Wooden pallets are the easiest and cheapest way to make furniture.
These pallets are sturdy and could carry heavier weights because they were made to transport, protect, or store items stacked one above the other.
However, after they’re used, some companies discard them.
So if you find some cheap wooden pallets – better yet, for free –go for it and upcycle them into a lovely piece of furniture.
This bench seating idea from Hometalk is a great way to transform that discarded wooden pallet into something useful at home.
Prepare the materials below as we walk you through how to make a beautiful bench seat!
Materials:
2 pieces of wood pallets
Foam padding
Upholstery fabric (preferably thick like ultra-suede or velvet)
Tack strip
Staple gun/tacker
For the backrest, measure and mark on one pallet the height where you want to attach the other pallet for seating.
Cover the rows or banding of the pallet with your foam padding smooth side facing.
You can add another layer of padding depending on how thick you want your seat would be.
Cut through the parts where the padding hits the support board to avoid uneven bulges in front.
Cut the fabric to the size of the banding and lay them on top of the padding as smoothly as possible.
Turn the pallet to its back and secure the padding and fabric using a staple gun or tacker.
Don’t forget to secure them where you marked the pallet and cut the excess out.
Also, do not pull the fabric too much, as it would create a gap between the wood banding.
Add foam padding and fabric layers to cover the edges and secure them with the staple gun.
Finish the top by laying a piece of fabric that’s double its size. Attach the tack strip, flip the other end of the cloth over, and staple it at the wood’s edge.
For the seat, take the second pallet and cut it to half lengthwise.
Lay the padding on top of the pallet and cut it to size. You can add more padding for this so you would sit on it comfortably and not feel the wood.
This time, you don’t have to insert them in each banding. Do the same process as you did for the backrest.
For the legs, take some leftover wood from the other half of the pallet and add secure them on the bench.
If you like to cover the bottom part of the bench, you can do the same layering of padding and fabric underneath so it would cover the legs.
This can be tricky to secure because you want to hide the staples underneath. Pull the excess cloth to the side.
Do this same process at the sides until you have wrapped around the bench and secure the edges at the back where it won’t be seen.
This bench seating is made to be secured or leaned on a wall, so you don’t have to worry about the mess at the back.
And voila! You now have the perfect way to upcycle wooden pallets into an accent chair or dining seat.
Look how gorgeous it turned out! Not to mention, it’s quite the conversation piece, don’t you think?
Watch the full tutorial below. Plus, more ideas on upcycling discarded wooden pallets!
