Pallet Display Shelf

Alright everyone, as promised I have already started in on my laundry list of DIY projects, and after completing my first major one I figured I do a little post about it.

Reina had been bugging me for a while now to help build her a nice display shelf for all of her awesome things (she has tons of trophies being a really awesome Miss America Organization contestant - shout-out, she took 2nd place at Miss Washington this year!!!). We looked around online - and by online I mean Pinterest - and came across this little gem of a project. To be completely honest, I'm not sure who is the original creator of this design, but whoever it is, I give mad props to them because it looks amazing!

Before we get started I'll show the finished project first, so you'll be able to understand just how much you want to do this project. After you've basked in it's glory for a second or three I'll take you back to the very beginning and work you through it step-by-step all simple like.

Pretty awesome, huh?

I wish I had a picture showing the view of her dining room looking down the table, it completely changed the set-up and mood of the room. Personally, I think that's the best part about this particular project - the fact that such a ridiculously simple piece can completely transform your room into a professionally-designed look.

Alright, let's dive in shall we?

Bill of Materials (B.O.M.)

• 2 pallets 
• Technically you only need one, but more often than not the pallets you can get for free (at your local RiteAid or grocery store) are a little banged up and it's helpful to have an extra to take boards from.
• Nails
• Hammer
• Wood Stain
• Brushes of varying sizes
• Drywall Anchors
• These can be found in the "Fasteners" section of your local hardware stores. 
• ***Be extra sure to make sure it's okay with your landlord to use these if you live in an apartment. They tend to make a pretty good mark in the drywall that can easily be covered in Spackle, but some places still say negative on drywall anchors. Unfortunately, I don't know of another way to fasten something this large on a wall...
• Drill
• Screwgun

Overall, the only out of pocket costs you should have - assuming you have the 10 Tools Every Man Should Own - will be the cost of stain, possibly brushes, and the drywall anchors. For us it was about $12, I think. A pretty fair price I'd say for the size of the project. 

Step 1: Making it look "pretty."

One of Reina's favorite requirements for the DIY projects we do together is that I make sure to "make it look pretty." Depending on the condition of your pallet, this step will vary in terms of time. Be sure to pick the better of your two pallets (common sense, I know) to use as the shelf. Look it over and make sure all the boards are there and that they're in good condition. 

A few things to note:

• The Top of your Pallet: When I say "top" I'm referring to the surface that you would stack items on if you were using this pallet for normal uses. It is important to make sure all of the slats are there and in good condition. You don't want them to have any big splits because these are the boards you'll be using to attach it to the wall. Make sure all the boards are in great condition because you never know which one's you'll have to use until you actually go to hang it on the wall - trust me, I know.
• The Bottom of your Pallet: The "bottom" is the part of the pallet that will be facing you when it is on the wall. This is your "shelf." Likewise, you want these boards to be in good condition because you don't want your vase, picture frame, or trophy breaking the board and falling to the ground. Technically speaking the middle crosspieces of the pallet will be your shelf, but the true bottom boards are just as important because they are highly visible. 

Now on ours, as you can see above, there were some chalked numbers that we wanted to make disappear. A sheet of 100 grain sandpaper (this, I just had laying around) and some elbow grease quickly made this happen. It doesn't take very long and if you don't want anything other than the actual wood showing, it's a good step to take. It's one of those "extra steps" that can really add a little bit of professionalism to your home. 

Extra Step: Cover Fork Grooves

This normally wouldn't be a step that I'd include, but it was a problem we ran into and I figure some of you out there might too. Our pallet had grooves on the crosspieces - the shelf part - that were for the forklift forks. Obviously we wouldn't be needing them and they diminished our shelf space significantly. If you're in the same position, there is no need to worry. As it turns out, the space between the bottom and top boards is exactly the width of a "top" slat. And, if you have an extra pallet, you can just pull two off of that and nail it down to the grooved crosspiece. 

Just use the back-end of a hammer to pry off the slats

You can still see the groove, but I think that it adds to it.

Step 2: Stain

Much like the first step, this one is almost disgustingly easy. All you need to do is cover your pallet in stain, and you don't even have to do the top side of the pallet because it will be against the wall. If you're thinking about doing it just because, I'd actually recommend against that decision. I'm not sure, but I worry about some of the stain marking up the wall; and that might make your landlord a little upset when it comes time to move out. Spackle is easy to look over, but brown scuffs all over the wall might make him/her a little irritated. As always though, your call!

Step 3: Hang!

After you've let your pallet dry over night it's finally time to hang it on the wall. Unfortunately it's a rather ungainly thing and you'll definitely need a second set of hands to help you hold it in position while you mount it. As such, I wasn't able to get any pictures of the actual mounting process, but it's fairly straight forward. Those drywall anchors you got at your local hardware store is rather self-explanatory and they have directions besides. Then you need to pre-drill your pallet before trying to screw it into the wall, you don't want your boards splitting the second you let go. This is the part that gets kind of tricky, but I have faith in you, you can do it.

Then you just drive the screws through your guide-holes and into the anchors. After that.... you're done! 

Please post pictures of your own! 

You're now the proud owner of your own pallet display shelf, unless you were just reading this because you saw it somewhere. In that case, go out and get some pallets and refer to the top of the page! 

As with any of the projects I post on here, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to fire me an email or leave a comment and I'll get back to it as soon as possible!

Hope you all enjoyed it!

Cheers,