Hers & His pallet ideas: We upcycled these old chairs into his/hers benches

pallet ideas

Theresa always has DIY pallet ideas, like re-imagining old dining room chairs into exciting hers and his benches.

‣ MyFixitUpLife Chair pallet bench upcycle MyFixitUpLife pink ‣ MyFixitUpLife Chair pallet bench upcycle MyFixitUpLife green

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Theresa’s pallet ideas re-imagine the world’s most boring chair as Hers-and-His benches.

There are lots of design options for how to finish the edges. Theresa wanted a clean look so I matched the existing angle of the chair’s seat. (There are a few steps to this, see below).

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Trace the angle of the seat on the first piece.

You can use just about any saw you want for this, really. I chose my miter saw to cut the 6-degree angle of the chair seat.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Match the angle of the seat on the miter saw and cut the piece.

We added an overhang to the pallet seating. One reason is that Theresa liked the look and the other we’ll get to below.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
For a little overhang, line up the seating with a scrap piece of pallet wood.

There are lots of ways to fasten a project like this. We chose one of our favorite tools—one we often use when Theresa has pallet ideas—our pneumatic stapler.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
We chose our pneumatic stapler to fasten the seating.

Our pallet boards didn’t cover both seats fully, so we pieced them in, making to sure to mark the overhang on the second piece.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Add the overhang to the other side. I traced this one using the same scrap as above.

I’m amazed at how different boards from the same pallet are from each other. It’s like they tried to use mis-matched pieces when building the pallet itself. To keep gaps in the seating surface a little tighter, I matched up the board widths as best I could. First step, mark it in place. Then…

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Matching up pallet board widths keeps gaps tighter in the seating.

I end up using the table saw quite a bit when Theresa’s pallet ideas start becoming realities. In this case, I’m matching the widths of two different pieces. Be very careful of cutting nails.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Rip boards on the table saw to make them the same width—or at least fairly close.

This is the second reason for the overhang, we mentioned above. The only board we cut to length is the first one, fastened against the back of the chair. The rest we run long. Next, we trace the overhang from the bottom onto the top, then mark a cut line.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Trace the overhang from the bottom to the top, then mark a cut line.

Line up a scrap between the first piece (cut to size above) and the mark traced around from the bottom. Connect the dots and then cut.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Marking the cut line.

With all the boards marked, you can now cut them all at once. It’s easier this way, IMO. Jigsaw tip: Cut slowly. Give the blade a chance to cut the wood evenly.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
It’s easier to cut a straight line when you cut all the pieces at once.

A wire brush is awesome for grating and gouging an getting dirty old pallet boards ready for paint or finish. Whose do we use? Hyde Tools‘ naturally…

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Best-ever paint-prep for pallet ideas and projects —our Hyde wire brush!

To get some burs and really gnarly spots, Theresa turned to her mighty multi-tool. We use these all the time.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
To knock down some high spots and other things, Theresa turned to her mighty Hyde 5-in-1 painter’s multi-tool.

We used the miter saw and table saw—though you could also do with other tools, like a jigsaw—to cut filler pieces for the back of the chair. These are the “his’ chairs where we installed the pallet wood before painting.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Theresa staples some filler pieces on the back of the chair.

For the Hers chairs, Theresa thought painting them first would be easier, and she was right.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Tip: Sand and clean chairs before painting.

For the Hers bench we used an interior paint + primer. Theresa chose a rosey red—her taste in color is awesome and I am lucky.

‣ MyFixitUpLife pallet ideas
Painting the chairs before palletizing was easier.

For the His bench, Theresa chose more of an an emerald green, which also rocked and found its way into our son’s room. It’s more a ‘bridge chair’ like he’s commanding the USS Pokemon rather than sitting at his desk. Gotta catch ’em all…

 

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Mark
A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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