/3luywD0
Iron: https://amzn.to/39FN5k8
LED Puck Lights: https://amzn.to/3MEjQx6
Starbond CA Glue + Activator: https://amzn.to/380QPwg
Heat Gun: https://amzn.to/38zswGf
Seam Roller tool: https://amzn.to/3wwLFQM
Corner Clamps: https://amzn.to/3PK0x7x

To start the project, we used our circular saw to break down the sheet of plywood into manageable pieces and then cut them down to their final size on our table saw.

This oval/circular opening that wraps around the corner was the trickiest part of this build, so we’ll try our best to break it down. We wanted to make sure the walls lined up evenly, particularly where the corners met, so we decided to stack the walls and cut them together so they’re exactly the same height on the top and bottom.

We attached the wall pieces together using painters tape and Starbond CA glue so we can easily separate them after cutting.

Then, we used a trusty old bucket which was nearly the perfect size diameter to trace the arc.

Rather than using a jigsaw to cut the straight lines, Louis thought it would be faster to cut these on the table saw first, then finish cutting the arc with the jigsaw. Unfortunately, he overlooked the geometry of the table saw blade and he cut too far.

To explain what happened in detail, when he cut up to the start of the arc on the top of the wall pieces, the bottom pieces were cut deeper because of the leading edge.

This was an easy fix though! We just pulled the pieces apart, then retraced the arc a little further down. Then we finished cutting the circular opening out with a jigsaw.

Once all the pieces were cut, it was time to sand!

To cover all the plywood edges, we used birch edge banding. We forgot to bring our iron from home, and it was nearing the end of the day, so rather than taking time to pick it up, we tried using a heat gun and a roller to make some progress. First, we taped the edge banding into position. Then, one of us went in with a heat gun while the other used the roller to apply pressure. It worked well, but definitely took too long. The next day, we got our iron to finished the rest of the edge banding, and trimmed off any excess.

There were a handful of sections with gaps between the edge banding and wall panel, so we tried re-heating and applying pressure, but it still wouldn’t stick. So, we filled the gaps with wood glue and sanded away. The sanding dust mixed with the glue making a filler that blended in well.

Once all the edge banding was done, we painted the exterior of the two open wall pieces white. In retrospect, we should have held off on applying the paint and finish once everything was assembled because it made more work later when putting all the panels together.

While the paint dried, we started assembling the rest of the bed with wood glue and brad nails. We used inexpensive 90 degree clamps to keep everything square.

After a quick sanding, we sprayed an oil based poly which, again, should have waited until everything was assembled.

We set that aside and went on to assembling the two opening pieces together. We just glued the two pieces together and left them in the clamps until the glue cured

While we waited for that, we made the shelf that would hold Layla’s food and water bowls. To make sure the bowls were evenly spaced, we used our CNC to cut shallow pockets. The bowls we chose have a rubber grip on the bottom, so we wanted to utilize it by having a solid base for the bowl to sit in rather than cutting the holes all the way.

The dog bowl shelf is going to be mounted inside, so we wanted the exposed edge covered with edge banding like the rest of the bed. We only had a small strip left that was a few inches too short and we didn’t want to buy another roll just for this piece, so we found a scrap piece of hardwood left over from a set of coasters we made.

After we cut it to size, it matched perfectly with the rest of the bed. which we glued into place. We used tape to apply pressure while it dried.

In the meantime, we realized we couldn’t attach the walls with just glue to the rest of the structure like we planned because we had applied the oil based poly all over the walls earlier. So, we drilled some pocket holes to make sure the structure is solid for Layla.

Using a square to make sure everything is lined up correctly, we screwed the two assemblies together.

We added the dog bowl shelf, making sure it was level and secured it in place with more pocket holes.

Then we attached the roof to the bed by flipping it upside down and driving in screws.

For the legs, we cut a 1.5” dowel about 1.5” tall. We saw a trick on how to mark the center of a circle and wanted to test it out, so this is what we did:

We connected two points on a circle to draw what’s called a “chord”. We went with 1”, so we can easily find the halfway point. We drew two 1” chords opposite each other, and then marked the center of each chord. From there, we drew a 90deg line from the center of each chord. The intersection of these lines marks the center of the circle! This is a pretty good tip to have in your back pocket if you don’t have a center finding tool

Once we marked the center, we took it over to the drill press to predrill and counter sink for the screws. Then we set them in place and screwed them in using 1.5” powerpro screws.

Time for finishing touches! We added a rechargeable magnetic light inside to brighten up Layla’s new space. The magnet is held on by 3M double sided tape so it was easy to install.

It goes without saying, but is worth noting, you should let the finished project air out fully before using it regularly for your pet.

We threw in a blanket, set up the food and water bowls, and revealed the new bed to Layla! She gobbled up her food and settled in for a treat.

Thanks for following along!

How To Make an Enclosed Dog Bed