What is Dog Crate Furniture?
Ever sit on your couch gazing at your dog's crate and thinking how it really ties the room together? For most people, the answer is a resounding, No. But for us lucky ones that have found dog crate furniture, we know that style and dog kennels can exist together in the same sentence. But the question remains, is a piece of dog crate furniture right for you and your dog?
What Types of Dog Kennel Furniture Exist
Dog Crate Furniture can take on all sorts of styles and forms. Here are the most popular forms of dog crate furniture:
Dog Crate End Table
The most popular type of dog crate furniture is an end table. End table designs work really well for small to medium size dogs and fit into just about any living or family room. Having a large or giant size dog makes this design somewhat tough as you would need a really tall couch to make it look right.
Dog Crate Furniture Console Table
Another popular choice for kennel furniture is the console table. There are many console table designs that have space for two dogs built into one piece of furniture. Just like the end tables console tables really work best with small to medium size dogs.
Dog Crate Built-Ins
Dog Crate Built-Ins are a popular choice in mud rooms. While the term Built-In probably has you thinking about custom made, there are plenty of pre-made options available that would fit into this category. An advantage to this type of dog crate furniture is that you are trying to get it to match the size of your couch and coffee table. This makes Built-In units great for any size dog.
Dog Crate Covers
Another interesting option that we will explore more later in our piece is a furniture cover for your existing crate. This is generally a DIY project option or a custom build option. The advantages here are that you get the security of your existing crate, while wrapping it in something that looks nice.
Review of Manufactured Dog Crate Furniture
Manufactured Top Choice: IKISSLIFEEL Farm House Style Dog Crate Furniture
- TWO SPACIOUS ROOMS WITH LOCKS
- High-grade P2 particleboard for sturdiness and stability
- 86.6"Lx29.5"W large tabletop easily can fit a television on top
- Pre-assembled parts make installation easier and more convenient
- Great option for Small to Medium size dogs
- Drawer with ample storage space in end table
- Fast Charger 3.0 Wireless fast charger + Dual USB port charging station
- Style and function for any living room
- Easy-to-Clean Tray
The Piskyet End Table Dog Crate is great for small to medium size dogs. This version is stylish and can blend into your existing furniture. The drawer offers ample storage space and is a great place to put your pup's leash and collar. Additionally, this crate comes with a plastic tray for the bottom, which makes cleaning up the crate so much easier.
| Style: | 4/5 | Simple and Clean |
| Build Quality: | 4/5 | Fairly Good |
| Cleanability: | 5/5 | Tray Liner Included |
| Security: | 3/5 | |
| Dimensions: | Overall 25x19.5x24.5 | Crate Space 24x18x20 |
Double Door End Table: Bigrab Dog Crate Furniture
- Another Great End Table Dog Crate Option
- Double door entry - front and side
- Come with 1 Year free replacement from manufacturer
- The Saudism crate comes with a large countertop with storage
- We feel like this piece of dog crate furniture is perfect for a home office
- Easy to assemble
- Featuring barn doors with a farmhouse feel
- water resistant floor with anti-soak coating
- Removable divider to fit 2 dogs.
- Beautiful piece of furniture for anywhere in the home
This Barn Door Dog Crate piece makes a wonderful crate for a medium to large dog. It can be used as pictured as an entertainment center. As a built-in in your mud room, it would also be perfect. It comes in white and wood finish with multiple sizes available. We love the overall look and function of the barn doors.
| Style: | 5/5 | Farm House Barn Door |
| Build Quality: | 5/5 | Top Notch |
| Cleanability: | 3/5 | No Tray Liner |
| Security: | 4/5 | |
| Dimensions: | Overall 72.5x23.6x34.3 |
Where can I buy dog crate furniture?
There are three main places that you can come across dog crate furniture.
- Purchasing Online - This is what we considered manufactured furniture above.
