Nowadays, stylish and practical furniture made from scrap materials is in fashion. Pallets are in particular demand when creating it. Such furniture fits harmoniously into home interiors and landscape design.
Peculiarities
Furniture made from pallets fits perfectly into the style of minimalism, loft, and Provence. Features of the material include:
Eco-friendly and natural.- Ease of use . These materials can be sawed and cut with both hand and power tools.
- Possibility to make a piece of furniture of non-standard size and design . This is an ideal option for making furniture for small apartments.
- Mobility and ergonomics . A chair made from pallets can be easily moved from place to place without much physical effort.
- Originality and exclusivity . If you show limitless imagination, furniture made from pallets will turn out to be unique and inimitable.
- Efficiency of production . If you have consumables, tools and free time, you can assemble a chair from pallets within a day.
- Affordable price . Pallets can be purchased inexpensively from building supplies or at any warehouse.
What is important to remember when making
Today, many owners of their own home or any other premises want to make their territory cozy and stylish. To make such a desire come true, you can use the services of famous designers, you can do everything you need yourself. True, in order to complete this task on your own, you will have to work hard and first study more than one master class and read the advice of famous masters. But in any case, the effort and time spent are worth it, because the result will truly amaze with its originality and beauty.
Interior set of pallets
Based on everything that was said above, it becomes clear that, if desired, anyone can make their home even more comfortable and practical, and for this it is not at all necessary to have great financial resources or detailed knowledge. A little perseverance and patience are enough.
Well, you definitely need to think about the external design of such products, because they must fit harmoniously into any interior. Therefore, this issue should also be given special attention before starting the production of wooden structures.
Preparation for use
As for preparing pallets for work, first:
They are cleaned of dust and dirt . To do this, it is recommended to wash the pallets with soapy water and dry them in fresh air.- All burrs, chips and other minor defects are removed from their surface with sandpaper or a grinding machine.
- When using furniture outdoors, pallets must be treated with antiseptic impregnations and water-repellent agents.
- Before assembling the furniture, the pallets are primed and coated with paints and varnishes .
Important : pallets can be used to decorate a children's room. They are completely safe, do not emit toxins and do not cause allergic reactions.
Preparatory work
A chair is a piece of furniture that should not only be durable, but also comfortable. Before making a structure with your own hands, it is important to perform a few simple operations:
- Initially, you should thoroughly clean the boards from dirt . This can be done by simply washing the structure with water and a brush. After this, the pallet must be thoroughly dried to prevent distortions of the future product.
- When the product is prepared, the surface should be sanded. To do this, it is better to use special grinding wheels and a drill. This will significantly speed up the task. To obtain a smooth surface, it is advisable to use sandpaper of varying thicknesses.
- The final stage is wood processing . To do this, use a special primer. It is needed in order to reduce the risk of damage to wood by the bark beetle, as well as to prevent rotting.
Tools
To assemble a chair from pallets you will need the following tools and materials :
- wooden pallets;
- hammer and nails;
- drill;
- paints and varnishes;
- wood antiseptics;
- electric jigsaw;
- decorative elements;
- primer;
- sanding machine or sandpaper;
- bolts;
- tape measure and pencil;
- tassels.
What kind of interior does pallet furniture fit into?
It is worth noting that furniture made from pallets, although it looks impressive, does not fit into any interior. Therefore, before you start making such furniture, you need to decide where it can be placed.
The best option for such original pieces of furniture would be dachas or country houses, because there is a lot of wood there. In addition, products made from pallets look great in cafes on open terraces or balconies.
Unpainted pallet products will fit well into a country or rustic style interior. And furniture made from pallets and painted in pastel colors can complement the interior in the Provence style.
In addition, furniture made from wooden platforms can often be seen in loft-style interiors. Wood harmonizes well with iron parts, brickwork and the color scheme inherent in this style. Loft does not require perfect things, quite the opposite, so even untreated wooden blocks will look great.
For those who still want to paint furniture made from pallets, it is better to choose the most neutral colors, such as black or white. Gray and brown furniture will also look interesting.
How to do it step by step?
