Brilliant doghouse design ideas you can make at home

Owning a dog is a wonderful thing. There are 12.5 million dogs in the UK, indicating somewhere near the same amount of besotted owners; we would do anything for our pets, and many of us do! Every dog needs a place of its own, whether a cushion by the living room radiator or a fully-fledged kennel. This piece aims to give you suggestions on how to build the latter, with different ideas to customise your dog house.

Insulated Kennel

The first idea is one borne more out of love and care for your dog than for garden appeal. Start out with the basic framework for a standard dog kennel design - but make sure to use wider planks. These wider planks can be backed on their interior side with a thin material, such as thin MDF sheeting. You can now fill these panels with an insulation wool, before sealing up the panels with the exterior walls and assembling the whole thing. Don’t forget to purchase bitumen paint for weatherproofing the kennel’s roof! All of this will make for a warm and snug dog house, in which your pooch can sleep well all year round.

Dog Decking

Why not provide the perfect lounging spot for your dog to enjoy in the warmer months, as well as a shelter for the undesirable wet weather? Incorporate a cool mini patio deck in your kennel design; first, build the frame with stilts in mind. Perhaps the corner struts could be used as legs to support the kennel off the ground. When building the kennel’s floor frame, factor in an extension out beyond the front entrance – but don’t worry about extending the interior floor panelling out – you can use offcuts from real decking planks to create a true decking porch for your best friend.

Reclaimed Materials

One of the beautiful things about building a dog kennel, as evidenced by the examples, is how adaptable designs can be to your needs and the materials available to you. For example, you don’t need to invest in expensive lumber to build a brilliant outdoor home for your pet. You can build a kennel using reclaimed and recycled materials; pallets are popular items to repurpose into dog homes, owing to their plank-based construction. Pallets are incredibly cheap to come by, if you didn’t already have one lying around your garden.

A Kennel on Wheels!

If your garden has different sun-spots at different times in the day – or if you simply want to give your dog a change of scenery every now and then – you can turn your kennel design into a portable one with the addition of handles and wheels. Extend two batons backward from the frame where the side walls meet the roof, and add two small wheels to the legs beneath the front entrance – this way, you can move the kennel like a wheelbarrow.

Indoor Kennel/Table Hybrid

Lastly, kennels do not have to not have to remain outside – and they do not have to serve just one purpose. Throw out the rule book, and build up an indoor dog kennel/cage with a flat roof, enabling you to use their sleeping spot as a side- or end-table! Your dog can rest up all cosy and warm, and you get a bespoke piece of furniture out of the bargain too.