Pallet Coffee Table With Storage Cubby

This coffee table was born out of a need to furnish a living room with an industrial-chic look.  We wanted something functional and beautiful, and budget friendly that we could get also get our hands dirty making.

To make the coffee table, we used:

- 2 pallets
- Sand paper
- Stain
- Finishing nails
- Nuts and bolts
- 4 casters
- Various tools, including a hammer screwdriver, and wrench

One of our first steps was to make sure the pallets were heat treated, and not chemically treated, so they'd be safe in our home. You can tell by the stamp on the wood.  If it has the letters HT, it was heat treated and you're good to go, provided that pallet is clean and in good shape.  If it has the letters MB, it was chemically treated and you should be cautious. 

Each pallet was made of 3 2x4s on the top and 3 1x4s on the bottom (one on each end and one in the middle).  We bought additional pieces of each and had them cut to the length of the pallets.  For the top surface, we added 4 2x4s for a full top.  We wanted to create a shelf for a cubby space in the middle so we turned the second pallet over and added 4 1x4s. 

Next, we sanded both pallets.  You want to eliminate all splinters and possibilities of splinters. (We did all the sanding by hand!)

Then we stained both pallets.  We used Minwax stain in Dark Walnut and it came out beautifully.  You could also apply a sealer for long-term protection and food safety.  We chose to skip this step and our coffee table still looks great many months later.  

We prepped the pallets for joining by drilling holes for our bolts through the 1x4s on either end.  Then we joined the two pallets bottom to bottom, so the shelf was in between the two pallets, and placed the bolts through the holes and secured the nuts. 

Lastly, we screwed the 4 casters to the bottom to make it super easy to move!