Homemade items have a unique aesthetic and create an atmosphere of comfort in the interior. Therefore, even in the era of high technology, you can afford to show your imagination, by integrating in the interior, simple but original set, made with his own hands. Pallet furniture – is a wide range of various objects that, when properly finished, look like unusual designer products. The most interesting and practical ideas are in our material!
Benefits and Opportunities
Pallets are special supports that are used to transport goods. They are made of high quality wood, but due to high loads they have a limited service life – no more than 1-2 transport cycles.
Used pallets are sent for recycling, but most of them are simply thrown into the landfill, despite the fact that the structures are in excellent condition. The strength, environmental friendliness and low cost of the material attracted designers who launched a new trend – the creation of furniture from a budgetary basis. Pallets are several times cheaper than pines, for example, and finding a wholesaler will not take so much time.
Another advantage of pallets is that production does not require special skills, since by themselves they are a finished assembly product of convenient household sizes. Of course, simply stacking pallets and laying them with a mattress is not enough – some preparatory work is still required.
Pallets vary in size and type of construction, which will affect the dimensions of the finished item, as well as its visual appearance. Pallets are either single-walled or double-walled. Euro pallets are single-walled products with four passes, which are most common. This type is considered the best option for creating furniture, due to its high strength and easy assembly.
The practicality and cheapness of the material is not in doubt, but the visual component can confuse skeptical people. Will a home-made item of this origin fit into a modern interior, won’t it look too simple?
Furniture from pallets will perfectly decorate a country-style room or Provence – here the use of rough forms with provincial charm is considered an important requirement. It will also fit into the framework of the Scandinavian direction, which gravitates towards everything natural.
In a luxurious classic, such a solution will look inappropriate, as in high-tech, where glossy smooth surfaces dominate. Depending on the composition of the interior, unusual furniture is suitable for “contemporary”, if it focuses on naturalness.
Features of the preparation of the material
Wooden pallets lend themselves to various finishes: they can be fastened, fitted with textiles, painted, combined with other materials and accessories. But these processes are preceded by the stage of preparation of the foundation. To begin with, pallets are cleaned of dirt and dust. In some cases, it is enough to leave the structure in its original form – for example, for folding furniture.
For options in which pallets are needed only as a source of raw materials, you will have to disassemble them on separate boards, and then sort them by size. This is not so simple: the strength due to which the product is so valued is due to its robust assembly. In order not to damage the wood, it is recommended to remove nails with a carpentry ax and sledgehammer.
Another important stage of preparation is grinding, which is more convenient to carry out with a special grinding machine. In order to save time, only those sides of the structure that are in direct contact with the body can be processed. You can protect the surface from the negative effects of moisture by covering it with a primer layer with a moisture-repellent effect.
At first glance, it may seem that pallets, due to their square shape and rough texture, can serve as a basis for creating a limited number of furniture products, but this is not so. We have collected the most popular options, clearly illustrating each of them.
Tables from pallets
Most often, tables are made from pallets, and this is not surprising, because pallets themselves can be visually used as a small table without any processing. But they will look much better if, for example, they are painted white, combined among themselves, or covered with glass.
If you put two pallets on top of each other, setting four rollers from the bottom, you will get a mobile coffee table that will decorate a modern living room. Pallets in an upright position can form a kind of legs for the countertop. This way you can design your own patio table.
A two-floor base can be combined with stylish designer legs – and then no one will guess the origin of a home-made piece of furniture. A full-fledged dining table will turn out if you combine several pallets, collecting them on the basis of the spinal frame.
A convenient workplace will come out of such material. The distance between the boards is suitable for storing stationery and other household items that can be placed in specially prepared drawers.
Using a glass or tablecloth minimizes contact with a rough surface. To fit a pallet table into Provence, you can cover it with a thin layer of paint, thereby allowing the texture to “shine through” the coating.
Sofas and armchairs from pallets
A coffee table of pallets harmoniously complement the sofa from the same basis. Naturally, pallets in this case serve as a frame structure on which comfortable pillows will be located. These can be full-fledged components of a regular sofa or pillows, hand-sewn – such a piece of furniture will become a unique object of your home.
Pallet sofas vary in size and shape: small sofas in small dimensions, wide or corner models installed along the wall. The advantage of such structures is the presence of space between the boards, which is suitable for the installation of drawers – an ideal solution for the kitchen.
A pallet set is a more affordable version of modular designs. If you do not fasten the blocks together, you can at any time change the configuration of the sofa or move it to another room.
You can show your imagination by thinking through the armrests of furniture. They can be completely absent or be part of the frame. Removable sides are popular, which optionally increase the number of seats.
Bed of pallets
A good bed is the key to a good sleep, and as you know, well-being during wakefulness depends on it. Pallets are suitable for creating such seemingly serious structures, the quality of which has advanced requirements. You will get a strong, environmentally friendly frame, with the effect of ventilation, which not all purchased models have.
To make such a bed, it is necessary to combine several pallets. Their number depends on the desired size of the furniture, as well as its height. On top of the frame, which is endowed with additional storage places, lies a mattress.
For the interior in the loft and country style, such a detail as the head of the bed from pallets will look like the original “highlight” of the room. It can be left in its original form or upholstered. Horizontal boards are suitable for household trifles.
The mattress looks minimalistic, leaving free space on the platform. To diversify the design will help self-made sides that will comfortably outline the bed.
By the same principle, chairs are created, only they are usually limited to one block. Pallets with wooden legs and back are an affordable option for a street bench.
Bar counter from pallets
In modern cafes, coffee houses, bars, one often has to see that the interior is completely made of various improvised materials. A striking example is a bar counter made of pallets. It is very simple to make such a rack on your own, having at least three pallets. For a countertop, it is better to use a solid, even board, with a width of 30 cm or more, which is cut into a L-shaped or U-shaped, depending on which rack is planned. It will look great in the interior of a kitchen in eco-style, loft and many others.
It is important that the design of the room is appropriate. For example, on the front of the bar counter is made the backlight of the LED strip and the same on the kitchen rack of pallets. An excellent stand for wine bottles in a home bar will come out of one pallet placed on its side – in the boards you will need to make cuts for bottlenecks, bottoms. A kitchen table made of the same material is sometimes combined with a bar counter – a sink for dishes, a hob, an oven, etc. are mounted in it.
Shelving, dressers and shelves from pallets
With the help of pallets, you can equip the whole room, creating full-fledged chests of drawers or practical shelves. In the retro interior, one-style products that look like peculiar wooden “pockets” look interesting. They can also serve as the basis for a bookshelf showing the owners home library.
You can store shoes in the hallway on such a construction made of pallets, and in the kitchen dishes or cutlery. At the same time, napkins and towels emphasize the rustic character. Deep pallets set on top of each other form convenient racks that fit into the living room. If you equip them with closed doors, as well if you paint them, finished products will look like purchased models.
Decorative elements
From pallets, among other things, are made a lot of all kinds of decor:
Such items made by “home designers” will fit the style called art and craft. It gives priority to natural materials, items made with one’s own hand.
