Beds on the Cheap

Since I have to live with three dogs, mom has gotten really good at buying, making, and recycling beds on the cheap for us.  Surprisingly, dog beds are quite pricey - at least according to her complaining about it.  A couple of her creations are shown below.

Mojo's favorite bed.

Mom took an old cat bed, lined the bottom with a heating pad and covered it with a fleece blanket.  This is where Mojo spends 95% of his day.  Even in the summer, he loves that heating pad!

A bed inherited from another family.
(Excuse all of the hair on it!)

The down insert with a piece of
memory foam mattress topper.

The green bed is where the boys - Mojo and Bentley - sleep at night.  The down insert was getting a bit tired and losing its plumpness, so Mom cut up an old memory foam mattress topper and put a piece inside.  Several of the beds have been fortified with pieces from that one topper.  It's actually quite a comfy bed.

The newest cover and bed.

Mom recently bought us a new couch.  The old couch was old, unsupportive, and quite heavily stained so it was headed for the dumpster.  The frame was sent off, but we kept the four big cushions to use for dog beds.  The plaid bed was created from some leftover fabric that Mom stitched into a cover.  The stuffing is the two back cushions from the old couch.  It's a nice place to catch a nap on a warm day.

Not good at sewing?  Don't have the time?  A really easy solution is to take an old sheet and wrap up the cushion with it.  Easy to change and wash.

Old yellow sheet.

One of mom's old bed sheets folded around one of the old couch's seat cushions.  In the picture below you can see the original cushion cover (red) is still on it.  It helps boost me up so I can get on the couch more easily.  It's also one of Edgar's napping locations.

Old red couch cushion.

This last couple of beds are really only good for small dogs.  Mom had an old pillow she was going to get rid of, but she decided to put an old pillow case (the plaid one) on it and it's suddenly a chihuahua bed!

Little dog beds.

The brown one on the right in the picture above is actually a baby changing table mattress with a piece of that excellent memory foam mattress topper.  The cover was bought at Babies'R'Us when the mattress was.  It's easy to remove, as is the pillowcase, so they get washed fairly often.  This brown bed is my favorite when Mom is working in the kitchen.  I can keep an eye on her and make sure she is not burning the house down!

Baby changing table mattress and old mattress topper. 

Dog beds (or cat ones!) do not have to break the bank.  Be creative and reuse as much as you can.  Another good idea is to take a cover and stuff it with an old comforter or feather bed.  If you do not have a cover, use an old sheet to wrap a folded comforter into a bed shape.  Easy to clean, easy to sleep on!