4 Clever Home Recycling Uses for Wood Pallets

There are many reuses for wooden pallets and surprisingly enough there may be a lot of people scouring the internet on the hunt for some. But before you go all willy nilly and list your pallets in an online ad or recycle them for a project, there are some things to consider up front.

Some wood pallets may have chemical contaminates or have harmful bacteria on them. Think about what may have been transported on them and what kind of project you’ll be making before bringing them into your home or someone else’s. That being said, there are a multitude of cool ideas floating around out there. Wood pallet furniture is a hot topic, and making your own out of recycled pallets is pretty straight forward. Here are four wooden pallet furniture projects for you to try at home.

Make a Wood Pallet Couch

You might say “how in the world can you make a couch from wooden pallets?" Well that’s simple, you can use wooden pallets as the foundation framework as Tony Castillo from cuartoderecha.com captured here. You can then use reupholstered outdoor cushions or cover thick foam if you’re on a tight budget.

This project is particularly useful if you’re working with a small space and you want to create some interest while having it be functional at the same time. You can use the pallets as a platform bottom, but also as storage cubbies for books or other items as well and choose to leave them unfinished and rustic looking or paint them to blend in with a room.

Fashion a Makeshift Wood Pallet Bike Rack

To almost every problem there is a solution and this solution is for those who like quick fixes. Not only is it the quickest, but it’s the cheapest and simplest route to making your life easier instead of dealing with multiple bikes laying all over your front porch. Before starting your search through a dumpster, you will need two wooden pallets of varying slat size that will allow for a lazy man’s installation.

Eliminate the hassle of cutting and assembling a custom rack and use two wooden pallets that support each other by being placed step by step in the appropriate way. There’s no need for screwing anything down or using a hammer and nails.

The laws of physics will serve to assist the organization of the bikes and the top upright pallet with the thinner boards will hold the wheels in place.

Transform your Pallets into a Wood Pallet Swing

If your porch needs a better swing or has outgrown the old one, consider reconstructing from pallet boards. You can still incorporate the chains from the old swing.

Using four wooden pallets, you can make a chair or bench swing. This project requires a little bit more patience, nuts and bolts and a circular saw to complete, but after you’re finished with the hard part you’ll be rewarded with a unique conversation piece. With a breakdown of the old pallets, fashioning the seat is the first order of business. You can size the pallet planks according to your needs and make any size bottom you wish.

The tricky part comes in when you are ready to attach the back of the swing to the seat bottom. Two more pallet sides are needed for placement in a perpendicular position to both the bottom and back before creating an angle and connection point with carriage bolts. Once this is done, you can create armrests out of the extra pieces of wood and you’re ready to sand, paint and attach your chains.

Construct a Wood Pallet Coffee Table

Never thought of using wood pallets as a coffee table? Instead of spending a fortune on a vintage industrial factory cart, why not make your own. You can even go a step further by adding castor wheels and restored hardware. With a little elbow grease and time, you can make a wooden pallet coffee table look like high end living room furniture. Interior designers aren’t the only people who can use reclaimed wood to make a statement piece.

You can finish off the piece by staining the table with a quality wood finish or some brightly colored paint. To create additional hardware charm, consider visiting a restoration salvage place in your area or look online. A nice advantage to having the coffee table on low casters is that it enables it to be carted to any suitable or convenient spot.