With a big trend towards reclaimed and upcycled styles, many people are now choosing to create unique furniture from used materials. Not only do these pieces have a lot of character, they’re cheap and easy to make, and can often make interesting conversation pieces in your home. Pallet wood has a rustic look, and can also be stained or painted to create a lot of different looks, so it’s a versatile wood to work with, Best of all, pallets are cheap and easily available at places such as Palletwest, so it’s easy to get the materials you need to start your project. Here are a few ideas for using pallets around the home.
- Garden furniture
The rustic look of pallets makes them ideal for creating sturdy wooden garden furniture. If you haven’t tried making pallet furniture before, then making garden furniture is a simple way to start. Pallets are strong enough to stand up to tough weather conditions, and can either be stacked up or taken apart and de-nailed to make strong planks of wood to build your furniture. Although you may want a rustic effect overall, it’s always worth giving pallets a sanding to ensure there are no stray splinters before the furniture is used.
A simple project for beginners is to create a garden bench from pallets. One pallet makes a seat, while another can be used for back support, and four legs can then be added using a drill and screws to create a sturdy frame. You can add arms made from pallet wood if needed, and once assembled, the entire bench can be stained with a suitable outdoor finish, or painted for a vintage look.
- Pallet coffee table
A popular way to use pallets is to create a coffee table. Pallets are sturdy, and the shape of them means they already have a table shape, so minimal work is needed. There are lots of ways to make a pallet coffee table, but one of the simplest ways is to choose a large pallet and clean and sand it down. Paint or finish it in your colour of choice, and then simply add four large casters to each edge of the table.
Making a pallet coffee table gives you lots of style choices. You can sand them down and add a glossy varnish for a sleek, contemporary look, or use chalk paint for a rustic, vintage look. The shape of pallets also means they have a built-in shelf, so they offer storage space and are a practical option.
- Pallet bed frame
Since they already have wooden slats, pallets are ideal for creating a bed frame. It’s often just a case of finding the right sized pallets, and getting a few materials together. Sand the pallets, stain or paint them as required, and secure the pallets together using brackets to create a sturdy bed base. You can then get creative, and some ideas include:
- Creating a matching headboard with pallets
- Using chalk paint for a vintage-inspired look
- Making the base longer than the mattress for built-in seating or a shelf
- Adding casters or legs to raise the height of the bed
- Adding lighting underneath the bed for a fun effect
The key to creating a good pallet bed frame is using high quality pallets, so make sure they are sturdy as they’ll need to support the weight of the mattress as well as people.
- Shelves
Pallets are ideal for creating shelves as they are easy to disassemble, and the wooden slats are already evenly measured out, so you simply need to prep them. Using second hand pallets gives you lots of design options when it comes to building shelves, so you can really use your imagination. Whether it’s individual shelves or a shelving unit, there are lots of ways to use pallet wood.
One of the simplest things you can do if you like the pallet look is to mount on to the wall, with the slatted side facing backwards. This will give you three or four base slats to use as shelves which are ideal for smaller items, from photo frames to herbs, adding a rustic and fun touch to your home.
- Pallet desk
If you need an organised space to work, then consider making a desk from reclaimed pallets. Pallets have a stylish look, and are easy to turn into a desk with plenty of storage space for important papers or various items. There are lots of ideas for DIY pallet desks to be found online, and these can be made in a sleek contemporary style or something a little more rustic and classic.
Some advantages to building a desk from pallets include:
- Versatility – pallets can easily be disassembled or used whole to create the right look
- Using a pallet as a desktop gives you built in shelves for those essentials
- Various sizes are available to create a bespoke study area
- Once built, simply painting or staining the wood can easily change the look of the desk
Building a pallet desk is an excellent way to practice your DIY skills, and there are projects from simple to complex to suit your skills.
- Turning pallets into flooring
The rustic look of pallet wood makes it ideal for flooring, and the wood simply needs to be sanded and stained with a suitable flooring treatment to get it ready. Laying your own wood flooring can be tricky, so this is a project for more experienced DIY enthusiasts, but the effect is very stylish and cool. Once you’ve perfected laying straight planks, you can experiment with shapes such as chevrons and zig-zags to create an interesting effect.
If you’ve always wanted to create DIY furniture, then using wooden pallets is an excellent way to start. Because they require minimal preparation, and come in all sorts of sizes, they’re easy to use as a base for a reclaimed piece. Whether you’re a seasoned DIY expert or just starting out, make sure you have high quality pallets to ensure the best finish for your project. Whether you need a few pallets or a large amount, Palletwest offer pallets to suit your needs, so get in touch today.