Transforming Old Suitcases Into Dog Kennels
Do you own a small dog and the last time you went on vacation, did you end up with your suitcase destroyed? Don’t throw it away! Can be recycled as a dog bed. Thanks to “paint your life” and to Leroy Merlin we all know something about DIY by now, and to transform an old suitcase into a fantastic bed for your pet you don’t need to know anything else. With wheels, without wheels, with the handle, with the lid, without the lid … no matter the appearance of the suitcase, a little manual skills and inspiration will suffice, and you can create a comfortable and creative dormitory for your faithful friend .
How do you make a bed from a suitcase?
If you have an old or damaged suitcase, you can divide it in half and use it as a bed for your dogs, with a pillow or blanket. Or don’t peel off the lid part and leave it open so you can decorate it. To place it on the ground, you can use the legs of an office chair, a throwaway coffee table or even four baseball or tennis balls (glued to the suitcase of course, we don’t want the dog to fall). The legs are necessary to insulate the bed from the cold, as the suitcase will not remain in direct contact with the ground.
If the suitcase is very large it can be used for several dogs. If you have several pets (and several suitcases) at home, they can be placed one above the other, separated by sticks, skittles or anything else you have at home, like a bunk bed. You can also create something similar with a drawer or even with the wooden boxes that are used to carry bottles of wine or fruit, suitably painted to make them more beautiful.
How can I decorate the suitcase?
In addition to painting or decorating the outside of the suitcase itself, you can hang curtains on the lid to give it a more classic touch, or flags of different colors, or you can create pockets by sewing another canvas on the top, and there you can put the toys of the animal … Also you can fill the suitcase with pillows or a small duvet, make a crochet blanket for your little friend, write his name or initial on the lid or on the edges of the suitcase , or put inside a picture or a photograph of yourself.
If you are busy you can even create a personal pillow for your dog, giving it an even more homely touch. To do this, measure the basket, suitcase, drawer, crate or whatever you have decided to use as a base for your four-legged friend’s bed.
Choose a soft, easy-to-wash fabric and cut it out to be an inch wider than the bottom of the bed. (If you are unable to sew, make it three centimeters larger for safety). Cut out another fabric of the same size. Place a few pins on the edge of both canvases (leaving a few millimeters to hold them well), so as to join them on three sides. Sew them by hand or by machine on the part of the canvas that will be inside.
On the fourth side (or if the base is round on a third of the circle), sew a zipper. Keep in mind that the seams will remain on the inside of the pillow, so you will have to sew the zip inside out (with the hook of the zip towards the opposite side of the one where you are sewing). Then turn the canvas over (inside out) and fill the pillow. The pillow with personalized pattern is ready!
What are the advantages of recycling the suitcase to make a bed?
Due to a consumerist mentality, our society tends to spend and spend more and more money, sometimes without reason, to indulge any whim. When you have dogs or cats at home, you tend to spoil them so much that sometimes you buy them the most expensive or luxurious things on the market, without thinking that you may already have what you need at home or that you could build them yourself with the recycling. So the first advantage will be to save money.
The second advantage is that thanks to the creation of these beds you can give a vintage or modern touch to your home, according to everyone’s tastes. You can also tailor them to your dog, in the size and color you want, so that they fit in the corner of your four-legged friend.
