D.I.Y Pallet Table

Courtney Kennedy woke up this morning in a bed she had made with her own two hands. Just 20 years old, Kennedy discovered her handcrafting passion in high school. “I was in an engineering class, and that’s when I figured out that I like to make things,” she says. 

An Alabama native now living in Springfield, Kennedy turned her hobby into a profitable career, selling her creations on Etsy under the moniker shopalwaysrooney. “I get to set my own hours,” she says.  “I’m passionate about it, so I make time for it.” 

Kennedy makes everything from simple, no-sew items to projects requiring wood and power tools, and she says everyone has the capability to create. “Challenge that craftiness within you,” she says. “It’s all about trial and error. It is just starting and not being afraid to fail. I’ve had lots of fails.” 

Her latest endeavor is a distinctive coffee table made from wood pallets, and she shares the step-by-step instructions so you can replicate the table in your own home. Try this project yourself, and check out more of Kennedy’s work on her blog, alwaysrooney.com.

Make your own

Step 1

Stack your pallets to see which ones align. Choose the best two, and set them aside.

Step 2

On the remaining pallets, carefully pry off the wood planks using the hammer and pry bar. (You will need about eight extra planks.) These will be used to fill in the empty spaces in the other two pallets.

Step 3

Screw the extra planks of wood in between the gaps of the two pallets you’re using to make the table. You want the top of one pallet and the bottom of another to be fully and evenly covered with planks of wood. 

Step 4

Sand down each pallet thoroughly.

Step 5

Using a nail gun and wood glue, connect the two pallets.

Step 6

Sand again, and then stain your table, using two coats of wood stain.

Step 7

After the stain is dry, cover the table with polyurethane. Sand the polyurethane by hand to ensure a smooth surface.

Step 8

Cut four pieces of scrap wood a little larger than the caster wheels. Screw these pieces into the bottom corners of the table, and then connect the wheels with screws.