Recently, furniture from pallets (pallets) has become very popular. Skillful craftsmen have come up with thousands of ways to use what was previously perceived only as bulky packaging. Thus, they not only showed that it is possible to make inexpensive and beautiful furniture with their own hands, but also defended the forest. After all, thousands of cubic meters of wood that went to landfill, found a new life. Also want to learn how to make furniture from pallets? Later in the article you will learn the intricacies of working with this material and find many interesting ideas for your creativity.
Important Note
Pallets are products from different types of wood, and in order to prevent insects from spoiling them, they are sometimes treated with insecticides - they are sprayed or completely soaked in a special solution. The use of such pallets in residential premises is dangerous, especially in the kitchen or in the children's room. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to take pallets for free at work or from another source, then study the labeling on them before you bring them to the house.
Pallet designations
The tree must bear the stigma of IPPC, the international safety standard for wood processing methods. But it is not equivalent to the absence of insecticides. Look for the letters HT, they mean that the tree was processed only with heat, it is completely safe for humans.
In addition, EPAL or EUR markings are often found on pallets. Both show that the pallets are made in Europe, the first being equivalent to HT, but the second is an outdated standard that does not mean the absence of chemical processing of wood.
You can not make furniture from pallets with the designation MB, because this indicates the use of a strong insecticide - methyl bromide, which is dangerous to human health.
In addition, pay attention to what was previously stored on pallets. It’s also not worth using the tree on which strong chemicals were transported.
If you have to buy pallets, then ask the seller for sanitary certificates about their safety.
Also note that chemically treated wood cannot be burned because smoke will contain hazardous compounds.
How to choose a good pallet?
To furniture for pallets served for a long time and work on it progressed as quickly as possible, follow these simple rules:
- Try to choose pallets with the smallest number of cracked boards, not warped by prolonged exposure to moisture, etc.
- Carefully inspect them for mold, moss and make sure that they do not have a strong specific smell.
- Pay attention to the nails - if you assume that the pallet will have to be disassembled, it is better to choose the one on which the nails are clogged evenly and not much bent into the tree.
Making furniture from pallets for home
Once you have made sure that the pallet is safe for you and your household and is in good condition, it's time to choose ideas on how to use it.
Many do not believe that you can make truly beautiful furniture from pallets. A photo of a cozy sofa will prove the fallacy of this opinion:
It is not only comfortable for sitting and lying down, but also allows you to store books and other little things under the seats.
Based on the shape and size of the pallets, the decision to use them as a table literally begs itself. For example, it did not take a lot of time to implement such a project:
The most difficult and expensive was the acquisition and cutting of glass.
In addition to the table, you can make bedside tables with shelves that can accommodate a DVD player, speakers, books, magazines.The placement of the TV on a tree should be approached very carefully. 
If you make legs from a bar or use another 1 pallet for the side walls, then the table can be not only a coffee table, but also a dining or working one.
Custom solutions
A small piece of pallets is useful in the kitchen as a fixture for kitchen utensils.
From one pallet and two beautiful vintage legs, you can make an original sideboard with three shelves and a large space on which you can put photos and beautiful pictures.
And here is another similar option, but with home plants and fully fixed to the wall:
Furniture from pallets is easy to make large, so a double bed of pallets is a fairly simple and inexpensive project.
You can make a headboard made of wood.
The special charm of such a bed will give the illumination hidden inside. With her, it will be easy to create a romantic and dreamy atmosphere in the bedroom.
For a garden or a summer residence
Outdoor furniture from pallets is inexpensive, beautiful and durable.
For example, this large corner for relaxing on the veranda would cost a decent amount if you make it to order or buy it ready-made.
But if you make it from pallets, then the main costs will be pillows, foam for seats and textiles. It will be possible to reduce these costs if you have unnecessary children's mattresses or folding bed mattresses.
But the furniture in the photo below is slightly smaller and simpler, but made according to the same principle:
For real masters
The bar and chairs will require more effort than most furniture options from pallets, but the result is worth it.
Swing is easy and simple to make from pallets, the main thing is to take care of the reliability of the fasteners.
If you are confident in your abilities and you have a fairly strong support, then you can even make a hanging bed.
Benches or deckchairs from pallets are also quite simple to make, and most often for their production only 1 pallet, timber and screws are required. 
Ideas for the future
Pallet furniture manufacturing is an interesting home business idea that has taken root well in the United States. Craftsmen create sites with examples of their work and for a fee they are ready to take on the chores associated with woodworking. The costs of such a business are very modest. You can work with pallets with a minimum set of tools, and if you have electrical appliances - a circular saw, a screwdriver and a grinder with a nozzle for polishing wood, then the time for work will be several times less.
Many large stores, especially in remote cities, prefer not to bear the cost of returning the pallet to the supplier, and they simply accumulate in warehouses. Therefore, on their websites you can find tenders for the sale of pallets at wholesale prices. Trying to contact the management directly even faster and more efficiently.
So the cost of materials and tools is minimal, labor costs at a certain skill too. If you like working with wood, and you have successfully completed several “pallet” projects, then you should think about how to develop your own business.