I have been a dog lover since day one. Dogs are those creatures that love unconditionally and are always so thrilled to see you the moment you get home, no matter how long you left them. They always strive to please and protect you. Dogs are just special, God sent creatures!
Here I am with Butch and Dottie. They are the first dogs I remember. Dottie was a high energy, smart border collie and Butch was her loyal side kick that loved belly rubs!
Then came Megan and Willie. Both were border collies, but Willie was a rare mostly white border collie. Megan had feelings like a human and would literally throw up if you got onto her or if she thought you were mad at her. Willie was fun loving and lived in his own world.
Up next was my yellow lab, Ally. My parents surprised me with her for Christmas. We got her in Wyoming and she was our first semi-inside dog. There's just a different kind of closeness when your dog is inside.
My precious Ally died in a tragic accident far too soon and I was an absolute mess! I'll never forget it was right around my high school graduation. I was so upset that I didn't even want to attend my graduation. Probably a little dramatic, but just goes to show how deeply I loved my dogs. The morning after graduation I was so tired from being up all night. I was asleep on the couch and my mom came in and woke me up to help bring in groceries. I was so mad because we had a house full of people to help so why in the world did I need to get up?! To my complete surprise, they didn't have groceries for me to carry inside. They had these two black labs, Jaxon and Sassy!
Miss Sassy went on with me to college and was there for so many of my firsts. College. Graduation. Buying my first home. Engagement. Marriage. She lived a good life. I'll never forget what my dad told me the day after she let go, "Bec, I think Sassy thought all these years that she had to be here to take care of you. She now sees that Richard {my husband} is here so she knew it was safe to let go. She knew he would take care of you in her place." I truly believe that dogs feel they have a purpose to take care of us.
That following February, my husband surprised me with the cutest little goldendoodle who we named Marlee. Of all the dogs I've ever had, I've never experienced a dog with the demeanor of a goldendoodle. If you have one, you know exactly what I mean. They have to be by your side 24/7. They love so big! I was very anxious to bring our daughter home because I wasn't sure how Marlee would accept a new baby in the house. Seeing how she reacted, I have no idea why I was nervous. These two are the best of friends!
It’s clear that I’ve always had a deep love for dogs! So it only seems fitting that I make a dinner table for one of our most loved members of the family, our goldendoodle, Marlee.
Materials & Tools Needed:
1 x 12 pine wood
2 x 2 pine wood
Sander or sandpaper
Step 1:
Measure out the length needed to hold the dog bowls. Be sure to measure the INSIDE of the bowls because you want the circle cutout to be slightly smaller than the outside edge of the bowl so it doesn't fall through. Based on this, I cut my 1x12 at 19.5".
Step 2:
Cut out the circles in the top. I actually used our CNC machine to do this, but you could easily use a jigsaw. Here's a tutorial for how to do that by ManMadeDIY.
Step 3 (optional):
I routed the outside edge of the top so that the edges were rounded. This could also be achieved using an electric sander.
Step 4:
Sand any rough spots on the top and stain with your preferred stain. I used Special Walnut.
Step 5:
Cut the 2 x 2 boards for the base. Here's the cut list:
4 pieces at 11.25" - These will be the vertical legs.
4 pieces at 16.5" - These will be the horizontal supports.
4 pieces at 8.25 - These are also horizontal supports.
Step 6:
Drill out the pocket holes using your Kreg Jig . I put one on each end on one side except for the vertical 11.25" boards, I just put one pocket hole on each which is how it will attach to the top. See picture above for pocket hole placement.
Step 7:
Assemble the base using 2.5" pocket screws. Face the horizontal pieces with the pocket holes on the outside. They will be covered up by the top and floor. The vertical pieces should have the pocket holes facing the interior and all on top.
Step 8:
Spray paint the base black.
Step 9:
Assemble the top to the base with 1.5" pocket screws.
Step 10:
Seal the top with polycrylic sealer. This will protect the wood from water spills, messy eater, or in our case...a kid that thinks the dog food and water bowls are hers to play in.
I then used our CNC machine to carve out a name plate to hang on hooks just so there's no confusion that this is in fact Marlee's table.
This is a simple project that you could easily complete with scrap wood in one afternoon. Due to an active 1 year old, it took me a couple productive naptimes to complete.
If you make your own, be sure to tag @Morningloryhome on either Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to see yours!
