# Dog Dresser is DONE! Tutorial!



## proudpeyotemama

A couple days ago, I posted a thread about how I was going to attempt to convert an old dresser that was lying around the house into a "dog dresser" with hanging space. Well it's DONE! Over the weekend - with the help of my wonderful dad - we completely converted the old, cheap dresser into a very nice piece of furniture with hanging space for Ote's clothes and storage areas for her and Mojo's toys, treats, and grooming supplies. I am SO HAPPY with the way the it turned out.

BEFORE: 










AFTER: 










A lot of you ladies seemed really interested in creating your own dog dresser, so through out the process of converting the dresser, I took a ton of pictures so that you could see it step-by-step! 

First - remove all of the drawers.










Bust out all of the drawer slides with a hammer.










You may have to get the stubborn drawer slides that are built into the sides out by wedging a flat-headed screwdriver into the small space and popping the pieces out. 










Leave the main support pieces (the back two horizontal wood pieces in our photo). Without these pieces, the dresser would not be sturdy.

After removing all drawer slides, you will be putting in three wood pieces on each side of the dresser in order to make it a more sturdy piece of furniture (this also allows you to screw things into the outside of the dresser like I did with the "dog butt" hooks.....otherwise the screw will go right through the thin wood of the dresser). Notice that the supports are at the very top, the middle, and the very bottom of the sides. 










Next, cut pieces to fit the inside sides of the dresser. And use a staple gun and wood glue to secure the pieces to the inside left and right sides.










Next cut a piece to fit the inside bottom of the dresser, like a shelf. You may notice there was a piece of material in this spot before (it was a piece of "wood grain" corrugated, but it was not anywhere near sturdy enough to support baskets or storage devices. 










Next, cut a piece of wood to fit the back of your dresser. Again, use wood glue and a staple gun to secure the wood. 










After this, we created the rod to hang the clothes on. You could always use a tension rod for this, or even a shower curtain. 










Now comes the fun part - PAINTING! First, sand all surfaces that will be painted. Then paint away! This should require two to three layers of paint. We used a white lacquer spray paint. Allow about 24 hours in between coats. 

And here is the finished product. The baskets are from Marshall's, as well as the hangers (they are infant hangers). The "dog butt" hooks are from Ikea. The large green basket is for extra toys, the other containers are for bandannas, bows and more. The drawer also has some containers to organize dog medicines, treats and blankets. 



















Let me know what you all think!


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## mooberry

This is amazing!! I think this should be made into a sticky


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## Chi Nation

That looks great!!! You did a awesome job! :thumbright:


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## whipandchi

What a great job, I love it.


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## lulu'smom

STUNNING!! How creative of you and I love their pics on top. You can be really proud.


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## elaina

That is beautiful, i love it !!! now , i have some small ones but i would love one like that


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## proudpeyotemama

Thanks ladies! I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The best part? It even matches all the other furniture in my room. Same color, handles and knobs! I had so much fun converting it and then decorating it!! Wasn't too hard, took about 4 hours to break everything down, build it back up and get the first layer of paint on. Thank you for the compliments on it


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## Adrienne

wow!!! i love it!!!


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## Christabelle

Wow, you guys did such an amazing job! Yours looks way
better than the one on Pintrest.


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## Kelliope

Super cute! I LOVE it!!!!


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## theshanman97

awwwhhhh thats so cool! wish i had an old wardrobe to do that!  x


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## Brodysmom

oh my goodness!! That is so clever and creative!!! Wow! I love it. Amazingly CUTE!


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## proudpeyotemama

theshanman97 said:


> awwwhhhh thats so cool! wish i had an old wardrobe to do that!  x


Do you have something like Craigslist in the UK? Many people give old dressers like this away because they think that they can't be used anymore, or just don't fit the new "decor style." I'd look around if I were you!! It really wasn't too hard of a project.


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## proudpeyotemama

Thank you all!!!! What a compliment - better than the one on Pinterest!!! I wish that I could have found wallpaper to line the inside of the dresser with, but the wallpaper would have ended up costing more than the project itself! LOL! But thank you very much, I appreciate it!


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## LaceyGirl

This looks amazing! Lacey's jealous. I may have to make one when we move and have more space


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## Blondie87

That is AWESOME! I am soooo doing that. So creative! Thanks for thinking of making a tutorial for us!


