Turn an old TV into a dog bed {reclaim, reuse, recycle}

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I have an awesome sister. She’s my best friend. And she’s so creative (she gets it from my mom). She recently turned a very old TV into a classy little dog bed for my adorable little Beagle nephew Bailey, isn’t it cool? In honor of Earth Day – and the whole reuse, recycle theme – I’m telling you how you can do it!

What’s even cooler is she got the TV for FREE – people are giving these dinosaurs away! And the cost of paint was minimal.

Here are some basic instructions:

1.) Find an old big, boxy TV. Don’t pay for it – people should be giving these away.

2.) Find a nice big work space. Lay down a blanket. And lay the TV on it’s front side (screen down) on the blanket. Be careful, you don’t want it to break. Make sure it’s unplugged (duh).

3.) Then start unscrewing. Unscrew the back panel and start unscrewing all the pieces inside. My mom said there were a LOT of screws. If you have a power drill it will probably save your wrists. Pull stuff as you go and work your way toward the front of the TV.

4.) Gut the TV. Check with your local solid waste department – there could be special disposal instructions for the guts.

5.) You should be left with a wood frame. Measure the width/height of the back hole and go to Home Depot or Lowe’s and have them cut a piece of plywood to cover the backside. They will cut it for free! Nail the back to the frame.

6.) You’re almost there. Next decide if you want to paint your bed. If so, you may need to sand it first. If you’re not sure? Sand it. Can’t hurt and your paint will adhere to it better.

7.) Paint the bed. Let it dry.

8.) Then either find a pillow that fit the space or make one using foam from a craft store and some simple fabric. I think my sister used a pillow she had and she just made a basic pillow case for it. A big comforter would probably work as well.

9.) My sister bought some basic wall decals to decorate the sides.

10.) Put dog in bed.  

Have you ever made anything like this?  Do you have any tips for turning an old TV into something useful?