Step-by-step assembly of a bed from pallets - from choosing material to decor

Modern designers, when arranging the interiors of bedrooms, increasingly use non-standard solutions, apply original ideas for decoration, and adapt unusual materials in the process of making furniture. Incredibly popular lately is a bed made of pallets, which, despite the material used, can be very beautiful, comfortable and practical.

Peculiarities

Furniture made from pallets fits perfectly into the style of minimalism, loft, and Provence. Features of the material include:

• 
  Eco-friendly and natural.

• Ease of use . These materials can be sawed and cut with both hand and power tools.
• Possibility to make a piece of furniture of non-standard size and design . This is an ideal option for making furniture for small apartments.
• Mobility and ergonomics . A chair made from pallets can be easily moved from place to place without much physical effort.
• Originality and exclusivity . If you show limitless imagination, furniture made from pallets will turn out to be unique and inimitable.
• Efficiency of production . If you have consumables, tools and free time, you can assemble a chair from pallets within a day.
• Affordable price . Pallets can be purchased inexpensively from building supplies or at any warehouse.

Where can I get pallets?

Pallets, despite their unusual shape for containers, are considered packaging material, which means you need to look for them in warehouses and retail outlets of enterprises involved in logistics or sales; many companies use them only once, after which they are written off and sold at cheap prices. You can stock up on designs by looking for an advertisement for the sale of used packaging on the Internet (this kind of information is not uncommon on thematic portals), or you can resort to the old fashioned way - look in newspapers or pay attention to stands with information, the role of which in Russia is often played by poles and fences. The cost of products is most often purely symbolic, but they are usually sold in bulk.

Pallets in warehouses

You can directly contact pallet manufacturers and logistics companies involved in cargo transportation. Many will be happy to give you used materials absolutely free of charge. It is expensive for them to dispose of it themselves, and storage requires a lot of space, which can be used for storing goods and products.

You can also make pallets yourself, in which case you will have to buy boards with a 15-20 mm section and 70 mm timber. They will need to be cut according to the dimensions of the future structure, and then fastened in the standard way, mainly with nails or self-tapping screws.

Preparation for use

As for preparing pallets for work, first:

1. 
   They are cleaned of dust and dirt . To do this, it is recommended to wash the pallets with soapy water and dry them in fresh air.

2. All burrs, chips and other minor defects are removed from their surface with sandpaper or a grinding machine.
3. When using furniture outdoors, pallets must be treated with antiseptic impregnations and water-repellent agents.
4. Before assembling the furniture, the pallets are primed and coated with paints and varnishes .

Important : pallets can be used to decorate a children's room.
They are completely safe, do not emit toxins and do not cause allergic reactions.

Tools

To assemble a chair from pallets you will need the following tools and materials :

• wooden pallets;
• hammer and nails;
• drill;
• paints and varnishes;
• wood antiseptics;
• electric jigsaw;
• decorative elements;
• primer;
• sanding machine or sandpaper;
• bolts;
• tape measure and pencil;
• tassels.

Cost of a pallet bed

To create a bed frame you will need the following materials:

How to do it step by step?

Some people think that chairs made from pallets look untidy in the interior. But if you decorate them with decorative pillows or bedspreads, they will bring a special atmosphere of warmth and comfort to the room. The process of manufacturing all the parts and their subsequent assembly is quite simple:

1. 
   We cut the pallets into two halves . These halves will form the seat and back of the product. And from another pallet we cut off the armrests.

2. thoroughly clean all elements with sandpaper or a grinder. The surface of the material must be perfectly smooth and without roughness.
3. Assembly of the structure begins with the base, to which the back is screwed using bolts .
4. Next, the sidewalls are attached .

Attention : when assembling a chair from pallets, the fastenings must be made reliable; it is not recommended to use glue for these purposes.

That's the whole simple process of making a unique and original piece of furniture. Now it will need to be decorated and can be installed in the living room, bedroom or children's room.

Stages of self-production

Photo tips will help you understand how to correctly assemble a bed from pallets step by step with your own hands. Regardless of the required size, the steps for making this furniture yourself are the same:

1. Selection of pallets and external inspection.
2. Cleaning with a damp cloth or mini car wash.
3. Drying washed pallets.
4. Surface grinding.
5. Wipe with a damp cloth and then dry.
6. Leveling the wooden base with a primer using a brush or roller.
7. Waiting for the primed layer to dry.
8. Pallet painting.
9. Drying the paint for one day.
10. Applying varnish in several layers (ideally up to 3). Each layer requires soaking and drying.
11. Assembling finished pallets according to the selected drawing using self-tapping screws, angles and a screwdriver. In some cases, nails are used for stronger fixation.

To impregnate a wooden surface before priming, you can use special protective antibacterial compounds. If desired, you can attach legs or wheels to the beds, and also make a headboard. An orthopedic mattress does not have to be placed directly on pallets. You can use a sheet of fiberboard that is attached to the base.

The size of the furniture may be slightly larger than the mattress. This step is acceptable for modern models and is a bold design decision. Assembling a simple bed from standard 160 x 200 cm pallets requires 6 pallets. The width of the mattress will match the width of the finished structure.

Creating a full-fledged berth requires raising the top of the pallets by at least one row. Boxes can be placed in the resulting niches.

