Dog Feeding station

How I turned a dumpster dive TV stand into my Dog's feeding station- for $12!

 

Here's a preview of how it turned out.

 

 

Here it is. My dumpster dive TV stand. I didn't even have to go very far- just a few houses down! Yes that's a fake granite top. I found out, it's all fake veneer over plywood. Kind of disappointing, but I really couldn't complain too much bc- IT'S FREE!

 

I've been keeping my eye out on finding something I could use and upcycle to a feeding station for Wrigs. The hardest thing was finding something that was the right height, so this was perfect

 

What I loved about it is that the top part was open, so I knew I would have an area for the bowls to hang down into. This was also a little tall for my medium sized lab- but I removed the feet at the bottom, and it was pretty perfect.

 

 

It was way to wide to fit in in the space that I wanted, so I decided I needed to cut it in half. So, I did. my circular saw was missing (unfortunately), so I used a combo of my sawzall and jigsaw

 

This was a rough setup of when I finally cut it all off. I saved the side outer piece to re-apply to keep a finished look. I also saved the drawer face- which you'll see why later.

 

I used the jigsaw to cut the circles in the top, glued and screwed it all together- and voila!

 

Recommendation- this wood split really easily, I found that out the hard way. I quickly realized I needed to predrill all my screw holes. And I made these holes on the inside so they are not seen from the outside

 

 

I gave it all a nice sanding (yes, I sanded lightly right over the veneer, just to smooth it down. I did take off any pieces that were peeling- including the faux granite peel and stick). Then I wood puttied the whole thing. It had a decorative ridge/gap along each side, but I filled it in with wood putty because I was afraid water would pool in there and eventually damage it

 

I hate painting wood- I ALWAYS stain... but, since it wasn't "real" wood, I decided to (and really had to) paint it. I liked the dark brown, so I tried to keep with the same theme. Then, I covered with several coats of water based polyurethane on the top to protect it from all the water I know my dog will slop on there.

 

In the end, I didn't like the bowls showing through the open area, so I used the drawer face from the side I cut off and put it over the open space as a covering. I put hinges on it for easy access. The bowls didn't sit as deep as I thought so I can fit several bins underneath and around the bowls for more storage. And I keep his food in the bottom drawer!

 

Here's what it looked like at the end! Picked up a few signs from Hobby Lobby to add some final touches.

 

 

Things I've realized after the project has been completed:

1.)       I originally didn't want to glue the bowls down to make it easier to fill with water and clean- but my dog is a bit of a sloppy mess when it comes to drinking water, and the bowls would move and leak water through. A simple streak of gorilla glue, and their fixed in place with no water leaks!

2.)     Thankfully my dog hasn't figured out how to open the drawer- but it wouldn't be very difficult for him to. I may have to put a latch or lock on it if  he ever attempts to open it.