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## proudpeyotemama

LaceyGirl said:


> This looks amazing! Lacey's jealous. I may have to make one when we move and have more space


Did you see the hoodies from Lacey & you hanging up in there?! LOL. Ote is actually wearing the argyle one as we speak. The weather cooled down a bit here in Delaware, so she doesn't have to wait until next fall to wear them!!! YAY! We were having 90 degree weather for 2 weeks straight!!! It was nice, but save it for summer, LOL

And yes, you SHOULD!! It isn't quite as big as it looks. It's wide, but very short. That's why I made sure there was some decor on the top. I have it in my room, kinda smushed in there, but it looks nice. I can't wait until my boyfriend & I get a house (hopefully September, we're looking around!)....more room for Chi stuff! LOL. I just can't wait for my two to have a backyard to run in. They love being outside & I hate that we don't have a fenced-in yard for them to play in. Just the deck and a little bit of grass they they can run in while leashed.


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## proudpeyotemama

Blondie87 said:


> That is AWESOME! I am soooo doing that. So creative! Thanks for thinking of making a tutorial for us!


Definitely post pictures when you do it - before & after photos at least!!! I'd love to see your version. It was amazingly easy and very cheap. Definitely worth the work!!! No problem at all about the tutorial, I had fun making it, LOL.


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## ~LS~

Aly, you and your dad did a beautiful job! I love it.
What a cool papa you got, to help you make this
idea come to life. Great job. I love how matchy 
matchy it is too, lol, makes my OCD very happy.
hahaha! Enjoy it, I'm jealous!


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## Wawies

*oooo this is amazing, love it! i will be done with mine soon also, cant wait!!! u did an awsome job WTG!!!!1*


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## proudpeyotemama

~LS~ said:


> Aly, you and your dad did a beautiful job! I love it.
> What a cool papa you got, to help you make this
> idea come to life. Great job. I love how matchy
> matchy it is too, lol, makes my OCD very happy.
> hahaha! Enjoy it, I'm jealous!


I've told him thank you so many times! I couldn't have done this without him!  Thank you so much. And I went to Marshall's on a mission - to find hangers and baskets that matched! LOL, I'm such a "matchy-match" person, everything always has to look just right!!! My boyfriend swears I have OCD, hahaha! I am definitely enjoying it - everytime I walk into my room, I'm like wow, that is fabulous! Hope you get the dog dresser of your dreams sometime soon! Tell your hubby it would make a great birthday present


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## proudpeyotemama

Wawies said:


> *oooo this is amazing, love it! i will be done with mine soon also, cant wait!!! u did an awsome job WTG!!!!1*


Post pictures when your done! Can't wait to see! And thank you


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## ~LS~

proudpeyotemama said:


> I've told him thank you so many times! I couldn't have done this without him!  Thank you so much. And I went to Marshall's on a mission - to find hangers and baskets that matched! LOL, I'm such a "matchy-match" person, everything always has to look just right!!! My boyfriend swears I have OCD, hahaha! I am definitely enjoying it - everytime I walk into my room, I'm like wow, that is fabulous! Hope you get the dog dresser of your dreams sometime soon! Tell your hubby it would make a great birthday present


Hahaha. I got a pretty handy hubby, I'm sure he would help me make one.
My problem is I have very limited space. I was thinking of maybe, making
one that is slim yet very tall. We shall see...


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## proudpeyotemama

~LS~ said:


> Hahaha. I got a pretty handy hubby, I'm sure he would help me make one.
> My problem is I have very limited space. I was thinking of maybe, making
> one that is slim yet very tall. We shall see...


That's a very good idea! You could have more of a "bookshelf version" and have rows and rows of hanging clothes. Floor to ceiling would be pretty cool! If you ever get around to it, let me know!! I would love to see pictures of what you guys come up with!


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## Suzn

Beautiful. I especially like the little hiney hooks on the side!! LOL


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## CHITheresa

That's great !!! what a good work you do. I am going to watch out for a dresser at yard Sales this summer.


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## hershey109

That is beautiful! I wish I had one.


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## proudpeyotemama

Suzn said:


> Beautiful. I especially like the little hiney hooks on the side!! LOL


They were only $1.99 at Ikea!!! And they are so adorable, LOL


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## proudpeyotemama

CHITheresa said:


> That's great !!! what a good work you do. I am going to watch out for a dresser at yard Sales this summer.


Great idea!!! Get a cheap dresser, and the rest of the project costs hardly anything. Just some wood and paint, basically. Thank you!


