How to make a Pallet Daybed

Pallet furniture ideas

My sister asked if I would be able to make her a pallet daybed for her entertainment area.  She wanted the daybed to be big enough for 2 people to sit comfortably on and wanted it to be sturdy.  Her entertainment area is sheltered but when we get heavy rain it does get wet.  That is why she chose to have the daybed made from pallets.

Pallet furniture ideas

My sisters home has the most beautiful view of the town from her entertainment area, and they want to enjoy it in comfort.  They go up there at night and have a chat and a couple of drinks to relax after work.

If you chose to make pallet furniture be aware that it will not be the same quality as regular furniture.  Pallets do not seem to be a standard size or shape, I found out from the 7 pallets I intended to use for this daybed project. I waited a few months trying to get free pallets all the same size but gave up and decided to try and make them out of what I had.

Pallet furniture ideas

It is also time for our next blog hop for  ‘Do It Over’ Designers.  We are a group of bloggers who come together to share our latest recycle/upcycle/DIY project. Be sure to visit the other talented bloggers who are participating this month in the links at the end of this post.

How to make a pallet daybed

*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission on links used at no extra cost to you. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.**

Find suitable pallets

If you want the process to be easy, I would advise you to try and find pallets that are all the same size so you can stack them. You will need at least 7 pallets, 3 to be stacked, one on either side and one for the back.  The last one is to harvest wood to put the daybed together. In hindsight, I would have washed the pallets before I started using a pressure washer.  I washed mine once built which proved to be hard work. You can also give the pallets a sand using 100 grit sandpaper to remove the really rough surfaces after washing.

Pallet furniture ideas

All of mine were different, so I had to cut them down to the size.  This step is a pain in the butt, but I was fed up with seeing these pallets in my garden, so I had no choice. To make the base you will need at least 3 pallets that can stack on top of each other.  This will make the daybed high enough to get on and off comfortably. When the daybeds are too low they can be very hard to get up from when you are not a spring chicken anymore.

Pallet furniture ideas

Shortening the pallets

Two of the pallets I had for the base were similar in size but the third was too big and needed to be shortened.  I used a reciprocating saw to cut off the excess, a jigsaw will also work.  Because I cut off the main supports for the end of the pallet, I had to replace them.

Pallet furniture ideas

I had to take apart the piece I cut off and remove the supports so I could reattach them to the pallet.

Pallet furniture ideas

Harvesting wood from other pallets

You will need extra wood to box the pallets together so they don’t move. I used a jigsaw and cut off the wood from the spare pallet.  You can take them apart but I found that really hard to do.

Pallet furniture ideas

To remove the splinter you will need to sand them or put them through a planer if you have one. These will be used down the front so you don’t want to get splinters in your legs.

Pallet furniture ideas

The idea was to have a rustic daybed, but you do need the wood smooth enough as not to cause injury.

Pallet furniture ideas

Box in the pallets

To box the pallets together you need to measure the height of the pallet stack and then cut the wood to size. I found that none of the pallets was straight so it will not look perfect.

Pallet furniture ideas

You can now box in the front and back of the pallets. I cut all my wood to the same size and as you can see it is not level. This is due in part to the pallets being warped.

Pallet furniture ideas

You will also need to box in the sides adding the wood horizontally across the pallets, screwing the wood into the main supports. I made sure the supports on the pallets lined up with the wood on the sides.

Pallet furniture ideas

Making the sides

The side supports are a pallet cut down to the size you want.  You will also need to take into account the size of the mattress you will be adding.  I found one pallet cut in half did not work because there is only one centre support in a pallet.

Pallet furniture ideas

My sisters one request was to have somewhere to put a drink. You can add an extra piece of wood across the top if you have wood the correct size.  I used one of the extra pieces of pallet wood and cut it to size to fit inside the side panel.

Pallet furniture ideas

To hold the wood in place you can screw it from the sides like the image below.

Pallet furniture ideas

When you are sitting on the daybed your arms will be resting on the side pallets. To prevent any injury from splinters I used a router with a round-over bit to remove any shape edges. You can also add so extra wood to the remaining area so it is more comfortable on your arms.

Pallet furniture ideas

Attaching the sides

Because this daybed was going to my sister’s house I had to make it in a way that it could be taken apart.  I wanted it to come apart into four sections, the sides, base and back.  This will make it more manageable to lift and transport.  I remove the horizontal supports I added on the sides and fitted some bolts, that will bolt the sides together. You may need to add some extra blocks of wood to the bottom to get the sides level. I repeated this step for both sides.