- Custom Made by a Carpenter
- DIY Plans
Dog Crate Furniture Online
One thing we have noticed from our frequent visits to dog stores is that you won't see a lot of Dog Crate Furniture Pieces on the shelves. This is starting to change and from time to time you will run into a piece at a local pet store. But the best place we have found to buy pre-manufactured pieces is online. Amazon, Chewy, and even Walmart all have good online selections for Dog Crate Furniture.
Carpenter Custom Designed Dog Crate Furniture
Looking for an even more custom piece of dog crate furniture? There are plenty of local carpenters that will build you a piece to your exact specifications. If a carpenter has never taken on a project like this there are many aspects to consider. To save you the hassle we found a custom carpenter that ships throughout the country and is happy to make you anything you are looking for!
OVERALL TOP PICK - Country Woodworking and Art - On Etsy
We love the crates that Country Woodworking & Art creates! We recommend these over any of the manufactured or DYI versions. And unlike most custom made crates, Tom Rady has been making dog crates for years and has thought about many things that rookie builders haven't. These crates feature increased security, cleanability, and great looks!
- Security - Tom has designed his own bar system that doesn't bend like many of the options in the DYI, Manufactured and even from custom crate builders. Check out his video on why his bars are more secure! In addition Tom adds chew guards to wood inside the crate, ensuring there is not an opportunity for escape! You can discuss and decide how many and what location you want for the crate latching systems. These are actually the only dog crate furniture pieces we would trust with dogs that aren't good in their crate.
- Cleaning - while many of the other dog furniture crates have wood floors and backs, Country Woodworking & Art has you covered here. They offer different options to meet your requests including plastic lining for floors, polyurethane coatings, and even prelaminated panels. This makes cleanup a breeze compared to the other options we've reviewed!
- Design - If all that hasn't convinced you...Tom has great designs available on his Etsy page. Everything from barn doors, farmhouse style, live edge, even an amazing mud room locker! Don't see what you are looking for, he even offers custom designed pieces to meet your exact needs.
Exclusive Dog Crate Furniture Discount Code
Suburban K9 Readers can receive Free Shipping & Premium Flooring Upgrade on any crate purchase at Country Woodworking & Art's Etsy Page. Enter promocode: SK9CRATES at checkout!
DIY Plans for Dog Kennel Furniture
There are all sorts of DIY plans out there for dog crate furniture. They range from what we would call simple with average tools to quite complex and requiring a lot of skill. Here are some of our favorite:
Snazzy Little Things: Dog Crate Table
We would consider this project to be fairly simple a straightforward. Our favorite part is that it utilizes your existing crate. This makes the overall design safer and keeps the crate easy to clean. Best of all you can adjust the measurements and use it with any crate.
Build BluePrint: Single Dog Kennel Plan
This Dog Kennel Plan gives you a great piece of finished furniture and is of a more moderate difficulty. Prepare to need wood working skills and the ability to cut steel rebar.
Ana-White: Large Pet Kennel End Table
The Large Pet Kennel End Table from Ana-White is an all wood design. I would say it is also of moderate difficulty, however the wood working skills required seem a bit higher than the Build BluePrint version.
Shanty Chic: Farmhouse Barn Door Dog House
The last of our DIY dog crate furniture project selections is this Farm House Barn Door Project. It is by far the most complex and will require every bit of wood working skill you have. The final result is a well built and amazing dog house for your pup!
What to Consider When Buying Dog Crate Furniture
Space for dog will differ from actual product dimensions
One of the most common issues we hear when people are looking at dog crate furniture is getting the wrong size. There are two ways this can happen.
You buy a dog crate furniture piece based on it's exterior dimensions, but the interior crate dimensions are far smaller. Your dog then doesn't fit inside of the crate. Make sure you consider the inner crate dimension on relation to your pup.
The second situation is that you only consider the size of your dog and not the size of the piece in relationship to your furniture. When you get the piece all assembled it doesn't fit in with the size of the rest of the furniture in the room. This is extremely common when you have a large to giant size dog.
Make sure to keep both of these things in mind when looking for the perfect size piece of dog crate furniture.