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## pigeonsheep

im soooo green full of envy!!! that came out beautiful! :albino:


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## LostLakeLua

I love this!! I am so inspired!


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## qtchi

That's a great tutorial. Thank you so much. I've been meaning to get a set of drawers for our little dogs. They have a lot of things. I just need the time to put it all together.


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## pigeonsheep

I just told the bf about this and eager to show him! Maybe he can make me a smaller version of it lol


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## nhtravel1

wow... that's amazing. you've got a lot of talent and creativity!


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## Blondie87

proudpeyotemama said:


> Definitely post pictures when you do it - before & after photos at least!!! I'd love to see your version. It was amazingly easy and very cheap. Definitely worth the work!!! No problem at all about the tutorial, I had fun making it, LOL.


I for sure will! I just gotta find the right cheap dresser now!


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## Mel's chi's

Great job Aly! 
I love that you showed your step by step progress.
That is so helpful to others 
Enjoy your masterpiece


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## quinnandleah

Love it. So much cuter than the one I have for our stuff.


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## lynx8456

You and your dad did a fantastic job. Thank you for the "how to" info.


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## LBChi

That is so cute and so creative! nd I love the tutorial. I really need something like that.
I LOVE the hooks!


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## pigeonsheep

im super excited. me and the bf will be tryin to make one this sunday! if we can find a smaller cabinet for it  its gonna be excitin! will take pics


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## Jerry'sMom

I don't know what I love more--the Dog Dresser, or that you built it with your Dad! Fantastic! 




pigeonsheep said:


> im super excited. me and the bf will be tryin to make one this sunday! if we can find a smaller cabinet for it  its gonna be excitin! will take pics


can't wait to see what you come up with!


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## pigeonsheep

Ohhhh it was with ur dad? I thought I did it with the bf lol!  I wouldn't last 5 mins with my dad. That staple gun would be used on him instead of the boards...everythin has to be perfect for him *rollsyes*


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## woodard2009

That looks great! Fantastic job!!!


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## proudpeyotemama

Mel's chi's said:


> Great job Aly!
> I love that you showed your step by step progress.
> That is so helpful to others
> Enjoy your masterpiece


Thank you! I really love it. I had to show step-by-step, I knew everyone just had to have a dresser for their babies, LOL. Thanks again!



quinnandleah said:


> Love it. So much cuter than the one I have for our stuff.


Thank you!  Very easy to re-decorate and re-construct. You should post pictures of yours!



lynx8456 said:


> You and your dad did a fantastic job. Thank you for the "how to" info.


Thank you so much!  I'm so grateful that he was willing to help me. And no problem at all! 



LBChi said:


> That is so cute and so creative! nd I love the tutorial. I really need something like that.
> I LOVE the hooks!


Very easy to make, try it!   Thank you so much. I'm glad that so many like the tutorial. That makes me so happy! And yes, the hooks are fabulous! LOL. Had to have them. Only $1.99 at Ikea, I wanted to get them in every color!



pigeonsheep said:


> im super excited. me and the bf will be tryin to make one this sunday! if we can find a smaller cabinet for it  its gonna be excitin! will take pics


I gotta see what you guys come up with. Definitely looking forward to seeing pictures!



pigeonsheep said:


> Ohhhh it was with ur dad? I thought I did it with the bf lol!  I wouldn't last 5 mins with my dad. That staple gun would be used on him instead of the boards...everythin has to be perfect for him *rollsyes*


Yup, it was "Dad and Daughter Bonding Time" LOL. I had a good time spending time with him and seeing what we could come up with. My boyfriend would no way, ever help make a dog dresser! LOL. He's too busy with everything else going on, haha! My dad likes everything to be perfect too, but that worked out in my favor because he let me do everything for the dresser, but he won't let anything turn out any less than perfect so he corrected any mistakes I made or guided me to make them better.



woodard2009 said:


> That looks great! Fantastic job!!!


Thank you so much!


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## ~LS~

Your dad sounds like a really good father. I lost my father when I was younger.
It warms my heart hearing about others enjoying and valuing their dad.


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## pmum

Great job!!!
Looks like a piece of store bought furniture.
Fantastic idea.
Blessings.


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## shinysticker

What an amazing creation! Great to see loving owners pamper their well-deserving babies!


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## KritterMom

OMG I am so in love. You did an amazing job.


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