DIY Wooden Pallet Inspired Coffee Table
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Being a student makes it difficult to afford nice, expensive furniture, so I have learned to be frugal and creative throughout my university career. Ever bought one of those Ikea coffee tables that everyone has? They’re cheap and simple to put together. I bought one for around $20, but soon got sick of the straight black lines and wanted something different so I built this DIY Wooden Pallet Inspired Coffee Table.
While visiting my sister, I came across an old, wooden blue pallet skid and thought it would be neat to bring it home, rip it apart, paint it and voila: a brand new table top! In my head, I could see how awesome it would look, that “shabby chic” kind of feel I love so much.Unfortunately, these skids weigh about 70 pounds, and with no car, it made it difficult to bring home… but I did it. This project involved a lot of physical labour, as I took the skid apart pallet by pallet and had to ensure I did not break any pieces.
For this, I needed a hammer and a crow bar. The skid was really old, and the nails were long and rusty, which made it difficult to remove them. To get the pallets off, it was a trial and error kind of job, because I didn’t need to use all of them. What worked best was to wedge the crow bar under the pieces of wood near where the nails were and pull it upwards. This loosened the nails, and the hammer took care of the rest. Once the pieces were off, the rest was easy. I put some wood glue down on the table’s surface and laid out the wooden pieces. I put some heavy textbooks on top of the wood to ensure that there was enough pressure.
After the glue dried, I painted the wooden pallet pieces antique white, let them dry, then screwed them down with deck screws to ensure that the table top would be indestructible! I loved the way the tabletop looked, but something seemed to be missing. I decided to paint the shelf of the table teal, and then I later glued down some transparent Ikea place-mats as a runner to protect the shelf.
I’ve got to say, this project was quite trans-formative and nobody would ever guess that it was once an Ikea coffee table. If you have a base structure to work with, it is so easy to come up with awesome ideas to make it unique. I couldn’t be happier with my wooden pallet table!
Sarah is currently studying Anthropology at McMaster University. She enjoys up-cycling, creating customized furniture, decorative furniture painting and any do-it-yourself projects, big or small. She is passionate about creative sustainability, by breathing new life into items destined for the land-fill.
That was Ikea??/ Well done, your coffee table turned out beautiful!!
Nice work! I had 4 pallets that sat in my garage for years and I now regret giving them to a neighbour for his wood furnace.
Beautiful – great to see something that is usually thrown around turned into something awesome!!
That is beautiful! Found you through the Thursday craft hop!
This is so gorgeous! You should start a side business doing this if you have the time!
Great job! I love it!
When I see this table, I think of fairytales. I absolutely love it!
I love this coffee table, it’s got so much character! You’re so creative! 🙂
Love it! Great job!
Thanks for sharing!
Stacey L
Awesome coffee table very creative, looks great. Love unique and creative crafts ideas for different projects.
I love this. It would look so cute in our game room.
Ya know, I really like it. I love how rustic it is and that it didn’t cost a lot of money!
GREAT idea!
This looks super cool and I think I’d like to make it.
Wow. Just wow. I could do this with my coffee table. It looks amazing!
Wow, that wooden pallet table looks amazing. It has an ancient or antique look which is wonderful. I think it’s also a great idea of putting glass above it, to avoid water ring marks from wet glass.
So many wonderful things can be made from pallets. This table is one of the nicest things I’ve seen.
Hello, FME. Great and creative idea. A terrific cost saving way to add your own touch to a mass produced item. Loved this post, Frugal Mom Eh.
You have such wonderful DIY ideas. I love this table. I love Shabby Chic and anything vintage/1950s. I can see that the placemats are from IKea…a great idea for placemats.
You have such wonderful DIY ideas! I love this table. I love Shabby Chic and anything vintage/1950s. I can see that the place mats are from Ikea…a great idea for place mats!!
Great transformation! Love how it turned out 🙂
Very creative!! There are so many wonderful DIY wooden pallet ideas circulating right now I wish I could do all of them!
