These DIY pallet wood projects make it easy to tackle indoor and outdoor projects for the home, garden, and more. They're economical and, depending on your style, your result can be edgy, traditional, modern, or rustic. Plus, some of these projects, like garden planters, headboards, and bookshelves are perfect for the DIY furniture flipper looking to start a side business.
Accessible to anyone with the motivation to source street-side pallet materials, most projects require only tools that you may already have on hand. With little more than a prybar, hammer and nails, cordless drill, and saw, you'll be able to construct most of these 42 do-it-yourself pallet projects in a day or two.
Finding Pallet Wood
There are many places to find pallet wood for free—just think about where they might be bringing in large supplies via a shipping company. Look to construction sites, grocery stores, equipment stores, home improvement stores, and even newspaper companies.
Ideally, you want to find a pallet that's in good condition, which typically means dry with no stains. Pallets that come from locations with food have a higher chance of staining, and, if there's an oil stain, you may have difficulty removing it or painting over it.
Preparing for Your Pallet Project
The best pallet for a DIY project is one without major fissures or splinters but, for safety, always wear gloves when initially working with your pallet to avoid splinter injuries. Before beginning your project, sand any splinters and pull out any nails. You can also disassemble the pallet as needed to work on your project.
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Pallet Herb Garden Wall
Artist Zina and her husband mounted a full pallet on the backyard side of their house for a pallet herb garden wall. Plastic potting trays fit neatly between the slots, and the herb names are painted on the garden wall in fancy script.
Little woodworking has to be done here, yet a wood pallet suddenly transforms into a wall planter. You just need to nail on a few boards to support the herb planters.
Pallet Herb Garden from Messy Art
Watch Now: How to Turn a Wood Pallet Into a Wall Planter
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Wood Pallet Entryway Ceiling
Jessie, at the home lifestyle blog Cape 27, spent next to nothing on a wood pallet living room wall, so she continued the rustic look by tacking up the pallet boards to her exterior porch ceiling. This wood pallet entryway ceiling project was as easy as taking down the light, power nailing a perimeter and field boards, and then replacing the light.
Exterior Entryway Pallet Ceiling from Cape 27 Blog
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Wood Pallet Outdoor Table With Succulent Garden
Make a wood pallet outdoor table by face-nailing or screwing pallet boards to the top of an old table and clear coating them. For a delightful extra touch, omit a center pallet board and replace with a low, 2-inch-high potting tray and fill with succulents.
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Wood Pallet Bed Headboard
This pallet bed headboard has an affordable rustic-chic look. To make your own, source two pallets, thoroughly pressure wash them, and let dry for several days before attaching to your bed frame. You can clear coat them with satin polyurethane or leave the wood unfinished for a mixture of the primitive and the sophisticated.
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Pallet Wood Wall Clock
Pallet wood adds character to this decorative wall clock made with working high torque clock hands. You could also make it non-functional for an incredibly easy decorative project.
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Wood Pallet Radiator Cover
One way to hide your radiator is with possibly the least expensive radiator cover ever: a wood pallet. Simply knock off one side of the boards with a hammer or pry bar. After cleaning it, place it in front of your radiator for instant coverage. For wide radiators, gently pry off the center stringer board.
Pallet Radiator Cover from Lantliv
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Wood Pallet Kitchen Backsplash
A do-it-yourself wood pallet backsplash will always be a budget-friendly alternative to tile. Dana, of the design blog Circa Dee, cut wood pallet boards into 18-inch sections and left the wood raw for maximum weathered effect. Alternatively, you may choose to seal the pallet boards for protection against moisture.
Pallet Backsplash from Circa Dee
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DIY Pallet Vertical Garden
This DIY pallet vertical kitchen garden hung from white painted boards is an easy $30 DIY that is perfect for those without enough outdoor space to plant a garden. You can also use it to hang the tools that you want at arm's length.
Vertical Hanging Kitchen Garden from Ursula Carmona of Home Made By Carmona
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Wood Pallet Bookshelf
Give your treasured books, pictures, or other favored pieces a new home with this quick and easy bookshelf made from free wood pallet boards. Jen Woodhouse banged together this utterly charming bookcase in no time at all with four pallets and some extra pallet parts. You'll have a blast doing the same with the help of Jen's detailed instructions that take you all the way through the project.
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Wood Pallet Living Room Sectional
You can make a sectional sofa for far less than you'd buy it at a furniture store. That's because a double layer of free wood pallets forms the base, with your only expense being the tatami mats and pillows on top. As a bonus, the pallets provide two layers of storage for flat items like pictures, laptops, books, or anything else that fits.
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Wood Pallet Bed Frame
Dana Fox made a budget-friendly wood pallet bed frame when she sourced free wood pallets at her local tire store to try her hand at pallet furniture. After removing a few pallet boards and screwing the remainder together at the center braces, she now had a practically-free bed frame that was ready for her full-sized mattress.
