Kennel Covers and Book Shelves

Of all the things I have commissioned DH to made for me, this project right here is my favorite. We have three dogs, all kenneled trained and they love their little "rooms," often choosing to chill in there when there is nothing exciting going on. The problem with the kennels though is that they are not very attractive.

They are down right ugly.

So first we looked at DH building a end table kennel to make them functional, like this one on Ana-White.com. We even considered incorporating them in the entertainment center. But then I remembered that my lab mix sometimes gets sick when she is in her kennel and I did not want to have to climb in to a create to clean that out.

Finally, we settled on tables and hanging shelves for my books. The tables are large - like huge. The one in the top picture would probably be a nice dining table for a family of four if its legs were a little longer. Anyway, the tables offer plenty of space for knick-knacks, picture frames and books.

The shelves on the walls are definitely my favorite aspect of the whole project. They were originally designed as floating shelves, but a lot of the plans we found for them made it seem that they were not as stable as what I was hoping for. So we tweaked the plans a little.

Each shelf is framed underneath with a nice fascia board and stained top. These suckers are anchored to the wall so well I could probably let E or A climb them like a ladder! The pieces on each end, which look like they would be used to hang the shelf, is more a decorative bookend than anything else.

All in all, I love these pieces. They are functional, pretty, sturdy, and unique. They set the design tone for the entertainment center and lighten up the feeling of the room.