This is lovely 🙂
this is so neat!!!!!
this is a lovely idea and so practical, thanks for sharing!
This is a great idea. My only question would be are the pallets treated with anything on the wood to keep them from rotting or anything? I would just be concerned about bringing certain chemicals into my home. I love the look though!
sounds like you put some sweat into this! was definitely worth it the end result is beautiful!
Yes, true story I’m not making this up, we have lots of wood pallets, daughter decided she wanted goats..so she asked grandma if she could bring them to her house (grandma lives in the country) grandma said yes of course but you need to build a pen, daughter goes online and sees how to build a fence with pallets, she gets 50 pallets from where she works…we go over and put up a temporary fence out of chain link while the fence is being built with pallets..guess what the goats jump over 5ft fences!!! Scrap the fence project and return the goats to the original family,,so much for making our own goat cheese and milk!
Oh now that we have all those pallets…I got off track and forgot why I was posting..lol we can build some coffee tables before we have a huge bonfire and burn all those pallets!!
You did a wonderful job with the pallet. I had a friend who built his daughter a huge outdoor play house out of pallets. He even straightened the nails of the pallet to re use. So again well done.
I love this table, looks really rustic. When my kids get older I would love to make something like this for my living room
I have a pile of pallet wood in my garage just waiting for a project! Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow! Ikea placemats to cover the shelf. I’m going to be look at Ikea’s products in a whole new way.
Thanks for sharing your project at Fabulously Frugal Thursday!
that;s a fun project!
That is beautiful!
i love the antique look
I am always looking for ideas for re using pallets. This table is beautiful! I am planning on making a compost bin this spring (if it ever comes) for my garden made from pallets.
This is freakin’ awesome!! I’m so happy you were able to get the pallet home because boy was it worth it! Pinned 🙂
Thanks for sharing at The Makers!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! I really want to do this but our coffee table belonged to my husband’s mother, so I’m afraid it won’t happen. I’m still pinning!
this is such an awesome project have always wanted to make one of these just was not sure how
Hello! Just stopping by to let you know that I featured YOU today over on my blog! Thank you so much for linking up to {wow me} wednesday! 🙂
Ginger @ GingerSnapCrafts.com
What cute coffee table. Thank you for posting this neat project!
This is so gorgeous! I love the idea of recycling something and making it into something beautiful! I am entirely inspired, thank you for all of the wonderful frugal tips you have given me – I get such a great feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction when I complete DIY’s or any little way to save money in this world where it seems everything costs a fortune! One of life’s many little joys 🙂 cheers & thanks again!
What a great idea and it turned out so beautiful that I bet you could make them and sell them.I love the rustic look and the fact that you made it out of wood pallets.The bottom shelf is pretty cool too.
it is amazing what can be made out of pallets, book nooks, headboards etc.
reduce, reuse, recycle, that’s my motto
What an awesome job !
great idea, it would be perfect for the cottage or outside deck
I love this and it came out great I have pinned a bunch of pallet recycles but I would not of guess that you used a pallet to make this. It turned out great!
What a beautiful table! Way to go!
I like this so rustic & a pallet at that
pallets are easy to come by here,with have to try this
Love this! Thanx for the idea 🙂
This is the first up-cycled palette coffee table I’ve seen! Awesome! Now I just need to get a hold of a palette.
This table is so rustic and beautiful looking.You did a fantastic job.It’s nice to see those pallets being used for such nice ideas like this one.
this involved an awful lot of hard work but has transformed an Ikea table into a work of art. What a fantastic idea 🙂
I keep coming back to this table,i just love it
I just need to get a hold of a palette.
Great Job!!!!! The coffee table looks beautiful and just a little rustic too.I love it and to think the materials are free.There are lots of places to get the pallets and they are only to glad for you to take them.
Just what I need to complete my outdoor sitting area.Matches perfectly with my thrift store Adronack chairs!
What a great transformation. I like the rustic look.