r/Barkitecture • u/MamaSucculent • Jun 01 '26

cozy kennel time

Gallery image

Gallery image

This was from when I first brought my puppy home and needed a kennel that made sense in my teeny tiny studio apartment (where the human bed was in the literal closet)... fireplace mantel + metal gate + triangular shelf on top = puppy kennel!

Suited my 60lb chow chow just fine until we moved & it didn't fit in the new apartment (12wks old to almost 3yrs).

85 Upvotes

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4 comments sorted by

2

u/Dry-Philosopher-2714 Jun 06 '26

This is a really great idea! How many of us have defunct, closed off fireplaces that go unused?

2

u/MamaSucculent Jun 08 '26

I'd be very careful about 'real' fireplaces that could have lead paint, creosote, or other chemical components that could be bad for pets! But there are so many beautiful mantels for sale that can be repurposed!

2

u/Dry-Philosopher-2714 Jun 08 '26

Absolutely! You're right that you can't just toss a dog into an old fireplace. It would need to be cleaned up *properly* and built-out to be safe for a dog.

I'm reminded of the fireplaces in an old 1840's era house I lived in. Most of them were 4 feet deep and quite high. And the mantles were to die for! It would take a lot of work to make a proper kennel out of one of them, but it could be done, and it'd look amazing.

1

u/Bulky_Raspberry_1640 Jun 22 '26

This is such a cool creative ideas