Pallet furniture ideas

Fitting the back

One of the pallets that I had was a half pallet, I used this for the back.  You can use a full pallet if you have one. I found these screw bolts at the hardware store, but I am not sure of the proper name.  I clamped the back pallet to the base and drilled a hole where I wanted the bolts to go.

Pallet furniture ideas

Next, I used a ratchet socket to screw in the bolt, 2 on each leg. I forgot to take a photo but I also added some hinges to hold the sides and the back together.

Pallet furniture ideas

Add the cushions

I used recycled cushions from an old couch for the back and an old bed mattress for the base.

Pallet furniture ideas

Covering the cushion

The canvas fabric for the cushions was the only real expense in this project. I sewed a hem around the bottom fabric similar to a fitted sheet and added elastic for easy removal for washing.  For the back pillows, I made one large pillowcase. The sides will be boxed in at a later stage once it is put together at my sister house.

Pallet furniture ideas

Pallet furniture ideas

More pallet project ideas

This outdoor wall mounted bar is great for an outdoor entertainment area.

Pallet project ideas

You can also use the offcuts to make a cute bird feeder for your garden.

Pallet birdfeeder

Now it’s time to visit the rest of the team.  Be sure to stop by each blog for some amazing Upcycling/Recycling/DIY projects.  You will find their links listed below.

Birdz of a Feather

Cloches & Lavender

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Unique Creations by Anita

My Hubbard Home

The Apple Street Cottage

Pinterest pin

Tutorial on how to recycle pallets into a daybed.

Upcycle pallet wood furniture ideasIf you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links. By clicking on the links we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Which helps us come up with new and exciting ideas to share with you. Please feel free to share or leave a comment we would love to hear your thoughts.

You Might Also Like

43 Comments

  • Reply
    Kim
    May 22, 2021 at 10:24 pm

    You are truly so talented. I’m amazed by the construction and creativity on this piece. You’ve also given me a great idea to makeover the cushions on my own outdoor couch, using your technique. Thanks for sharing!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:33 pm

      Thank you so much, Kim, I am glad I could offer some inspiration.

  • Reply
    Sara
    May 22, 2021 at 10:27 pm

    What an awesome project Anita; you are so multi-talented! Your pallet ideas are always so creative, despite all the very real challenge of finding suitable sizes :). Your sister must be thrilled with this; but even with all that work and I bet her favourite part is where she can set her drink – lol .

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:34 pm

      You are so right Sara, when the weather warms up we will be having some chill time and a few drinks to christen the daybed.

  • Reply
    rachelle
    May 22, 2021 at 11:58 pm

    Anita, I’ve never used pallets in a project before and didn’t really think through that there are different sizes. The daybed turned out great, and I bet your sister is thrilled with the results. I know I would be 🙂

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:35 pm

      Thank you so much, Rachelle. Pallets are a pain to work with, but sometimes free wood is free wood. lol

  • Reply
    Gail @Purple Hues and Me
    May 23, 2021 at 1:08 am

    Your pallet daybed s is amazing, Anita! You are very talented and your work is very creative and unique! I would have never thought pallet projects would have become so popular. Many, many years ago I was a retail operations manager and getting rid of wood pallets was one of my nemeses – a nightmare! Lol!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:37 pm

      Thank you so much Gail. I remember the same thing, they would deliver garden supplies to your home on pallets and you battled to get rid of them. Now you can leave pallets on the front lawn and they will be gone in a few hours.

  • Reply
    Cindy
    May 23, 2021 at 1:45 am

    Wow, this is truly a fantastic piece. Well constructed and looks like you bought it. I have to say loving the cubby to hold a glass of anything but especially wine in the evenings.

    Pinned!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:38 pm

      Thank you so much Cindy. The cubby is also a great place to put phones out of the way while chatting.

  • Reply
    Marie B.
    May 23, 2021 at 1:47 am

    You’re a girl with tools who knows how to use them! Your pallet daybed is awesome, Anita. Love how you incorporated drink holders too. Your sister must be thrilled!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:39 pm

      Thank you so much Marie, I do love a good power tool. I am learning welding at the moment and I just get a chainsaw. Yikes lol

  • Reply
    Tania
    May 23, 2021 at 2:19 am

    I love your pallet couch!

    Tania

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:39 pm

      Thank you so much Tania, that is really kind of you to say.

  • Reply
    Patti @ Pandora's Box
    May 23, 2021 at 10:02 am

    WOW – what a great project!! Pallets are becoming quite popular and this idea is so clever! Well done!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:41 pm

      Thank you so much Patty, they really are popular because they are free most of the time.