Some people think that chairs made from pallets look untidy in the interior. But if you decorate them with decorative pillows or bedspreads, they will bring a special atmosphere of warmth and comfort to the room. The process of manufacturing all the parts and their subsequent assembly is quite simple:
We cut the pallets into two halves . These halves will form the seat and back of the product. And from another pallet we cut off the armrests.- thoroughly clean all elements with sandpaper or a grinder. The surface of the material must be perfectly smooth and without roughness.
- Assembly of the structure begins with the base, to which the back is screwed using bolts .
- Next, the sidewalls are attached .
Attention : when assembling a chair from pallets, the fastenings must be made reliable; it is not recommended to use glue for these purposes.
That's the whole simple process of making a unique and original piece of furniture. Now it will need to be decorated and can be installed in the living room, bedroom or children's room.
We disassemble the pallets
There are many different methods for disassembling pallets, but I settled on one. First I cut off the sides of the pallets on both sides, top and bottom. There can be a lot of wood chips flying, so it's important to be very careful. It is most convenient to pull out protruding nails with a nail puller, however, not all are pulled out too “willingly”. I had to knock out particularly stubborn nails with a hammer.
Cutting off the sides of the pallets
Not all the nails could be pulled out, so I also used a hammer to get rid of them.
So, we cut down the side parts, but the middle board, on which the ones we need are held, remains for now. Continuing to pull out the nails, we remove the wooden dies from it.
The middle board also needs to be removed
There will be a lot of broken and damaged boards, there is nothing wrong with that - they can be used to fire a stove, for example. The remaining intact material for the chair is enough for us. I immediately set aside the “good” boards from the “bad” ones - then it will be easier to decide what to use for what.
Finishing
After assembly, the product is completely ready for use. To extend the service life and to give the chair aesthetics, it is recommended to cover it with paints and varnishes. This will increase the wood’s resistance to increased moisture and prevent the possibility of splinters being driven into users.
When finishing furniture made from pallets, special attention should be paid to paint and varnish materials:
- Transparent or colored varnish is suitable for these purposes . To preserve the natural structure of the wood, it is better to take a colorless varnish. And to achieve the desired shade of wood, you can use colored varnish.
- Paint for pallet furniture should be acrylic .
It is provided by different manufacturers in a wide color palette. The chair can be painted in one or several colors. It depends on your personal tastes and preferences, and on the environment. To apply an ornament to a product, you will need to use a special stencil, which you can buy in a store or make yourself.
If the chair will be placed in the garden, then you should choose a water-repellent varnish . Additionally, you can decorate a new piece of furniture with: small pillows, sewn by yourself, a cover, or just a cape.
Tip : Pallets can also be used to make a table or even a bed. And in the garden, next to such a chair, you can put a simple table or a table in a gazebo.
Where can I get pallets?
Wooden pallets, although a fairly durable structure, are still considered by many manufacturers and shipping companies as a packaging material.
Load-weakened pallets can no longer be reused for transporting heavy loads, so they are simply disposed of after use.
used packaging material can be obtained in one of the following ways:
- Buy used pallets. You can easily find this type of advertising on thematic portals. The price of products ranges from 30-150 rubles per piece.
- Contact manufacturers or shipping companies directly. Most of them are willing to give away used packaging for free, as long as they don’t throw it away themselves.
If desired, you can assemble the pallet yourself. It is enough to stock up on boards with a thickness of 15-20 mm and wooden beams with a cross-section of 60-70 mm. Having determined the dimensions of the future structure for you, you just need to cut the boards into blanks of the required size, and then fasten the elements according to the standard pattern.
Photo
If you surrender to the creative process, the result will be more than just furniture:
Often asked
Is it possible to make a rocking chair out of pallets?
Can. To do this, the removed boards from the pallets are unraveled on a band saw so that they receive an arc shape. Two similar parts are sanded, impregnated with antiseptics, and nailed on both sides of the base. For a rocking chair, a footrest is made from a board.
Is it possible to make the back of the chair higher than the sides?
This option has a right to exist. The height dimensions of the backrest are designed in advance and taken into account when cutting pallets. If it is not possible to cut out a seat and back from one pallet at once, prepare another pallet.
