Elevate Your Dog's Bowls With This IKEA BESTA Cabinet Hack

When it comes to deciding where you're going to keep your dog's food and water bowls, your kitchen or your utility room are often the best choices. That's because these areas usually have easy-to-clean tile floors, and typically contain a faucet for quick water refills. However, your furry friend's feeding station can sometimes take up quite a bit of space, and be uncomfortable to eat from when there are people walking right next to the food bowls. If you're noticing that your pet's dishes are consistently in your way, or that the mess around them is too much of a hassle, you might want to consider elevating your dog's food dishes with a unique cabinet solution.

If you're interested in building an elevated feeding station to your home, then you'll definitely want to try creating a unique and pet-friendly DIY with the help of a product from IKEA. The design places two metal bowls in the middle of two BESTA cabinets from IKEA stacked on top of one another, located below the kitchen countertop. It also includes an extendable pot filling faucet for the water dish, and a drawer for extra kibble with panels along the sides to block the smell. The way that the installation raises the bowls can help keep your floors clean for longer, and may prove beneficial for your pet's health, since it will likely make them more comfortable while they're eating and prevent them from rushing through their food, depending on their height.

Before you start building the arrangement, you'll need to remove one of your existing cabinets to make room below your countertop for the feeding station, which essentially consists of two stacked BESTA units, each costing $108. Alternatively, you can set up your new feed station along the sides of your cabinets, or in an out-of-the-way corner of your utility room. If you're planning to install a pot filling faucet, the new furnishings must be backed up against a wall that your water pipes can reach.

To begin assembling the feeding station, cut two equal-size holes into both of the top panels of your cabinets. The holes should be just wide enough to hold your dog's dishes in place by their rims. To make the holes, you'll need a plunge router with a circle jig. Cut another circle at the back of the top cabinet for the faucet, if relevant. Next, assemble the bottom cabinet according to the directions. Then, use wood glue to attach the top panel of the upper cabinet to the top panel of the lower one. Attach the sides of the top cabinet to the bottom unit with pocket screws, but with the outsides facing inward instead. Do the same for the back panel, and use wood screws to attach it to the sides. Install cabinet filler strips along the sides to close cabinetry gaps or to make the exterior of the free standing fixture look elegant.

Once you've put together the main components of your dog's new feeding station, you'll need to install the finishing touches. The most challenging of these will be the pot filling faucet, if you're adding one. Make sure to turn off the water supply before installing the water supply lines. You'll need to use copper piping and solder the fittings before mounting the hardware. 

As the final part of his design, Romain installs plastic panels along the insides of the bottom cabinet rails, so that the kibble he's storing in the drawer won't smell. However, you can easily bypass this step by storing the food in an airtight container. To prevent the cabinet wood around the bowls from showing signs of water damage, and to make spills easier to clean, consider cutting a pair of holes in a sturdy plastic placemat and fit it over the eating and drinking area. Make sure to read up on the best house cleaning tips for pet owners as well.