CREATIVITY

A Small Throne From a Cardboard Box: When Temporary Things Hold Up Just Fine

The Body WASH Carton AT COSTCO

Even a creative has to shop at Costco sometimes.

At checkout, I grabbed one of those empty carton boxes to carry my things out.

This one happened to be a body wash box — the same shape as ONE of Pretzel’s dog beds. (Yes, she’s fancier than me and has more than one!)

So I thought, perfect.
Given KFC’s (my cat’s) track record of “claiming” every box that enters the house — and occasionally Pretzel’s actual beds — I figured I’d make this one a temporary bed just for him. (I’ve bought him nice beds before. He didn’t care for them.)

A cat claims its sacred space in a cauliflower box while a dog investigates — GoLightly living at its most real.
KFC the cat sitting proudly in a small produce box, showing his habit of claiming every box that enters the home.
A gray-and-white cat curled tightly inside a tiny round cat bed, illustrating his preference for unusual sleeping spots.
KFC lounging inside a large Costco body-wash carton, the box that later inspired the DIY elevated cat bed.

Convincing a Cat to Care

When I got home, I left the box out to see if he’d be interested. He wasn’t.
So I layered it with a few of my old sweaters and pajama pants to make it soft, sprinkled in some catnip for persuasion, and waited.
It worked — partially. He used it just enough for me to keep it.

A Little Improvisation (and Elevation)

While organizing, I found the wooden couch legs I’d swapped out months ago — perfectly good, just purposeless.

I looked at the legs, then at the box, and thought: why not give this thing a lift?

I painted over the body wash branding, drilled holes, and attached the legs.

Voilà — A Costco box turned mid-century cat bed, a little piece of design improvisation.

And TJ Maxx sells these for $59.99 easily!

A work-in-progress shot showing couch legs, acrylic paint, and a drill around the cardboard box — the materials used to build the elevated DIY cat bed.
A cardboard box partially painted with blue acrylic as part of transforming it into a mid-century-style DIY cat bed.

Inherited Ingenuity

KFC still prefers Pretzel’s bed, of course, and my bed.
Because cats. 🐱

But while I was building it, I thought about my dad —
the expert at turning random things into something useful.
When I was little, I used to roll my eyes at his creations — they worked, but I thought they looked “ugly.”

Now here I am, doing the same thing — just with better paint choices.

What Creativity Really Is

Maybe creativity isn’t about making something new.
Maybe it’s about seeing new life in what’s already here.
And laughing when your cat still chooses the dog’s bed anyway.

But it sure satisfies my creative itch.

The finished DIY cat bed made from a painted cardboard box and wooden legs, styled in a simple mid-century look.

LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK!

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