A few weeks ago when we first started sharing our sustainable adventures online,
Priscilla posted a picture on Facebook of one of my favorite DIY projects that I completed
a few years ago:
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| My upcycled pallet coffee table |
I had wanted to change out our old coffee table for
something with more storage for books, magazines, and our laptops. After perusing the local thrift stores and
not finding anything that would work, I figured I might have to DIY a table – enter:
Pinterest.
With lots of inspiration (er, pinspiration) I came across
the following pix:
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| http://www.caisak.com/ |
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| http://3girls1apartment.blogspot.com/ |
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| http://design-shimmer.blogspot.com/ |
Swoon worthy, right?!
I told my ever-thrifty sidekick (aka: Priscilla) that I was
in need of a few pallets. A week or so later, three, free, dumpster-bound,
now-salvaged pallets showed up at my door (that girl Priscilla has some mad skills!)
I read a handful of “how-to’s” – but not being one to follow
directions, I just used the pictures from Pinterest as a guide.
Because I wanted two levels (allowing for 8 shelves: four
shelves on one side for me, four shelves on the other side for Mr. MacGyver –
my husband) I used two pallets for the table and one for spare parts.
I flipped one pallet over (the base) and set another pallet
on top of it (the top). Of course, being
pallets and not perfect – I had to fill in the missing spaces with the spare
boards from the third pallet.
Once I had the whole table figured out, I pulled out my
handy-dandy hand sander and began sanding (80 grit to 100 grit to 150 grit to
220 grit)…Lots and lots and lots of sanding.
After all the pieces were smooth, I primed everything (top,
bottom, sides, inside and out) with Zinsser Water-based Primer. After all was dry, I went over all the knotty
areas with primer again to seal them in (FYI: over time, the primer has not stopped the knots from bleeding through the paint which kinda bothers me so I may at some point research how to fix this problem).
A day later, I lightly sanded and wiped down all the pieces
and painted two coats of white paint (not sure which white, brand, or
finish…sorry).
When all the pieces were dry, I assembled the table and
nailed it all together matching the original nail lines on the pallets. Once assembled, I used my hand sander again
to distress the edges and then wiped the whole thing with watered down brown
acrylic paint (my own version of antiquing) and quickly wiped off the
excess. I wanted a rustic and worn look
but not too dirty or dingy.
Before attaching the casters, I had to fasten two extra
boards on the bottom (double decker style) to reinforce the area where the
casters would go (pallet wood can be very brittle and weak - third picture below, note the hairline crack on the bottom pallet). Oh and I orderedthe locking casters from Amazon.
When it was all assembled, antiqued, and dry, I applied a
light coat of Deft (non-yellowing satin brushing lacquer) to the top and as far
inside the shelf cubbies as possible.
It’s not the most eco-friendly product but I needed something that
wouldn’t yellow over time and would hold up to the use and abuse of a
daily-used coffee table (read: propped up feet, many-a-meals eaten here, TV remotes tossed around, mail collection piled up, etc. etc.).
Here a few more gratuitous shots of our beauty…
This was an easy enough upcycled project that has more than earned
its keep in our home.
Thanks for stopping by!
Lots-o-love,
Lexie
