If you come across unwanted pallets, try your hand at DIY with these simple projects at home. Furnish your shabby chic abode with budget friendly yet creatively functional designs; they range from beginner to advanced and require only basic tools and your imagination.
Seasonal lawn décor
Starting at the bottom of a sharpened dowel, nail horizontal planks of pallet wood in increasing sizes. Construct one (or several Christmas trees) to showcase in your yard. Paint the reclaimed wood in festive colors, or stain it for a rustic look. Embellish the trees with glitter and string lights, or hot glue ornaments to the branches. Make trees for inside your home as well, but remember to create a base for use on carpet or hardwood floors.
TIP: Sand your pallet before painting! Clean debris off with a damp rag, so paint adheres better.
Coffee table
Do you love simple furniture? Unquestionably the quickest on the list, pallet coffee tables consist of two identically sized skids screwed together. For the smaller version, cut a full size pallet in two equal halves. Add additional planks to raise its height, and enhance mobility with caster wheels underneath. Once stacked, pallets naturally form shelving to hold magazines, wine bottles, remotes, etc. Achieve a beautifully bare aesthetic by adding this table to your sun room or patio.
TIP: Make these cute pallet coasters to match.
Bed Frame
Place comparably proportioned pallets side by side to build a foundation for your mattress, and continue attaching horizontally until desired height is reached. Secure all pieces with long screws. Varnish wood to protect against termite attacks. Because an average pallet can hold approximately two thousand pounds, several people can sleep calmly on the solid but minimalist infrastructure.
TIP: Chip brushes are the most effective when staining or painting pallet wood.
Mug display
If you cannot find a pallet small enough to suspend on your wall, saw a sufficient square off a larger pallet’s framework. After staining the wood, fasten an even row of prong hooks to each plank. Finish the project by stenciling a word or surname to the top, and customize matching cups to hang.
TIP: Be careful when choosing a darker stain, because pallet wood really absorbs the hue.
Where can you find pallets?
- Dumpsters provide easy access but difficult removal.
- Small businesses often permit you to take pallets off their hands.
- Construction sites or trucking terminals answer on a case by case basis. Many reuse the transport structures until the point of breakage, but some are swimming in excess.
- Ask a hotel or restaurant! If they cannot resell to vendors, they might offer you their surplus.
- Local recycling plants allow interested parties to purchase disposed pallets for a small fee.
- Check Craigslist classifieds for free scraps in your specific area.
Brainstorm
Plenty of websites, including Pinterest and Youtube, constantly post new ways to use pallets. If you're feeling creative, improvise your own!