Bedroom Bench/Doggie Bed

Okay, here was the challenge: I really like the look of upholstered benches at the foot of the bed and was also looking for a decent spot for our Dachshund Sammie to sleep at night. Our old bed actually had a foot board and the dog curled up at the foot of the bed every night with his blanket (yes, I admit - guilty - the dog sleeps in the bed!!). Our new bed is a) much higher than the old bed (no way for him to jump even on the bed, all the doggie steps in the house were too low to reach the bed either) and b) is lacking a foot board. Sammie wasn't even going near the end of the bed (scaaaaaaaaaaary!!). Quite a few requirements....

We found this LACK nesting table set at IKEA and the dimensions, color and overall set up seem to be the perfect match!

This side table/coffee table set is pretty light weight - be aware that you can certainly NOT sit on it, but just for putting some pillows or clothes on it and to withstand 18 lbs. of a miniature dachshund we figured out it would be just fine.

To upholster the tables/benches I went to the local hardware store and purchased some hardboard, provided the measurements and the guys cut the hardboard for both tables to the size I needed.

I usually upholster with 1" or 1.5" thick, dense foam + batting but this would have brought the overall height way too close to the overall height of the bed/mattress. I found some extra thick batting and just used TWO layers to cover the hardboards, followed by the fabric I bought at IKEA:

Did you ever try to staple hardboard? NOT an easy task - it worked (somehow) but I decided to secure the ends with some duct tape

Last step: I bought some velcro fastener tape, cut it to desired length and affixed the strips to the boards. Peel off the backing paper and place the upholstered board on the table top.

The dog likes it (as you can see in the picture gallery above) - makes it easy for him to get on and off the bed and he likes sleeping on it on his (faked) sheep skin.