Make your own…
Cute dog bed
1 First, measure out the base of the bed. Place your mattress on the pallet and mark where you need to cut to fit your mattress best. This all depends on the size of your dog. This bed (for a medium-sized dog) measures 52 x 80cm, which neatly fits one side of the pallet.
2 To make the backrest, cut the remaining side of the pallet to the height of your pallet plus 25cm – for ours, that was a total of 40cm. Sand all the cut edges. Discard the middle bit of your pallet – or save it for another build.
3 The wooden blocks that form part of the pallet framework are not necessary on the backrest, so prise these off using a hammer and crowbar. (You can leave them, but they will make your bed heavier and bulkier.) Remove any nails left after removing blocks. If necessary, reattach the slats to the frame.
4 Line up the backrest against the base. Mark on the upright back slats where they meet. Using the drill bit, pre-drill holes 1cm below this line. Screw together, from the back into the base.
5 Screw the bottom slats to the framework in the same way, but instead of marking where they meet just do the pre-drilling by eye.
6 To add the sides, measure the length the side rest needs to be – ours is 51cm. Cut two pieces of pallet wood to this measurement and apply glue to the bottom. Screw the side pieces in place from the back of the bed, once again pre-drilling the holes first.
7 Screw a corner bracket halfway along each side piece for extra support. Sand the bed all over.
8 You can leave the bed as natural wood or paint it a bright colour. Here we’ve taped off the letter K (for Kermit) before painting, removing the tape right after painting for clean edges on this detail. When the paint is dry, add a coat of matt outdoor varnish.
■ This project is taken from Pallet Wood Projects for Outdoor Spaces by Hester van Overbeek (£12.99, Cico Books)