Single for a child

The bed is designed for 1 person. Only 4 euro pallets are required, 5 if the model includes a headboard. Pallets undergo careful preparation and successive stages of assembly:

1. The child's height is measured. The future model and required dimensions are selected.
2. A drawing is drawn. The place of the bed in the room is determined.
3. Pallets are selected. They are washed, dried, and cleared of nails and metal staples.
4. Surface sanding for children is carried out more carefully. Then the workpiece is wiped with a damp cloth and dried.
5. Pallets are primed, painted and varnished. The process may take several days.
6. The finished structure is ventilated and then decorated.
7. You need to put an orthopedic mattress on the product and cover it with bright bedding.

A children's structure can be made with safety bumpers. Side bars will give it stability. It is recommended to paint the surface of the product in white or bright shades, depending on the child’s preferences.

Double with lighting

Self-production of beds from illuminated pallets follows a generally accepted assembly algorithm. A double bed for married people is often made with a headboard. Calculations for sleeping space here are individual, but generally in cm they are:

• height: headboard - 142, footrests - 52;
• width: headboard and footrests - 212.

Characteristics of Italian beds, best designs and manufacturers

A creative solution that is very popular is the option of a double bed with lighting. Such lighting (and at the same time a night light) gives the space of the room mystery and unusualness. Illumination can be done using a Christmas tree garland, which is placed in the headboard or podium, or with LED strip and duralight. The process will require:

• electrical wire;
• push-button switch;
• transparent silicone LED strip;
• protective plastic corrugated hose (for wiring);
• power unit;
• terminal blocks;
• clamps;
• self-tapping screws

Only after the structure is assembled do they engage in lighting and choose the required option for its location. It is better to entrust the organization of professional lighting to an electrician. The master will do all the work efficiently and quickly.

With drawers

Bed models with drawers are in great demand. They are intended for storing things, bedding or toys. Measurements and a drawing of the project must be made in advance. Each pallet must be dry and clean.

To assemble this model, you need to come up with a podium-type structure. The podium tier can be 2 or 3 stories high. 4 identical pallets will make 8 boxes. You will need to cut the boards of 2 pallets at the top and bottom to make a base for boxes assembled from fiberboard. To do this, follow the recommendations:

• the master must assemble the product in accordance with the drawing;
• the place where it is planned to place the boxes is disassembled, connected and the required number of beams is added;
• Before working with the surface, it is prepared - staples and nails are removed, washed, dried, sanded, primed, painted, varnished (if desired);
• carry out the assembly of the structure and assemble the boxes (if they are prepared independently from wood);
• cover the surface of the bed with a sheet of fiberboard;
• make a headboard (optional), decorate;
• lay the mattress.

You can use plastic containers for boxes, which are sold in construction and hardware stores. Then the size and height of the legs from the floor, as well as the niches, should be calculated in accordance with the dimensions of these boxes.

Finishing

After assembly, the product is completely ready for use. To extend the service life and to give the chair aesthetics, it is recommended to cover it with paints and varnishes. This will increase the wood’s resistance to increased moisture and prevent the possibility of splinters being driven into users.

When finishing furniture made from pallets, special attention should be paid to paint and varnish materials:

• Transparent or colored varnish is suitable for these purposes . To preserve the natural structure of the wood, it is better to take a colorless varnish. And to achieve the desired shade of wood, you can use colored varnish.
• Paint for pallet furniture should be acrylic .
  It is provided by different manufacturers in a wide color palette. The chair can be painted in one or several colors. It depends on your personal tastes and preferences, and on the environment. To apply an ornament to a product, you will need to use a special stencil, which you can buy in a store or make yourself.

If the chair will be placed in the garden, then you should choose a water-repellent varnish . Additionally, you can decorate a new piece of furniture with: small pillows, sewn by yourself, a cover, or just a cape.

Tip : Pallets can also be used to make a table or even a bed. And in the garden, next to such a chair, you can put a simple table or a table in a gazebo.

DIY bunk bed made from pallets

Most often, two-tier structures are installed in a children's bedroom. A small room needs proper organization of space, because it needs to accommodate everything necessary for a small person or even several.

Pallet bunk bed

In addition to his own sleeping place, the student will need a work area where he can do homework and engage in self-study. A good table will take up an unforgivably large amount of space, just like a good bed. So why not combine these two interior items together and create a really interesting and necessary thing on your own?

Pallet bed combined with table

By making a bunk bed from pallets for several children, you can not only save your budget, but also develop the design of the product yourself. To create a multi-level structure, pallets are stacked at different levels. The first level will consist of one layer of pallets, the second will have two, and the third will have three.

For ease of perception, it is recommended to paint each level with a separate color. This type of assembly is much more complex than that used to create a regular bed. In the dark, lighting fixtures can become delimiters between sleeping places or two zones. The sequence of actions will be as follows:

1. First, you need to build two separate children's beds from pallets. The first will be located on the first floor, and the second will be fixed on the second floor. It is recommended to use three pallets (one on each side) as supports.
2. After fastening the two pallets together, you should have three strong legs (at the foot, in the center and at the head).
3. Boards are fixed between the supports, which will unite the two tiers.

The staircase is made separately and installed on one side of the structure. It is recommended to make the lifting angle no more than 55°.

Photo

If you surrender to the creative process, the result will be more than just furniture: