As a do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiast, you most definitely appreciate recycling and reusing old items. And if you’re imaginative enough, there are numerous ways you can repurpose shipping pallets to bring a breath of fresh air into your home. You can use them for multiple purposes as far as your imagination can go. In addition, shipping pallets are affordable to buy, making them a shrewd purchase not only to spice up your home’s look but also because they’re functional.
If you’re stuck on where to start when using shipping pallets to transform your home’s furnishing and décor, look no further. Here’s a guide on the different ways you can repurpose shipping pallets for your home projects.
Are Shipping Pallets Safe For Indoor Use?
As a homeowner, it’s best first to understand whether repurposed pallets are safe to use for your home improvement DIY projects. And the answer to this is yes, but this doesn’t apply to all the shipping pallets. Ideally, the pallets for home purposes shouldn’t be chemically treated. One way to know this is if it doesn’t have any distinct stamp or mark, which means it’s safe to use for DIY home projects because it’s only been used in the United States. You shouldn’t overlook the importance of only repurposing shipping pallets that are safe to use because the last thing you want is to expose your family to dangerous bacteria and toxic chemicals. The two most common wood species used are pine lumber, oak, and southern yellow pine. Oak is an ideal choice because it’s durable, but you can also consider pine lumber due to its low price.
What Are Some of The Ideas On How To Repurpose Shipping Pallets?
There are different ways of repurposing shipping pallets for your DIY home improvement projects, and here’s a look at some practical ideas:
- Coffee Table
- Are you searching for an affordable yet practical coffee table for your living room space? If so, the pallet coffee table is a perfect choice, and it adds a rustic and elegant look to your home. And to increase the coffee table’s functionality, you can consider adding wheels to it, making it a lot easier to move around. It can be customized to fit your living room space perfectly.
- Using the same shipping pallets you can create a broad range of styles depending on your preference. Some ideas include stacking together two or three pallets and then painting them to have void storage spaces you can use. You can also choose to design a more elaborate style that features decorative inlays or drawers.
- Outdoor Chair
- If you’ve recently been to a furniture store, you must have been shocked at the retail price for outdoor furniture. Fortunately, you shouldn’t necessarily break the bank to pay overcharged costs for such patio chairs by choosing outdoor pallet furniture. The best part about creating the outdoor pallet chair is that it shouldn’t take much effort and time. All you need is a handful of pallet boards to assemble for use in your patio or porch.
- Adding an outdoor pallet chair creates a focal point in your outdoor space due to its striking look. And thanks to its robust build quality, this outdoor chair will serve you for an extended period while still guaranteeing you superb comfort.
- Rustic Bed Headboard
- If you're looking to add some style to your bedroom, the rustic bed headboard is undoubtedly a great idea. This headboard is also affordable and can be easily customized to match your bedroom décor. And if you love standing out from the crowd, the rustic bed headboard is perfect due to its distinct look that differs from other conventional models.
- Store Garden Supplies
- If you don’t have enough storage space for gardening essentials such as garden hose, shovel, and hand rakes, look no further than repurposed pallets. This item provides you with the perfect platform to comfortably hang your garden essentials. And to boost its longevity, you need to whitewash the wood and enhance its appearance by adding a row of potted flowers.
- Deck Cooler
- A plastic cooler for storing drinks that you can take while relaxing outside on your deck usually doesn’t have an appealing look. However, you can make up for this by getting a cooler made out of shipping pallets. With its unique and striking look, you’ll never feel ashamed of where you stash your drinks when chilling on your deck with your family and friends.
- Wall-Mounted Wine Rack
- The wine rack is a superb addition to your outdoor bar as it offers you a cheap alternative to in-store options available at stores. In addition, this rustic wall-mounted wine rack doesn’t take much time to make hence why many homeowners love this option. Using it, you can store everything, including your wine glasses as well as wine bottles.
- Wall Shelves
- Repurposed shipping pallets can be used to make wall shelves where you can place countless items, including books and pictures. Designing wall-mounted shelves shouldn’t take you much effort because all you need to do is deconstruct it to your preferred size. Consequently, you can place the pallets on the wall that add extra storage space into your home to store your valuables.
- Pallet Compost Bin
- Do you make your compost? If so, you need to have a type of bin to stash away your compost. While there are ready-made compost bins on the market, it’s best to make one by yourself as this will be a lot cheaper. In addition, this shouldn’t take too much effort because wood pallets come in a design that easily allows you to make compost bins. Therefore, you don’t have to disassemble the pallets to make your compost bin.
- The spaces in between pallets are also ideal because it allows for surplus water to drain out. They also promote the excellent flow of air into the compost bin, which helps ensure the organic matter is well aerated with this vital for composting.
