DIY Pallet Side Table

Pallet projects have really taken off in the world of Pinterest. I don’t think I even knew what a pallet was before 2010. Now, it has become one of the cheapest and most popular resources for DIY home décor projects. A little creativity can turn a pallet into the perfect addition to any room in your house!

Before I show you one of my favorite creations, we need to talk about the most important material: the pallet! What is a pallet anyway?

Pallets are a platform that provide a base/foundation for materials to be easily stored and moved (usually by forklift). The wood pallet is the most popular type of pallet, followed by other materials, including plastic, wood composite and metal. You can usually find pallets behind grocery stores, home improvements stores, or any location that receives large shipments from a freight truck. If you can’t find any around town, you can always check out craigslist for free pallets.

I found these pallets left behind by construction workers in my mom’s neighborhood:

**TIP** When searching through the pallet stack, look for the pallets with the most usable wood.

There were tons of variations within these pallets; Some were new, some weathered, some had yellow tones, others had gray or red tones. I knew I would be able to pick and choose the best pieces for my project.

Breaking the pallets apart takes a good amount of work and elbow grease. To make your life easier, use a jig saw or circular saw to cut the boards at the ends. Get yourself a Jig Saw like this —>

Pry the wood from the center support with a crow bar to salvage the entire length of the board. This should give you 8 to 14 boards per pallet. Remember to remove nails from slats. If you decide to leave the nails in for some added character, be sure to cut and file them down.

After seeing that stack of pallets in my mom’s neighborhood, I was feeling creative. I checked out my local thrift stores and consignment shops until I found this interesting little hexagonal side table. I could have kept it white, but I had left over chalk paint from one of the hundreds of teacher crafts I had been working on. (If I were to do this project again today, I would probably keep it white)

Brainstorming phase

Mapping out the pallet pieces.

I was deciding whether to keep the table white or continue painting it this sunflower dandelion shade. At that time, I had also been working on a pallet headboard (more to come on that one). I started piecing together the top of the table with pallet scraps from my headboard. I love how each piece has a different texture and warmth to it: Gray tones, yellows, reds. I played around with the design and position of the pieces, and planned for filling in the blanks.

**Tip and Trick** Map out your pieces before securing them. I like to move my wood pieces around like a puzzle until I find the perfect combination and design.

Once I was finished mapping out the pieces, the table top ended up looking like this!

The complete table top.

I also added pallet pieces to the sides of the table:

This adorable side table is now living in my guest room!

The finished product!

The possibilities with pallet furniture are endless. It’s impressive how something so simple and common can be used to create something as beautiful as an original piece of furniture.

**This article contains affiliate links**