Late last year we added two new Jack Russell terriers puppies to our family and boy are they a handful. Their latest stunt is pushing my 14-year dog out of her bed so they can have it.  So my idea for this project was to make them a little hobbit style dog house of their own.

Our dogs are spoilt rotten and sleep inside. But on the days that I work, they do have to go outside for a few hours. In Australia, it can get really cold in the winter, so I wanted somewhere warm for them to sleep. I was determined not to give in and buy them more soft beds because they have already destroyed  6. My idea was to build them a wooden dog house that they would have more trouble destroying.  To look at these two sweet puppies you would think how cute, but they are destructive little demons. lol

It is also time again for our next IBC Blogger challenge.  This month the topic is “Furever ”, I chose to make a deluxe dog house for my fur babies. More about IBC at the bottom of this post.

How to make a hobbit style dog house

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Making the base

To make the base I used a recycled coffee table which was 1150mm x 600mm.  It came with legs which I cut down to 10cm to lift the base off the floor. When we have heavy rain the water comes over the gutters and I don’t want the house getting wet.

I used some 12mm plywood for the sides of the dog house. To draw the shape of the hobbit house I used a large wooden compass that I made.  I must also mention that I make up my projects as I go along and they don’t always go to plan, so I have to make changes to fix them up. This project was just one of those where everything went wrong because I messed up in the beginning.

My first mistake happened straight away. Instead of waiting until the base was boxed in to make the arch, I cut it first so the arch was smaller than the base and did not fit. But I did solve this issue down the line.  I used 2×4’s and framed the base.  To attach the frame to the base I used offcuts of wood that were glued and screwed to the base. The original idea was the side arches would be screwed into the 2 x 4 pieces of wood.

Cutting the sides

You can now draw your arches based on the size of the already boxed base. The plywood I used was also recycled and was in poor shape, but the paint will cover all the damage. Cut out your shape using a jigsaw or suitable saw.

It is easier to sand the sides before they are attached to the base.

Next, drill a hole large enough for the blade of the jigsaw to fit through and cut out the door. I must have been in la la land when I cut the door because it was huge.  I must have thought I owned great Danes based on the amount of destruction they cause. A suitable size hole for Jack Russell terriers is about 25 cm. I will fix the door further down.

Carpet the base

To make the house cosier I bought some carpet tiles that I glued and stapled to the base.

You can also add some carpet tiles to the sides to keep it warmer inside.

Attaching the walls

As I mentioned above, I had cut the sides too short to screw into the frame. So my solution was to add some brackets to the base that will screw into the sides. I added 2 brackets on each side to support the sides of the house.

I screwed some smaller pieces of wood as supports to hold the two sides together.

Making the roof

To make the roof I cut some 2 x 4 in half lengthwise using a table saw.  I felt using 2 x 4’s would make the house too heavy and hard to move. If you want to go with the hobbit style dog house and have the astroturf on the roof you can screw them directly in between the two sides. My dogs ripped up the astroturf that was to go on the roof before I even started. Because of this, I had to change the roof and add an overhang which I thought would look better. This was more work to attach but I felt it looked better.

My dog house will be under a large well-sheltered pergola so I did not add any waterproofing before I added the roof.  If yours is going to be outside in the elements you will need to add some sort of waterproofing to prevent the inside from getting wet.

Because I used plywood for the sides it would not be possible to screw the roof slats into the sides without them splitting.  To give the roof slats something secure to screw into, I added some supports around the inside. You can also use small blocks of wood instead of full support pieces.

You start at the bottom and work your way over, screwing the roof slats into place.

When you get to the top of the arch you may need to cut the slats a little thinner so that they sit flush with the sides.

View from the back

Make the door

I had all intentions of having a door frame, so this helped me fix up the large opening I cut for the door.  I drew a circle on some plywood and cut out the middle. The circle was screwed over the door frame making the hole smaller at the same time.  The leftover piece of plywood from the middle was used to make the window. Before I added the doorframe I was able to get inside and add some carpet tiles to the inside of the roof. Yes, the whole top part of my body fit inside, that’s how big the hole was. lol

Paint the dog house

I painted the dog house using grey acrylic paint and sealing it with 2 coats of polyurethane. I would recommend exterior varnish if your dog house is going to be exposed to the weather.  Mine will be under a sheltered pergola. The dog house was too boring for my liking, so I glued some painted offcuts of wood to the sides to give it a country cottage look.

To give the front a fun look I went overboard and decorated it with decals that I made with my Cricut vinyl Cutter. I have used 651 vinyl decals in a few projects to add extra detail to my project as I did on this cow skull.

Completed hobbit style dog house

The only thing left to do was to add some soft bedding and let the terrible two at it. Pepsi and Max checking out their new daytime house below.

The look of disgust on Max’s face because my old girl took a nap in their new bed.

More about IBC

If you follow my blog you will know I am part of IBC (International Bloggers Club) which is a group of talented bloggers from around the world. We have members from Spain, South Africa, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Each month we come together and create a project with a common theme.

If you missed last month’s “Funtabulous planter ” theme here is the link to my Planter made from an old chocolate tin. The “Furever ” contributions from my fellow bloggers for this months challenge are listed below, please feel free to jump over and give them some love.

A Crafty Mix|Spun pet hair heart

Birdz of a feather| String Art Dog

Interior Frugalista|Repurposed chair seat dog leash holder

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