New lease of Life

• A pallet
• Hand saw
• Hammer
• Wood glue
• Nails
• Sandpaper
• Paint brushes
• Resene Colourwood Whitewash
• Resene Aquaclear Waterborne Urethane Varnish

Instructions

For those of you, like me, who tend to prefer perfection and clean, crisp lines, over more rustic, organic structures then this project may not be for you. After eliminating a number of pallets due to uneven lines I finally settled on one that was fit for purpose. Engaging my finance Nic for help, (this project required more man power and hammer skill than I possess), we trimmed the pallet down to size using a hand saw. Depending on the size of your space, you may not need to do this, however it will generate some helpful off cuts.

With the underside of our pallet missing a few planks of wood, we were able to reuse the discarded planks to fill in the gaps, ensuring the ‘shelf’ of our coffee table would be fully functional.

Also using the off-cuts and handsaw, we were able to make feet for the table, meaning the entire structure was made from just one pallet. We used a combination of wood glue and nails to connect the table top and feet together.

Once you are happy with your structure, it will need to be carefully sanded to remove any splinters and rough surfaces. As most pallets are kept outside you may also need to wipe down the pallet to create a clean surface for painting.

We painted our table with Resene Colourwood Whitewash, which bought a soft aesthetic to the table while still enabling the wood grain and texture to come through. To protect the top and create a more durable coffee table surface, we finished the pallet with Resene Aquaclear waterborne urethane varnish.

May/June 2014

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