  • Reply
    Ann
    May 23, 2021 at 10:04 am

    I am a huge fan of pallet wood and I definitely understand it’s challenges. You did a great job of overcoming them and created something beautiful!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      May 23, 2021 at 11:42 pm

      Thank you so much Ann, they are challenging but some have such great wood on them.

  • Reply
    Renee Open
    May 24, 2021 at 4:34 am

    What a fabulous idea – both the day bed and bar <3 I will be sharing this post on my social media!

    Coming to you from Inspire Me Monday Link party <3

  • Reply
    Cherryl Ehlenburg
    May 25, 2021 at 8:00 am

    I haven’t gotten brave enough to try pallet projects yet, but I love this! Pinned.

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      June 1, 2021 at 1:30 pm

      Thank you so much Cherryl, I have only tried small projects in the past. So it was time I got more creative.

  • Reply
    Karen the next best thing to mummy
    May 26, 2021 at 9:13 pm

    We have made some raised beds in the garden from pallets #alittlebitofeberything@_karenden is

  • Reply
    Niky
    May 27, 2021 at 4:12 am

    Wow, that’s impressive! I’d love to have one of these at my place! Thanks so much for sharing at Sundays on Silverado.

    Niky @ The House on Silverado

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      June 1, 2021 at 1:35 pm

      Thank you so much, Niky for the awesome comment.

  • Reply
    Cecilia
    May 31, 2021 at 4:11 am

    Anita, your projects are truly an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your pallet daybed at Vintage Charm!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      June 1, 2021 at 1:46 pm

      Thank you so much Cecilia and thank you so much for always supporting my website and projects.

  • Reply
    Create With Joy
    May 31, 2021 at 8:34 am

    Incredible project Anita – you are going to save someone a ton of money and make them proud of their handiwork!
    Ccongrats for your feature at Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy! 🙂

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      June 1, 2021 at 1:48 pm

      Thank you so much for the awesome comment and the feature on my project.

  • Reply
    Maria
    May 31, 2021 at 9:28 pm

    What a beautiful job you did. I love pallets.

  • Reply
    Libbie@alifeunfolding
    May 31, 2021 at 10:23 pm

    What a wonderful project! I love everything about this down to the material you choose. Your sister must be so excited!!!

  • Reply
    Nancy Sargent
    June 1, 2021 at 2:33 am

    Pallets are so great to upcycle into so many projects! This day bed is fabulous. I love the idea of the cushion cover that can be easily removed.

  • Reply
    Marty Walden
    June 1, 2021 at 3:04 am

    Love how this turned out! Pallets are one of my favorite projects!

  • Reply
    Cat Michaels
    June 1, 2021 at 4:01 am

    How cool is that, Anita! I see pallets in the dumpsters all the tIme. Great way to re-purpose them.

  • Reply
    Deana Landers
    June 1, 2021 at 4:06 am

    Very nice, Anita. It is amazing what people do with these pallets. This daybed is stylish and comfortable looking 💙

  • Reply
    Meegan
    June 1, 2021 at 2:53 pm

    All the details and work looks amazing! What a fun and creative way to add personality to any space. You have so many incredible ideas, Anita!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      June 7, 2021 at 9:05 am

      Thank you so much Meegan, I did not have high hopes to start but turned out ok for pallets.

  • Reply
    Michelle Leslie
    June 3, 2021 at 2:35 am

    You have just made my day Anita. Seriously. What’s not to love about your daybed. It’s stylish, it’s made from pallets (we have loads), and best of all there’s a safe place to put your drink. I love that so much. Really clever.

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      June 7, 2021 at 9:06 am

      Thanks Michelle, with wood being so expensive now pallets are really popular.

  • Reply
    Richella J Parham
    June 3, 2021 at 11:34 pm

    This is just brilliant! What a good job you did–and how clever you are, these days when lumber is so pricey, to make this out of pallet wood.

    Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!

    • Reply
      Anita Holland
      June 7, 2021 at 9:07 am

      Thank you so much for the comment and the feature I really do appreciate it. I was shocked the other day to see our hardware store is now selling pallets for $15. I always get free from local companies.

  • Reply
    Rustic Garden Wood Projects | Transform Your Outdoor Space | Curb Wise
    September 28, 2023 at 1:19 am

    […] furniture can improve the appearance of your garden and backyard, think about constructing an outdoor daybed that can serve as a focal point in the entrance of summer homes. This attractive piece is something […]

  • Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.