The ubiquitous pallet — just when you think you've seen every pallet project under the sun, one comes along and surprises you! This clever little toddler sofa is the perfect height for playing, reading, or resting — and it's super cute, to boot!
Griffin Carrick says this about her pallet sofa project:
I stumbled upon some abandoned wood pallets (once used to transport sod) in my neighborhood and jumped on the pallet bandwagon. I used the "It" DIY material to create a mini sofa for my 1-year-old daughter. The project was completely free. I used two found pallets, left over stain, the back cushions from my sofa that I had since replaced, and fabric to recover the cushions that was originally meant for another project that never came to be. The end result is a cozy place for both our daughter and my husband and I to enjoy story time.
She has lots more information and step-by-step photos on her blog, The Design Itch.
Thanks, Griffin!
(Images: The Design Itch)
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this is great! it gives the rustic look that is SO in right now, with a twist of modern. very lovely.
Wow!!! This is so creative and cute!
There are concerns that chemically treated wood pallets emit the harmful chemicals inside house. A little more research by AT writers would have found this quite quickly.
To be fair, commercially sold sofas probably have just as many horrible chemicals/etc on them, especially when you factor in pesticide spraying and fire retardant fabric treatments. So heck, I'm not going to criticize a DIY project while sitting on a couch that's probably full of PBDE's and Chlorinated Tris.
Can the pallets be sealed with something to prevent outgassing? Or is that oxymoronic? It sure is cute and very thrifty!
The pallets have to be stamped with a notation on how they were treated...you can easily google the code and find out if you have a heat treated or a chemically treated pallet.
The foam treatments would likely be in those sofa cushions, too, unless they were so old as to be before chemical treatments, whenever that was, if ever.
It would be really nice for AT to do some features on how to get mattresses and upholstered pieces without chemical treatment of the foam and other innards - I would like not to be sitting on a couch full of that stuff, but it is hard to find, so here I sit. It is awful feeling like cancer is around the corner possibly because of the products we buy. If other options were available, maybe we'd get some changes made in the laws that require the overchemicalization of our homes.
be careful bringing pallets into your home. a friend of mine did their own diy project and the pallets had wood mites in them.
Looks awfully low. The only way I could get off it, is to roll off. ;)
Lovely project!
There are sealants that can be used to reduce the outgassing of chemicals. A number of green sealants are available and work rather well. They are typically used for pressure treated lumber that will be used for gardens or outdoor furniture.
If you are really concerned about chemicals, you could always make your own pallets and size them to your needs. Not as cheap as pallets, but a little more adaptable. I remember making a pallet bed for my first apartment, based on a design by Mary Gilliantt's "Decorating on the Cheap". Printed in 1984, it's still my go to book for ideas, along with AT of course!
I can't get behind projects like these, cute as they may be. Reused industrial wooden pallets are very toxic. Not something to have in the home, and not around kids.
Everyone relax. Most pallets used for domestic shipping are untreated. Treated pallets are mainly used for export, and are not generally used. I deal with pallets every day. Go here for more info: http://greenupgrader.com/19085/how-to-tell-if-wood-pallets-are-safe-for-crafting/
And again, the TPPP Toxic Pallet Police People arrive on the scene, sigh.
Cute sofa.
Aside from concerns about toxicity, I just don't understand why someone would use pallets for furniture... The ones we use at work are extremely rough and splintery. If you ran your un-gloved hand down one side, you would end up with a hand full of splinters and missing quite a lot of skin.
Also another thing... You should try and be sure that pallets are actually abandoned. Sometimes they sit on the verge, waiting to be picked up by the company that owns them and be re-used.
This is one of the cutest pallet-couch diys I have seen. This needs to be said. Great job.
Thanks for this.
rapidtransitman I am an engineer, in my work pallets are used. Domestic pallets are untreated, one of the reasons they cost us $3.50ea. For pallets that ship good internationally ours are....HEAT treated no chemicals just heat also why they are over $8 bucks a pop. Research things before you show yourself to be ignorant.
this skeeves me out
the bug comment did make me itch but so adorable... i LOVE the pattern on those cushions!!!
I guess it looks good, but i honestly cant get past the cushions. It makes me twitch that someone went to all the trouble to sew those, but not to line up the stripes. Yeah, its a bit fiddly to do, but SO worth the effort. Or, if you dont want to line up patterns, just use different fabric for contrast. But this... twitch twitch.
All the people who are so concerned about the chemicals in the pallets have most likely vaccinated their children, and ate food out of a can, used hairspray, and taken antibiotics.... Same thing. Gosh people are so funny.
Cute cute cute love the couch!