Looking for pallet furniture ideas? Here are 10 projects to get you started

So, what are you waiting for? Dive into our list of pallet furniture ideas, ranging from beginner to expert level, and find something to whet your creative appetite.

If your style is more contemporary, cut the strips to the same length, paint with one of the best chalk paints and add chrome hooks.

Although the design may be simple, the creative possibilities are endless. Just be sure to sand the rough edges of the pallet wood until they are smooth before assembling them. You don’t want to be snagging your favourite coats and scarves on splinters.

If you’re keen to bring more biodiversity to your garden, take apart your pallet and re-build sections into small open-fronted boxes.

Mount them securely to a garden fence or wall and then cram them full of dried flower heads, seeds, shells and straw. Face with a wide-holed mesh – chicken wire is ideal – and they’ll soon be home to a variety of insects and mini beasts.

If your current dog bed is looking a little weary, gather your creative DIY skills and fashion a smart new one from an old pallet. Once you’ve cut your section to size, paint or stain it in your preferred colour.

Take your design one step further by hand painting your dog’s name on the front and add motifs such as paw prints. Once you’ve filled it with large comfy cushions, you may find yourself wondering if you can make a day bed big enough for yourself.

If you don’t own a garden or have run out of space to grow herbs, portion up a large section of your pallet (or maybe even use the whole thing) and create horizontal planting boxes, making sure to drill holes in the bottom of the planter sections for water drainage.

Paint the front of the planting sections with blackboard paint so  you can easily label your herbs, attach to a wall or fence, fill with soil and finally add your favourite herbs. They’ll taste even more delicious in the knowledge of the hard work you’ve put in to creating somewhere for them to grow.

If you’re worried about the wood rotting, you could line the pallet planters with a membrane before you add the soil.

If you need to add a little privacy to your garden or simply want a cost-effective way to divide the space, build a pallet screen.

Safely strip the pallet apart and build a frame to the size of screen you need. Cut your pallet strips to the required lengths, prepare and paint them and then attach them to your frame with a drill and screws.

Securing your screen to the floor will depend on where it is located. If you’re placing it into grass, dig holes to secure fence posts in concrete as you would with any other fence and attach your pallet screen to the posts.

On a harder surface such as decking or patio, attach it to fence posts mounted to the floor using the appropriate base plates.

The boxed sections of pallets are ideal for creating bespoke shelving units to house your DIY kit.

Decide what you want to store within them, measure the items so you know what size your shelves and boxes need to be and then set to separating your pallet into the right-sized sections.

Add hooks and nails to front-facing sections so that smaller items such as scissors and rulers are in sight and easy to find. Continue the upcycling theme by sorting nails and screws into jam jars that can sit on the pallet shelves.

For an easy-to-follow guide on how to make this unit, read the Funky Junk blog.

Although pallets are often used to create outdoor garden furniture, it’s also easy to bring them indoors with the right treatment.

For a light and airy loft apartment feel, paint your pallet in a soft shade of white and add industrial-style wheels that can be locked for safety.

To make the table fit for purpose, add a flat glass top to provide an even surface. Contact your local glazing firm with your dimensions and ask for a piece of toughened safety glass with bevelled edges.

If glass isn’t your preferred finish, you could create a beautiful, tiled tabletop instead. To achieve this, attach a piece of plywood to the top then look at this year’s tiling trends to choose some tiles.

Although they’re a necessity, it’s fair to say that wheelie bins are a cumbersome eyesore that aren’t generally easy to hide away.

Instead of ignoring them, take the opposite approach and put your new-found love of pallets to good use by creating a bespoke wheelie bin store.

Add a planted roof section for double eco-credentials and you’ve got a simple but stylish solution for hiding the less than fantastic plastic from sight.

We love this simple desk display and think it would fit perfectly in an office conservatory, where it would provide a lovely link to the natural outdoors with its back-to-basics wooden style.

Keep the finish natural and add some green houseplants or cacti and a favourite photo memory to create an easy piece of pallet furniture in no time.

You could also make an extra handy noticeboard by adding a layer of magnetic paint to one of the strips of wood or sticking on cut-to-size cork tiles and some drawings pins.

If you’re struggling to find small furniture for your conservatory, harness all your DIY skills to design and build a bespoke pallet sofa.

Although this design  looks incredibly stylish, it’s essentially a bench with splayed legs and angled arm rests. The addition of a simple slatted back finishes the look. Dress with natural colour cushions for a Scandi design feel and keep the rest of your colour palette similar with white wood, wicker and a simple pop of yellow.

If you’d prefer to avoid any kind of flatpack, you could also use any offcuts to create a matching side table. Or, wheel over your pallet coffee table and you’ve truly gained an eco-warrior badge to wear with pride.

Designed for transporting products, the finish on most pallets can be a bit rough and ready.

Although some companies will provide them pre-sanded and in more useable condition, it’s important to make it safe for use – especially if humans or animals will be in contact with them.

Arming yourself with the right DIY tools is key to your progress. ManoMano recommends the following:

• crowbar
• claw hammer
• sledgehammer
• blade saw or jigsaw
• sander or multi sander
• metal saw (optional)
• manual plane or electric plane (optional)

Although it may seem like a long list for just preparing your pallet, there’s good reason for each of the tools.

Crowbars and hammers are needed for dismantling sections of your pallet. You’ll also need to remove any nails; they’ll either need hammering through or prising out with a claw hammer, and stubborn ones that refuse to budge will need cutting down with a hacksaw.

It’s important to cut away any damaged sections of pallet to ensure your new furniture isn’t weakened. Some designs may require planning to reduce the thickness of the planks, so it’s best to have either a manual or electric plane to hand.

And, finally, every part of your pallet will need to be sanded to make it smooth enough to touch – no one likes splinters! A medium 80 grade paper should be tough enough to handle most uneven sections.

Alternatively, if you find you enjoy making DIY pallet furniture more than you thought, you could buy this purpose-built tool designed by expert upcycler, Charis Williams.

A fully-fledged member of the House of Upcyling – the professional body for upcycling experts, Charis has created a tool that removes the need for crowbars, hammers and saws.