For years, wooden pallets have provided homeowners with an innovative means to create economical pieces of furniture for the home and garden. In opposition to economically made, mass-produced furniture, pallet wood projects promote recycling and sustainability, qualities that are especially sought after in the changing world of today.
What truly defines pallet projects is their sense of personal character. They present each homeowner with the potential to create a unique piece of bespoke furniture or functional art that is personal and reflective of the designer behind it.
Wooden pallets hold possibilities that are virtually endless, with a wealth of projects that anyone can try their hand at, regardless of skill or preference. As such, we’ve compiled our top 5 pallet wood projects in order to offer you some choice examples of what pallet wood projects can provide.
For more information on sustainable wood, read our related blog.
Wood Pallet Coffee Table
The living room coffee table is the centrepiece of the room. Should it be of a high and lasting character and cared for adequately, it has the potential to fulfil multiple purposes, supporting a household for years, even decades.
While a high-quality coffee table will undoubtedly cost a pretty penny, a creative and affordable alternative is to fashion your own. Specifically, from wooden pallets. A well made wooden pallet coffee table not only has the potential to inject a quirky aesthetic into your living room, they also supply extra storage for books, magazines, coasters and other such items.
To truly cap it off, we suggest Manns Extra Tough Interior Varnish. Containing properties that make it ideal for food contact surfaces, this water based varnish dries to a clear finish, emphasising the aesthetic of your bespoke table. It’s highly durable capabilities also ensure your hard work is adequately protected in the foreseeable future.
Wood Pallet Bookshelf
Books are collectables that were once proudly displayed in most homes. In modern times, however, the emergence of the internet and electronic reading devices such as ebooks and kindles has diminished their stature. Their conditions are now varying, oftentimes cluttering an old bookshelf somewhere in the house or gathering dust in a rarely used attic.
So why not bring those tired books to life by creating a wooden pallet bookshelf, a handy way to breathe life into your once prominent collection. This brand-new residence alongside the walls of your bedroom or hallways will also go a long way to restoring your appetite for new and exciting narratives.
Our product recommendation here is personally approved by the Guild of Master Craftsmen. The product in question, Liberon Black Bison. It’s a quality paste wax polish that enhances the natural beauty of the wood, whilst protecting against dryness. Furthermore, it ensures resistance against finger marks and other indications of household traffic. This said, we offer an extensive range of excellent wood waxes that are also perfect for the job.
Wood Pallet Radiator Cover
Radiators, while essential for those cold winter nights, are unquestionably an eyesore that simply comes part and parcel with a modern home. An intuitive way to mask their presence, whilst still reaping their heating benefits, is by employing the use of a wooden pallet as a makeshift cover.
By removing one side of the pallet with a hammer or a crowbar, it has the ability to fit over most household radiators. If employing a second-hand pallet, you may well wish to clean, sand and generally spruce it up beforehand, but from there the rest is per your initiative! The pallet also then double ups as a handy piece of furniture for displaying photo frames, lampshades or even potted plants.
Ronseal Chalky Paint offers an attractive aesthetic that really goes hand in hand with a project such as this. It’s perfect for upcycling projects, as well as complementing a shabby chic design. It’s finish is also highly resistant to household knocks and scuffs and doesn’t require the protective use of a varnish, lacquer or wax.
Wood Pallet Herb Garden
Mount your wooden pallet to an exterior wall in your garden or transform into a makeshift crate, placing potting trays into the available space. Once you’ve filled your trays with soil and planted your herbs, you’re set. It’s that simple. All that’s left to do is simply exercise some patience, easy for a nature enthusiast such as yourself.
Homegrown chefs and horticulturalists rejoice! Wooden pallets are an innovative way to grow your own fresh, backyard herbs in a truly minimalist style. As the weather begins to warm and we edge closer to spring, the time is ripe for utilising this useful and sustainable practice.
Osmo UV Protection Oil is a professional grade product that’s perfect for protecting exterior wood. It will, in turn, provide your pallet wall with an exceptional level of defence from the discolouration caused by the sun’s UV rays, whilst also offering superb durability against the damaging effects of weathering.
Wood Pallet Accent Wall
This cabin-inspired look is an inexpensive method of redecorating a room to implement an atmosphere of warmth and character. This style of interior design has long since been popular for its rustic aesthetic and sense of versatility it provides.
There are a few different applications for this much sought after look, depending on your preference and the size of your chosen wall. Always make sure to source enough pallets for the job and dismantle them in an appropriate manner, ensuring you safely remove any nails in the process. It’s also advisable to properly sand your boards down before applying them.
From a visual perspective, there’s no product more ideal for enhancing the aesthetic of your accent wall than Osmo Poylx Oil. This premium grade, hardwax oil contains highly versatile characteristics and is ideal for all interior wood surfaces. Drying to a clear, natural finish, it will also simultaneously provide resistance against everyday household knocks, as well as liquid spills.
Clearly, we’re big endorsers of pallet wood projects at Wood Finishes Direct. If you’re in the mood for more wood-related content (pallet or otherwise) head on over to our Youtube channel. Regardless of your skill or experience in wood finishing, it’s full of practical content that covers a wide array of useful topics.
Need help with your wooden pallet project?
Contact our team of resident experts who are always on hand to help with project advice and product recommendations. Alternatively, see our FAQ page which covers many of the most commonly asked questions about wood preservers.
We love to see before, during and after photos of any wood finishing project. If you would like to share your project pictures with us and our followers, you can either send us some photos or share on our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram pages.
