How to make pallet furniture for indoors or outdoors – a step by step guide

Pallet furniture – can you even scroll through Instagram anymore without seeing it? Pallet sofas, pallet beds, pallet coffee tables, pallet garden furniture. You name it and someone will have made a pallet version of it. 

It makes sense though; pallets are cheap, or even free, and upcycling them with just a few coats of paint is a really easy weekend project. Just follow our step-by-step guide to how to make pallet furniture to find out how...

How to make pallet furniture in 4 easy steps

Annabelle Luce, Communications Manager UK at ManoMano explains, 'While once a discarded part of a bulk delivery, pallets have become popular thanks to the growing number of DIY and upcycling projects that are being posted across social media.'

'The versatile wooden frames are racking up tags and likes on Instagram with #palletfurniture seeing 267,000 posts and #pallet, which showcases a variety of ways to use them, has been used over a million times (1,032,000). ManoMano has also seen searches for ‘pallet furniture’ increase by 287% in January 2022 compared to the previous month.'

We show you how to create a bench for indoors or out with two pallets. 

You will need:

• Wooden pallets: some DIY stores sell them or keep an eye out in skips and building sites – do ask permission before raiding though
• Paint roller: this Small roller and tray from Amazon is the ideal size
• Garden furniture chalk paint like Rust-Oleum's version or wood stain like Furniture Clinic's from Amazon (for outdoors)
• Chalk finish furniture paint (for indoors)
• A paintbrush
• Drill: we found this Black and Decker Electric drill from Amazon is super easy to use
• Screws

1. Prep and paint the pallets 

If you have bought your pallets new you can just paint straight onto them using a roller. However, if you dug to the bottom for a skip for yours or it's a hand-me-down from a building site you might have to sand down any uneven surfaces or scrub away any dirt, then allow to dry before painting. 

Stir chalk paint thoroughly and then use a small roller to cover your pallets. You will probably need two to three coats for a solid finish. Go back in with a paintbrush too, to get any harder-to-reach areas.

2. Make the base of your pallet furniture 

To make the base of your pallet furniture, stack your pallets on top of one another to get your desired height. Then secure the pallets together using an electric drill and screws.

3. Add the back to your pallet furniture

Prop another pallet on the back of the base and drill it into place. 

4. Add some cushions 

Now it's just a case of adding some comfort and color with scatter cushions. You can actually find larger cushions that are made for pallet sofas – check out these ones from these seat cushions from Amazon.

Top tip: If you need more seating, you could pop two side by side or join two together at a right angle to make an L-shaped pallet sofa. 

What furniture can I make with pallets?

You can make a lot of different furniture with pallets, from outdoor benches to indoor DIY coffee tables, and even bed platforms.

Annabelle Luce, Communications Manager UK at ManoMano explains, 'Pallets are not only a sustainable approach to upgrading your interiors, but also work well for those looking to build their home and garden on a budget, and can be personalized to fit in with your décor, from trendy outdoor bars perfect for evening entertainment to handy storage solutions for all your outdoor accessories.'