Long screws for fastening two boards are difficult to tighten with a screwdriver. How to prevent wood from cracking? Screws and self-tapping screws are lubricated with soap (they pierce the piece). If twisting is difficult, pre-drill a hole in the material 0.5 mm smaller than the diameter of the hardware.
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Andrey Peregubsky
Carpenter-furniture maker
Discussions
Other tips
The living room with the kitchen can be combined and decorated with various shortcomings
It is important to calculate and anticipate everything in advance. Decorators and craftsmen share tips that will help avoid problems during repairs and furnishings:
The result depends on how detailed the project is drawn up. Oddly enough, it is worth taking into account the growth of loved ones and relatives. It is also recommended to calculate the approximate number of possible guests. You can get rid of food smells by installing a strong hood or ventilation system.
Small models are more suitable for housewives who do little cooking. If you plan to have a sleeping place in the living room, then it is important that the ringing of appliances and other kitchen utensils is not heard. Silent dishwashers and other appliances will come in handy.
In addition, you can install a sliding door and install a soundproof partition. If there is sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation, the owners hang thick curtains made of light-proof fabric. If household appliances do not match the direction of the interior, they are hidden behind furniture or put away in kitchen cabinets. When installing luminaires and lamps, they are guided by several criteria
It is important that the light falls evenly throughout the entire space. Especially bright lighting is preferable in the kitchen area and where the dining table is installed
In the living room, designers create a subdued atmosphere using wall sconces and table lamps. Multi-level stretch ceilings with LED strip also look good in this room. Moisture-resistant finishing materials are more durable and easy to clean. Thus, they retain their appearance for a long time. The kitchen combined with the living room combines:
- personal tastes of the owners;
- reliable finishing materials;
- current design ideas;
- convenience;
- trends. The best photos of kitchen living room design
Pallet sizes
It is clear that in its “pure” form all garden furniture cannot be made from pallets - any pallet is too wide for a bench, and a table cannot have gaps between the boards. And if we consider a finished pallet as a blank for the production of garden furniture, then you need to know its overall dimensions, the sizes of the boards and the distances between them.
There are two main sizes of a standard European pallet: with the same height of 145 mm and length of 1200 mm, the width of the pallet can be 800 or 1000 mm. The first type is called a “euro pallet”, the second – a “financial pallet”. The distance between the boards (or gap) should be no more than 50 mm.
Note. Certified pallets have a burnt-in EUR or FIN marking, which is placed in an oval.
And when it is not there, the main dimensions, as a rule, correspond to the standard. But in these cases you need to pay attention to the quality of the boards. In addition, certified pallets have cut corners, while non-certified pallets have straight corners.
The Europallet is made up of five boards in the upper part, and three boards in the lower part. The upper part has the following alternation: wide bar (145 mm), narrow bar (100 mm), wide, narrow, wide. The lower part consists of one wide strip in the center, and two narrow ones at the edges.
The finpallet is made up of seven boards in the upper part, and three boards in the lower part. The upper part has the following alternation: a wide strip (120 mm), two narrow strips (100 mm), wide, two narrow strips, wide. The lower part consists of one wide strip in the center, and two narrow ones at the edges.
Domestic pallets have the following dimensions:
- height 100, 150 and 180 mm;
- width 800, 1000, 1200 mm:
- length 1200, 1600, 1800 mm.
The board thickness of a domestic pallet is 22 mm, the board width can be 100 or 145 mm.
Preface
Pallets are fairly easy to come by—some companies even pay people to pick them up because they take up a lot of space. And if you have to buy them, it won’t be too expensive. True, they have one problem - the pallets are quite difficult to disassemble, especially since they are usually not made from the highest quality wood. You need to disassemble them very carefully so that you have at least some material left from which the chair will be made.
My pallets are 120x90 cm in size, the boards between them are connected with strong nails, which I had to fight a lot with. I advise you to be careful when working with pallets, because... it is very easy to hurt the skin. It is better to work with gloves and safety glasses. By the way, I note that these pallets are not treated with anything harmful, so you can use them safely.
These are the pallets I used to make the chair