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Wood Pallet Compost Bin
Wood pallets are practically made for compost bins. Compost bins always need a generous number of long slots to aerate the organic matter, so pallets form the perfect four walls of the bin. Besides the pallets, the only other material used: zip-ties. This is easy, fast, and you don't even need a farm to begin composting your kitchen matter.
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Pallet Board World Map
This decorative wood pallet wall map was made from recycled pallet boards, tracing paper, and a black permanent marker to transfer the design. You can paint the continents in any color that you want, but keeping them neutral gives the map an abstract quality that's perfect for your home office or any other room.
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Wood Pallet Potting Bench
Two wood pallets and one coat of robin's egg blue paint were all that was needed to make this lovely garden potting bench. Ananda, over at the design blog A Piece of Rainbow, spent just one afternoon making this beautiful and functional potting bench for her garden.
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Wood Pallet Outdoor Chair
This wood pallet exterior chair is a unique twist on outdoor furniture. Donna, at Funky Junk Interiors, calls this "the easiest build in the world." She used real coffee bean sacks as upholstery on top of 5-inch rubber foam mattress material. Your local coffee roaster may have sacks available for purchase or for the taking, if you ask.
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DIY Pallet Outdoor Swing
Why settle for a hammock when you can DIY an outdoor swing made from pallet wood and hang it from your favorite backyard tree? This is one of the most affordable and relaxing DIYs you'll ever tackle.
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Wood Pallet Accent Wall
Because of their rich, complicated texture, wood pallet boards make for a stunning accent wall. Leanne Lee, of the design blog Diva of DIY, says that the secret to varied colors is to wet the boards with bleach and water, leave them outside, then pull boards out of the sun in stages. Doing this in separate batches creates boards in a wide spectrum of colors.
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Wood Pallet Decorative Sign
Maurice Sendak's classic story comes alive in vivid detail with this amusing project that anyone can make with just a few pallet boards, a hammer, and nails. Weekend Craft creator, Michelle, also includes a stencil with her instructions.
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Wood Pallet Triangle Reading Nook
Your child will just adore wiling away the hours with books in this wood pallet triangle reading nook.
Just a couple of pallets, a few scrap pallet pieces, and rolling casters are enough to get started on this cheerful addition to any nursery or child's bedroom. Because this is for a child, take special care with the pallet boards' surface condition. Fill in holes with wood filler, remove staples, and plane or sand away splinters and other sharp spots.
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Wood Pallet Chevron Coffee Table
Chevron pattern wood pallet boards inject lively visual interest in this DIY coffee table from Caitlin and Manda at The Merry Thought. All pallet boards are glued and brad-nailed directly onto a plywood base for structural support. As with other pallet woodworking projects where the pallet wood acts as a table surface, make sure that the wood is cleared-coated several times to provide a protective, non-absorbent surface.
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Wood Pallet Home Bar
Rebecca Farrant built a home bar for almost no money using old wood pallets. Rebecca used weathered pallet boards to instantly give it the look of a decades-old pub. It's the perfect type of bar for outdoors, on a patio, or around the pool.
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Wood Pallet Board Rustic Table Centerpiece
Make a wood pallet board rustic table centerpiece by painting the boards lightly with white, then scraping down the paint with a putty knife. If you find the prospect of taking on wood pallet projects a bit intimidating, this is an easy way to get your feet wet. It's also a project that allows you to concentrate more on the decorative finish than on construction.
DIY Rustic Wood Pallet Board Table Centerpiece from Happy at Home
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Wood Pallet Mini Greenhouse Floor
The floor of this mini greenhouse was built from broken down wood pallets, giving it a rustic look that's perfect for its English country garden setting. The finished product feels like something high end you'd find in a rural antique store.
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Wood Pallet Coffee Mug Holder
Develop your beginner pallet woodworking skills with this quick wood pallet coffee mug holder DIY project. Start with your cleanest wood pallet, cut it to a smaller size, then add metal hooks. The coffee logo was made using a stencil, paint, and a paint sponge.
Simple Wood Pallet Coffee Mug Holder from One Little Bird Blog
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Wood Pallet Garden Tools Rack
Make a wood pallet garden tools rack with this ultimate lightning-quick do-it-yourself project. Since wood pallets don't always come in mint condition, this is a great way to use up one of your dirtier wood pallets.
Attach the back side of the pallet to your shed wall with four screws and then you're done. With this kind of do-it-yourself pallet project, it'll be easy to stay organized.
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Wood Pallet Fireplace Surround
Warm, cozy, and definitely one of a kind, this wood pallet fireplace surround is a weekend project that lets you exercise your creative skills. Stacey, over at the design blog Addison Meadows Lane, gives you detailed instructions, down to the very last screw and nail. Follow her instructions or adapt it to make it all your own.
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Wood Pallet Porch Swing
Hang this wood pallet swing from a porch ceiling, a stand, or the limb of a backyard tree. This pallet woodworking project is as cheap as the cost of a heavy-duty chain, cushions, and some paint or wood stain. Wood pallets are fairly heavy, so make sure that the attachment point can support the weight.
