Pallet Shelves

I LOVE these pallet shelves and the best part about them is they only cost me just over $2.00 each! These shelves are just a sneak peek of my $100 DIY powder room makeover. Since I was trying to keep things on the cheep I decided I had to DIY some of the décor. I started with a pallet I already had laying around. I had thought about making it into a wine rack but never got around to that project…SO I used a crowbar and hammer to take it apart. I only needed two boards and two of the back brace pieces.

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Take the Pallet Apart

Once I took the pallet apart and pulled out the nails I enlisted some help to sand them down smooth using my Mouse Sander

Once the boards were sanded down smooth I wanted to stain them but I wanted to keep the rustic look of the pallet wood. Instead of using a regular stain, I decided to use a homemade wood stain I had sitting on the garage shelf. I’d made this stain a few years back and never got around to using it. I wasn’t quite sure which of the two homemade stains I’d like so I used some of each one on a few pallet boards and let them dry. After about 3 coats I decided on the darker of the two.

How To Make Shelves From A Pallet

Step One:

I cut down the boards to 22 inches sanded the ends, and using a cheesecloth I rubbed my homemade stain all over the 4 boards I will be using to make my shelves. I used 3 coats to get the desired color and let dry for about 30 minutes between each coat.

Step Two:

Once dry I placed the shelf board face down and measured out where the back bracing board needed to be.

With the second set of hands, I flipped the shelf over and my hubby nailed the top shelf piece into the back brace piece. I only needed two finish nails (one on each side) to hold the shelves together.

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Step Three:

Now that the shelves are all put together I need some hardware to be able to hang these on the wall. Since these are going over the toilet in the powder room I wanted them to be flush to the wall. I went to the hardware store and picked up these keyhole hangers for $2.19.

Using a tape measure I placed these on the back of both shelves. I was super careful when placing these so that my husband didn’t give me hard time about my shelves not hanging level!

Step Four:

Using a stud finder (other than my hubby) I marked where I wanted my shelves to be. If I couldn’t screw into a stud I used a heavy-duty wall anchor to secure my screws.

That’s it!! These shelves turned out super cute and are the perfect size over the toilet.