You’ve likely seen wood shipping pallets, like these, piled up next to dumpsters outside your local furniture store and the like. Once the task of protecting items and providing ease-of-transport during shipping is complete, the pallet is often tossed. For those of us with a DIY eye, that means free material! Sure they’re usually built from basic, no-frills pine, but there’s something appealing in their simplicity.
Ever wonder about ways to prolong the lifecycle of these utilitarian constructs? We found five ideas for you that also happen to be easy on the wallet.
1. BUILD A DAYBED
Photo: Apartment Therapy/Elle Interior
This is an easy and affordable solution for a daybed on a porch or in a sunroom or guest bedroom. By combining two pallets with a twin-size mattress and adding industrial caster wheels available at your local hardware store, you have a great-looking place for guests and family to take a snooze or read a magazine. For more, visit Apartment Therapy.
2. CREATE A DESK
Photo: Flickr/Pierrevedal
By adding a set of sturdy, colorful table legs (in this case from budget-friendly IKEA), the pallet becomes a super-functional desk with pretty great storage capacity built right in. Instructables shows you how it’s done.
3. HANG A PLATE RACK
Photo: Remodelista
This project requires very few modifications to the pallet but goes a long way towards creating rustic charm in the kitchen. Adding a couple of long nails to keep each plate from falling forward and two eye screws to hang the pallet on the wall, designer Katrin Erens stylishly displays her plate collection. Find out more on Remodelista.
4. TAKE A SEAT
Photo: Studio Mama
Originally created by Studiomama for display at a design show, this low-slung lounge chair was crafted using two pallets and 50 screws. Instructions are available for purchase on the Studiomama website.
5. CONSTRUCT AN ISLAND
Photo: Apartment Therapy
The most ambitious of these projects involves a bit of deconstruction and rebuilding to take a few pallets and build a great-looking industrial chic island. Painted black it’s hard to see the original source of the wood is a lowly shipping pallet! Even more great ideas can be found on Apartment Therapy.
Related:
5 Things to Do… With Wood Shutters
Great Places to Buy Architectural Salvage
30 Days of Easy Summer DIY