DIY Projects for Cats and Dogs

"...emphasize "practicality" and "keeping costs down," using inexpensive materials such as pine and engineered wood. Step-by-step instructions benefit from an abundance of photos..."

Cashing in on the billion-dollar-plus market for pets, French handypeople, designers, and animal lovers Rau and Legrix have concocted 20 simple, Scandinavian-inspired accessories to make for four-legged creatures. (Amazingly enough, there are more feline-oriented projects than canine--though there's a handful of each.) The emphasis is on streamlined, straightforward style that can be easily emulated by those with rudimentary woodworking skills. In similar fashion, the authors eschew fancy materials like exotic woods, recommending instead pine, plywood, and OSB (oriented strand board--though watch out for splinters). Every design features level of difficulty, lists of materials and tools, and step-by-step captioned photographs and finishes with a note about overall cost (ranging from $12 to $35). The real question: how did they entice their cat, Info, and the "borrowed" Jack Russell terrier to stay still for pictures? --Barbara Jacobs

If you're a fan of Scandinavian style furniture, and have some DIY talent, you will love DIY Projects for Cats and Dogs: 20 Easy to Build Creations for Your Best Friend. Author Armelle Rau is the communications manager at Scandinavian decorating group Søtrene Greene West and creator of the chic decoration blog Mocassin Headband. She wanted to create furniture for her furry friends that combined function and fashion. From a cat bed hanging off a radiator to a rolling end table bed, the projects in this book are practical and (according to the publisher) fairly easy to put together, requiring only basic tools and simple materials. Given that the words "some assembly required" instill fear in my heart, I'm the wrong person to assess whether these are simple projects or whether they require advanced handyman or handywoman skills, but I do know that I would love to have someone make some of these projects for Allegra and Ruby. I don't think cat furniture cats will love needs to sacrifice function for beauty, and any of these projects would look beautiful with any style decor, not just a Scandinavian look. Beautifully illustrated with four-color photographs and step-by-step instructions with photos, not just drawings, this book will delight pet lovers who want to make their furry family members happy without breaking the bank.