kojodesigns

how to make a reading nook using two wooden palettes (part 1)

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how to make a reading nook from palettesI love palette furniture. Actually, I think that I love it for the same reason that I am so intrigued by Anthropologie’s window displays- the idea of taking something that no one wants and turning it into something useful and/or beautiful resonates with me. An ostrich made out of book pages? Lovely! A giant wreath made from old books? Fabulous!

Which leads us to… a reading chair for Burke’s playroom made from a palette and other materials we had on hand! Yes please!

Since the assembly of this little gem was a little… mmmm… involved, I’m going to break this tutorial into several parts. Today, I’ll give the info you need to platform of the ‘chair.’ In part 2, we’ll make and attach the sides of the chair.

To make a palette reading nook yourself, you’ll need:
-2 wooden palettes (check the back of home depot or lowe’s… we asked first…)
-scrap pieces of a 2 x , cut into six squares
-3 rolling casters
-sander and sandpaper
-nails

1. Choose your palette. Three tips for this process-
a- Choose the most sturdy palette you can find
b- Find a palette that is a square
c- Try to find one with slats that are as close together as possible.
Sand down the palette to the raw wood. Then draw a diagonal line from one corner to the other corner with a pencil.  
*Note- The palette we used had a broken slat. We just used the side without the broken slat for the chair.

2. Cut along this line. We actually used a circular saw to cut along the diagonal line on one side of the palette, flipped the palette over and cut along the same line on the other side of the palette.

3. Reinforce your ‘front’ edge. Use leftover wood from the side of the palette you discarded (there’s already a piece of wood wedged in between the top and bottom layer of the palette, so use that piece since it is already the right size) to place an extra reinforcing piece on each side of the middle board, sandwiched between the top and bottom layers. Nail your reinforcement pieces in place.

4. On the bottom side of your platform, build up all three corners with squares of scrap wood. These will make your chair sit higher off the ground. Attach the casters to each corner ‘tower.’ Flip over and admire! You’re done with part 1.

Remember, this is what you’re making-

Go here for part 2…

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Comments

  2. I really, really like this. My husband and I always say we will try "palette furniture" but it seems too daunting. Your tutorial made it look easy! 🙂

    Reply

  10. Wow! awesome!! I do also like working with palettes (if you have a minute have a look at macarenabilbao.blogspot.com) but I've never seen such an original idea, in corner! congratulations

    Reply

  12. This is TOO cute!!! So happy to have found your blog (Layla P. tweeted this post 🙂 Will be stopping by often…lots of great inspiration for me here…

    Reply

  13. I think this is really awesome! I love pallets, although I asked the home depot around here and they have to send them back.

    Reply

    • Hey Stephanie! I used foam, cut into a triangle and doubled over. Then I made a cover using sheets.
      Hopefully that helps!

      Reply

Trackbacks

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  20. […] First of all you can make an awesome and colorful coat hanger like this one. Isn’t it a great idea? It is so simple to make it and so easy to paint it. Choose the colors that you want to paint it, take some hangers to screw on it and hang it on the wall. If you are interested you can find more information in kojodesigns. […]

    Reply

  110. […] If you can find enough replicas, you may even be able to construct an entire drop out of these. Clearly you’ll require a great deal of replicas and this won’t be a really simple project however, it’s an wonderful idea worth exploring, especially if you want to save a little money or if you want your drop to be ecofriendly and made of recycled materials. You’re able to follow the tutorial shared on instructables if you would like to turn this into your next DIY project. Look at this adorable reading nook…how it looks. You’ll have something similar in your home and an vacant room corner will be ideal for that. It wouldn’t be an expensive project since you’ll be using pallet wood and a few basic tools. This beautiful idea comes in kojo-designs. […]

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