- Vertical Garden
- While growing plants in your home are rewarding and fun, it usually requires a lot of space. And if you already have a small home packed with other items, adding indoor plants further makes the indoor space feel too much squeezed. Luckily, the vertical pallet garden provides you with the perfect solution for your problems by allowing maximum use of the empty vertical spaces in your home.
- There are different vertical garden designs you can opt for using the repurposed wooden where you can fit the potted plants. Making this item isn’t laborious and time-consuming, and all that’s needed is a staple gun, hammer, nails, a roll of landscaping paper, and potting soil where you’ll plant your potted plants. Adding the vertical garden in your home isn’t unique but also ensures you don’t miss out on the benefits of having indoor plants just because you don’t have enough space.
- Pallet Flooring
- Another way you can use repurposed shipping pallets is as a flooring material. Today, this is quite popular because reclaimed shipping pallets are cheaper than reclaimed wood floors. They’re more affordable because you can quickly deconstruct and treat the pallets to give them an identical look to reclaimed wood.
- With that said, creating pallet flooring requires more effort and time compared to making a pallet for the wall. It is usually the case because you need to make sure all the pallets are of identical thickness before using them as flooring. You also have to confirm that the edges and sides are in uniforms. Installing an equal and flat subfloor will also be necessary if the edges and sizes aren’t in uniform thickness.
- Although the pallet flooring might seem like a lot of work and requires specialized tools, it’s no doubt worth it. After all, the pallet flooring with its intricate design gives your home a distinct look because of its different colors and sizes.
- A Platform Bed
- The sturdy design of pallets means they can comfortably bear a person’s weight. After all, these patios were used before to hold bulky items during shipping. The pallet platform bed is also an excellent addition to your pallet headboard. Making the pallet bed shouldn’t be that hard and can be done in a few simple steps, which simply entails taking out a couple of pallet boards. Consequently, remove the splinters, screw together the middle braces and finalize by applying paint and you’ll now have a pallet bed frame to place your mattress.
- A DIY Pallet Desk With In-Built Shelves
- Working from home post-COVID is the new normal, and for maximum productivity, you need a workstation where you can comfortably do your assigned duties. If this is the case, you shouldn’t necessarily have to buy a new desk. It won’t only be expensive, but you’ll most likely get one with a conventional look, and there’s a likelihood it won’t suit your personal preference. Nonetheless, you can choose to build yourself such a desk from scratch using repurposed pallets.
- The DIY pallet desk’s height can be personalized to your individual preference, and your height should be your guide to determine the size to cut them. With this, you get storage space where you can store various including notebooks, cables, your laptop, to mention a few. Therefore, you’ll have a clutter-free and clean surface that helps you concentrate on your work better.
- DIY Pallet Nightstand
- Your bedroom won’t be complete if there’s no nightstand by the side of your bed. If you’re uncertain which is the right nightstand to get, the DIY pallet nightstand is a great pick. This piece of furniture will give your room a modern, classy, and unique look as it is made from repurposed pallets. The best thing about it is that it’s easy and cheap to make.
- Wall Artwork
- If you’re an artist who enjoys showcasing your creative projects to your friends and family, pallet wood artwork is a go-to item. All you need to get is metallic paint and a painter’s tape to start creating remarkable statements of art. The pallet wood in the case will serve as the canvas on which you can showcase your artistic skills and bring color and natural texture into your home.
- Garden Fence
- While the fence helps to safeguard your property from outsiders, it isn’t cheap to install. Luckily, you won’t need to spend a penny paying a professional contractor if you opt to build a fence using a shipping pallet.
- When building a garden fence using shipping pallets, the steps to follow aren’t complicated. You can start by disassembling the pallets, lining them up side by side, and using a hammer to nail them together. These can also be designed to make a gate, and this is done by attaching a latch and hinges.
- Fortunately, using repurposed pallets as your fence is easy and affordable to replace. In addition, you can place chicken wire over the pallets to make them critter-proof.
- Pallet Swing
- If you want to add zing to your patio or backyard, then installing a pallet swing is the way to go. You need to get two wooden pallets that are adequately fastened together with extra plants in between. With that, you need a chain or rope to suspend the pallet. The best place to install the swinging pallet is ideally a tree. However, there are other viable alternatives, such as a pergola or any firm structure. In addition, the rope you use needs to be sturdy to support a person’s weight comfortably.
Takeaway
The long lifespan of wooden pallets means you can comfortably recycle and reuse them for a broad range of uses rather than throwing them away. This appeal for wooden pallets is further boosted because they’re highly versatile. But if you were short of practical ideas on how to repurpose pallets for shipping, this in-depth article had outlined some practical ways you can use this material.