Our Favorite Upcycled Wood Pallet Projects

Pallets have a long history of helping man to move stuff from ship to shore and warehouse to door. Pallets go back as far as the ancient Egyptian times to the more common World War II wooden pallets we know today, which are still lifted via forklifts and similar machines. Pallets are a critical cog in the global economy wheel, and within various shipping and transport industries, but they’re also really useful when reclaimed as project fuel.

If you’re just getting into woodworking, DIY crafting or ‘upcycling’ old stuff, reclaimed wood pallets offer a simple platform to get started. There are a gazillion websites out there with various pallet projects—some for inspiration, some with detailed instructions—and we’ll use this post to share some of our favorites with you, from simple to complex. Hopefully, these will inspire you to build something cool. But first…

Where to Find Wood Pallets

If you’ve ever wandered behind a large business or shopping center, it’s likely that you’ve seen stacks of wooden pallets. But just because they’re back there, doesn’t mean they’re free! Big-box stores will usually have agreements with shipping companies and may be charged a fee if pallets go missing. So this isn’t the best bet, albeit tempting.

The same goes with dumpster-diving. It’s actually illegal to take items out of a dumpster in some states. But if you do see pallets in or near trash bins, simply asking the business owner will usually be the best way forward. When scouting for pallets, focus on smaller business that may be more willing to part with them: paint stores, tile showrooms, nurseries, etc. Again, asking is your best bet.

Of course, you can buy pallets online—Craigslist, Ebay, etc. Or check to see if there are pallet recycle or manufacturing facilities in your area. New pallets are not cheap, costing around $150-$200 for a 48×40″ pallet. Yikes! Plus, new pallets aren’t as cool as used and distressed pallets, depending on what you’re making, of course.

Lastly, while this article focuses on pallets, there are places to score free or affordable scrap wood with similar characteristics. So do keep that in mind. But being able to say you built something almost exclusively from reclaimed pallets is part of the fun here.

Our Favorites

Here are a handful of our favorite reclaimed wood pallet projects we’ve seen floating around the web to date. We’ll link to each project source too, where applicable.

Pallet Coat Rack

Take a load off… or just your coat. This pallet coat rack uses torn wood from the pallet that others may discard—we love it! Add rusty nails to accent everything and it’s perfect.

Project Source

Pallet Playhouse

This one has been out there for a while, but if you’ve got a daughter and you build this for her, you’re the best parent ever. At least until she hits 16. 🙂

Project Source

Pallet Dog Bowl Stand with Storage

Fido’s gotta eat and what a better way to feed him with this great looking pallet dog bowl stand with storage to boot. There aren’t really and instructions for this one, but it looks fairly straight-forward.

Project Source

Pallet Cooler Stand

This is definitely one of our all-time favorite pallet projects—the backyard beverage cooler stand. It holds a standard cooler, integrates a fun chalkboard and even includes a bottle opener and tin for the empties. Cheers!

Project Source

Pallet Cornhole Game

Cornhole is a super-simple and fun backyard game for all ages. There are lots of fancy pallet cornhole setups online, but this particular one included some great instructions, so we’re sharing it. If you’re interested in how to play or the game’s history, click here.

Project Source

Pallet Dartboard

We love darts as much as we love Cornhole (okay, a little more). And this homemade wood pallet dartboard cabinet is the perfect addition to your garage, mancave or patio.

Project Source

Pallet Accent Wall

Faux is out. Upcycling is in. The concept of this pallet accent wall can be applied to just about any wall, but we’re glad they’re showing us a more complex wall, with TV and whatnot. Good stuff and great looking.

Project Source

Pallet Letters

These giant wood pallet letters could be used individually or to spell something out. Of course, they don’t have to be this big, so you could scale this down to spell out longer words and hang ’em on the wall.

Project Source

Pallet Adirondack Chair

One of the first projects many woodworkers take on (after the toolbox or birdhouse) is the popular Adirondack lawn chair. And this one brings back lots of memories of sitting in the yard with pops.

Project Source

BONUS: How to Take Apart a Pallet Without Breaking It

Pallets are tough! I mean, they generally have to hold lots of weight being transported to and from. So taking them apart is a chore. But we found a great illustrated guide on how to get the job done correctly.

Properly Deconstructing Pallets