Wood Panelling with Wood Pallets
09 Aug 2017
Wooden pallets have done much to revolutionise the transport industry, making it easy to transport and store loads using mechanical handling techniques. Of course, what pallets have also done over the years is to provide DIYers with a ready source of timber for a variety of projects, from making garden planters to knocking up a dog kennel or rabbit hutch.
Until now, though, you may not have thought of using pallets to enhance your interior décor. However, there’s a new trend in using pallets to provide interior wood panelling, offering a stylish and aesthetically pleasing effect at a low price.
Why Pallet Wood?
The thing about pallets is that they’re made to be functional rather than pretty. They’re built with low-cost timber. It’s coarse-grained, the colour of the boards varies and it has knots, splits, nail holes and more. For high-grade cabinet making you wouldn’t give it a second glance, but for interior decoration you can exploit these imperfections to your advantage.
Mixing different-coloured boards with contrasting grain patterns, for example, can make for visual interest on a feature wall or in an alcove. You can choose to stain the boards or enjoy the natural colour of the wood simply by protecting it with a clear varnish to bring out its natural features.
Where Can I Use Pallet Panelling?
Wood gives a natural warm feel to any room. This makes it ideal for spaces where feeling cosy is top priority – bedrooms, for example. Adding a feature panelled wall behind the head of your bed can provide a room with a snug log-cabin feel.
Panelling can also be used to make the most of architectural features. The space below a staircase, for example, can be turned into an attractive alcove for bookshelves or displaying art work. Alternatively, add pallet wood panelling to an alcove in your lounge to provide a focal point in which you can hang a painting or wall-mount a TV. You can use a panelled wall in a dining room too to give it a warmer feel, highlighting it with wall lights or ceiling-mounted spots.
If you work from home, wood panelling can provide a contemporary and welcoming feel to a study or home office. Again, you probably don’t want to cover the whole thing, but adding pallet wood to one or two feature walls can transform your workspace into something much more stylish at a low cost.
Bathrooms can sometimes feel cold and unwelcoming. Adding a pallet wood panelled wall can transform the space and make it feel much warmer as well as adding visual interest. Do make sure, though, that you seal the wood properly to prevent problems with expansion and contraction caused by moisture levels.