Southern Girls Blog Hop-DIY pallet coffee table

Today is the second of many Southern Girls Blog Hop!  Allie has a wonderful coffee table for you today that is seriously FABULOUS!  I'm blogging over at Charmbed Bliss today with a fun little Valentine's Day Wreath tutorial!  Don't forget to check out all the other ladies' DIY/tutorial posts from today!  There are some good ones!  ;)

There is also a little giveaway going on!  Make sure & leave a comment on this blog post & my guest post at Charmed Bliss for your chance to win!  Rules below!

Hi everyone! I'm Allie and I blog over at Young Love!! Lately I've been on a DIY/craft kick, but other than that I love to blog about my sweet fiance, Blake and my sweet little pup, Ace! 

So I've seen a million different projects on Pinterest on how to "upcycle" old pallets into beautiful furniture!!! I talked to my dad, and he grabbed me some old pallets from work and it was time to begin! I knew exactly what I wanted to make, and I couldn't wait to begin! This project was EXTREMELY affordable and easy to do! I am SO happy with the way it turned out! I hope this post does a good enough job to explain exactly how to do this project! If not, feel free to comment or contact me (brooksallie@gmail.com) with any questions!!!

Okay so the first step is finding a pallet. I actually had one a tad smaller I wanted to use, but the boards stuck over the edge a couple of inches and the sides needed boards for a smooth edge for the fabric to cover. That would mean a LOT of extra work that I wasn't really planning on, so I ended up using the bigger pallet which did not need any sawing or reinforcing! Ask around to find pallets! I have seen them in the back of stores, and I'm sure if you ask they wouldn't mind giving it to you!

So as far as cost goes... the pallet was free!

The next step was the add a layer of cardboard all over the pallet. I did this so that the batting and fabric didn't sink down in between the wood planks of the pallet. This was probably the most time consuming part! I carefully used a box cutter to fit bits and pieces of a cardboard box I found in the garage and stapled it on! Speaking of staplers... I bought mine a while back at Lowe's for around $15! We've used it several times, so it was definitely worth the purchase! Also, use the biggest (longest) staples that your stapler will allow! You need long ones to go through all the layers.

It basically looked like a big box once all the cardboard was on!

Next, I added a plastic lining just to protect the cardboard from any spills on anything like that! This is completely optional... I found an old slip n' slide in the garage (ha!) and used part of it! But you stable it all the way on!

Total cost so far... still free!

Next layer was the batting! I found come i think 40% off at Hancock's Fabric for $2.99 a yard! I bought  I think 4 yards... so it was around 7 or 8 dollars! It turned out to not be enough (since I switched to a larger pallet) and had to buy a bag of it for $5 dollars at Wal-Mart! I stapled that layer on right over the plastic lining. The corners were a little tricky. Honestly my best advice is to just pull and staple it down as smooth as you can get it! Trim excess as needed! 

Total updated cost... now with the batting we are up to $12-13 dollars!

Batting I found at walmart!

You can see the yellow plastic lining under the batting!

Batting layer finished

After stapling the corner

Trim the excess fabric

Next, time for the fabric! This is the same as the batting... I would begin with the ends, and then move to the sides. Save the corners for last. The corners were a little tricky... I just folded and pulled and trimmed until I was happy with the seam and how it looked! I love this fabric... my mom has had it for a while. She bought it on clearance at Hancock's Fabric for around $7 a yard! I probably used a yard and a half? 

Technically my mom gave me the fabric so it was free for me (thanks, mom!) but we'll say I used 2 yards at $7 a yard so I think we are up to around $30!

I began by adding a few staples to the ends and sides before flipping it over to make sure that my pattern was straight.

Example of the corners! I had my mom and her wonderful friend help me and she folded and snipped and trimmed until we were happy with the single seam along the corner!

All finished, before the legs were added!

After the top was finished... time for the legs! I found these legs at Home Depot for around $5 each. They actually ended up being too tall so I could have gone a size shorter for cheaper but it worked out! My advice would be to finish the top and decide where it is going to sit. Measure how tall of legs you need according to your desired height and THEN buy the legs! Don't forget your brackets to mount the legs! Those are around $1.50 each!

Total Cost is up to $26ish for the legs plus our $30 so around $56 total! 

Here are the legs I found, before stain. Home Depot has several different options.

I decided to stain my legs a dark wood color... you can use any type of stain you want! It doesn't take much at all, so if you already have stain.. I would recommend that! I bought a small can and barely used any, so I'm saving it for future projects!

The Stain "Espresso"

I only used one coat of stain

So with the stain we are at somewhere around $60! Not bad for a one day project! I've seen similar ottomans sell for around $350-$400 so I would say this project was a success! Your price will vary depending on cost of fabric. I have seen some upholstery fabric go as much as $50 a yard. However, since you don't need much and it is such a big statement piece in your room, I would definitely say it is worth it to find a fabric you are completely happy with. But still... shop around! And don't be afraid to shop online. You can find some really great deals on fabric online at very affordable prices!

I am so happy with the final project!

And that's it! Super easy and affordable!!! Hope my explanation made sense... feel free to contact me with any questions! 

What do you think?!