Wood Pallet Porch Swing from Twelve Oaks Manor
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Wood Pallet Bar Cart
This wood pallet bar cart from Holly at the blog My Pinteresting Life, has a sleek, modern look. She found these new wood pallets at her local post office, but you can also buy them new.
Pallet Wood DIY Bar Cart from My Pinteresting Life
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Wood Pallet Room Divider
This super-simple wood pallet room divider requires just four pallets. Tons of space on the divider gives you ample room for screwing in binder clips to display favorite family and vacation photos, as well as curios, postcards, and theater tickets.
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Wood Pallet Outdoor Double Lounge Chair
A do-it-yourself double wood pallet lounge chair with a matching cocktail table on rolling casters is an affordable way to outfit your patio. Liberally coat this pallet chair with your favorite exterior latex paint both for color and for protection against the elements.
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Wood Pallet Coffee Table
This inexpensive DIY coffee table was made from dry-brushed pallet wood sealed with wax and augmented with wheels to make it portable and practical while adding an industrial-farmhouse feel to this bright living room.
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Pallet Wood Dining Table
Hairpin legs give this DIY wood pallet tabletop a modern rustic look. This is one of the least expensive dining room DIY's you'll ever try.
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Wood Pallet Desk
Upcycled pallet wood and the legs of an old table came together to make this DIY modern farmhouse-style pallet desk. Plus, you'll gain storage thanks to the sections of the wood pallet.
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DIY Pallet Couch
This DIY pallet couch has a wood pallet base that is topped with no-sew cushions that make outdoor lounging on the back patio more comfortable and fun. Make sure to cover it when it's raining to help your DIY project last longer.
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DIY Pallet Headboard
This DIY headboard made from stained pallet wood boards topped with a piece of recycled molding adds warmth to a modern farmhouse bedroom. You can take it all the way to the ceiling for a dramatic, yet inexpensive, look.
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DIY Advent Tree
Pallet wood can be used to make simple and affordable Christmas decor that the kids will love, like this DIY advent tree strung with small presents. Simply nail hooks or pegs into the pallet wood and you have the perfect backdrop for festive decor.
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Wood Pallet American Flag
Fans of Americana can make this DIY wood pallet American flag painted in red, white, and blue with stamped-on stars. All it requires is a few colors of paint, some patience, and hooks to hang it on the wall.
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DIY Pallet Message Board
This simple message board uses raw and painted weathered pallet wood that is mounted with hooks to create an organization hub with a modern farmhouse look. You can use push pins right into the wood without worrying about damaging a piece of expensive wood.
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DIY Pallet Wood Christmas Trees
These DIY Christmas trees are made from recycled wood pallets and plywood, then sanded and finished with wax or polyurethane. They require a bit more experience in the woodworking department, but you'll use them year after year.
Wooden Christmas Tree Made From Pallet Wood from Thistlewood Farms
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DIY Photo Backdrop
This DIY wood photo backdrop was made from pallet wood that was painted and distressed by hand, perfect for bloggers or those who need to take appealing photos of their creations or wares to sell online.
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Fold-Up Pallet Desk
This wall-mounted, fold-up desk is an afternoon DIY project made from upcycled pallets, plywood, and piano hinges. If it's for a teenager's room, you can pull them into the project to help paint and nail.
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Wood Pallet Popcorn Stand
This DIY popcorn stand uses pallet wood and spray-painted cardboard letters to create a festive backyard snack station that would liven up any backyard bash. Pull it into the garage or cover it when not in use.
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Does pallet wood decompose?
If left untreated outside, eventually pallet wood will rot and decompose. The wood needs to be treated regularly in order to stand up to the elements.
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What furniture can I make with a pallet?
You can make everything from a sofa to a bed to dining tables, desks, porch swings, and coffee tables with a wood pallet. This strong base is a great starting point for DIY furniture projects.
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What are the disadvantages of wooden pallets?
Because wooden pallets are made for shipping, they aren't typically in furniture-ready condition and require care to make them usable. The wood also isn't designed to last and needs to be treated to avoid rot, insects, and bacteria growth.
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How long will pallet wood last?
Left outside, pallet wood will start showing signs of rot within a few months and become unusable within three to five years.
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What pallets should be avoided?
Avoid using pallets that are marked with MB (Methyl Bromide) or SF (Sulfuryl Fluoride), both of which leave behind chemicals you don't want in your furniture. If a pallet has excessive nails or screws, that should be avoided.
If a pallet has been heat treated and is marked as such, it should be safe to use.
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How do you prepare pallet wood for projects?
If you are using a free wooden pallet picked up from the side of the road or the outside of a dumpster, make sure the wood is clean, free of oil-based or other stains, and has not been treated with harmful chemicals.
Then, prepare pallet wood for projects by making sure it's dry, sanding away any splinters or fissures, and ensuring there are no nails stuck in the wood. If it's being used inside for furniture, make sure it is completely smooth and ready for interior use.
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What does a blue pallet mean?
Blue pallets are typically owned by Chep Pallet Company. These are leased pallets and are not available to take for your DIY projects (taking one could lead to a felony).