How Good is Your Dog in a Crate
If your dog is not well behaved in a crate, I would not recommend that you purchase any piece of dog crate furniture at this time. Instead buy a normal crate and work on acclimating your dog to it. This will save you the expense of your dog ruining an expensive piece of furniture. It will also help ensure your dog is more safe and secure in a nicely manufactured dog kennel with solid locks.
The exception to this is the custom crates we mentioned from Country Woodworking & Art.
Cleanability of Dog Crate Furniture
Does your dog ever have a accident in their crate? If so, be careful of a lot of the dog crate furniture on the market. Most dog kennel furniture pieces have wood bottoms and sides. Wood is an absorbent material and is hard to get completely clean. One option would be to add a plastic or metal crate liner to your wood dog crate or buy from Country Woodworking & Art.
Are Furniture Dog Crates Worth It?
Only you can answer this question. Dog crate furniture tends to be more expensive or requires you to put in the effort to make it yourself. It is worth it to people who want their home to look stylish and still give their four legged friend a great place to sleep.
Common Buying Mistakes with Dog Furniture Crates
Make sure to consider the design of the furniture piece when purchasing. Does it match your house now? Are thinking about moving or redesigning? Ask yourself these questions before buying to make sure that you don't end up with an expensive furniture piece that is your dogs favorite with no where to put it.
Another common issue with Dog Furniture Crates is not using the right material. The crate should be hard wood like maple, oak, ash, or walnut. Avoid soft woods like pine and poplar. This will make sure the piece lasts your dog's lifetime.
Do Dogs Like Covered Crates?
Covered crates like most of the examples of dog crate furniture are great for the majority of dogs. It gives them a nice, dark, and quiet place to relax and take a break. Make sure that there is adequate ventilation so that your pup doesn't get to hot or have a hard time breathing.
What size dog crate should I buy for my dog?
We have an entire article dedicated to Finding the Right Size Crate for Your Dog. But to give you a quick idea of how to get the right sized crate furniture.
Start off by making sure the crates you are looking at list the inside crate dimensions and not the total dimensions of the furniture piece. Next measure your dog from the floor to the top of their head and from the base of their tail to their nose. Use these measurements as your minimum size and try to find a crate with inner dimension just larger than this.
If you have a puppy look at the average size of the breed. Get a crate that will work when they are grown. Ensure it comes with a divider, so you can adjust the space as they grow.
Are Furniture Dog Crates Safe?
This is a great question. We would say that on average a furniture dog crate is less safe than a normal dog crate. That's why you'll notice our secure ratings above are fairly low for the furniture crates. Instead we would recommend a more typical crate for any dog that has issues being in a crate. Read our "Should I Crate My Dog" Article for more info.
Reasons for Safety Concerns:
- Tend to be made out of wood - Wood is easier for a dog who wants to get out of a crate to destroy. Wood is also more difficult to clean and can absorb bacteria.
- Dog Crate Furniture tends to put form over function - You are trading off some safety/security for a good looking piece of furniture.
- Locks tend to be of lower quality. A lock that looks nice, might not be a lock that works great. Ensure the lock is of good and secure quality.
If you are looking for safer Dog Crate Furniture see our recommendation above for Country Woodworking & Art!
What Can I Use for a Dog Bed In a Crate?
Dog beds can help make your pup more comfortable in their crate. This is especially important since the base of most Dog Crate Furniture is made from hard wood. If your dog is well behaved in their crate and doesn't destroy bedding, we recommend that you add a dog bed that fits inside the crate. Here is a list of great Tough Dog Beds.
Do Vets Recommend Crates
According to Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine all dogs would benefit from acclimation to crating. The main reason for this is that your dog will likely need to be in a crate at some point in their life. It might be during a trip to the vet or groomer. Or when you are looking to go away on a trip. If you haven't worked with your dog to ensure that they will be okay in a crate these situations can be very stressful for them.
Crating also helps ensure that your pup will stay safe when they are young and still exploring the world.
