We write about awesome green design every day on Inhabitat, so I can’t help but feel rather jealous of the designers who make all of this inspirational stuff. Last weekend though, I got it in my head that I needed to be a “maker” rather than just a “writer.” So I headed to Recycle Utah, my local recycling center, and picked up five old shipping pallets so I could make a new coffee table for our house. 8 hours later, having used about 100 finish nails (and having fallen victim to 20 or so splinters), my shipping pallet coffee table was complete! I’m not gonna lie – I’m proud of it and also happy I didn’t chop off a thumb in the process. Read on to see how I did it.
Shipping pallets can be recycled into so many useful things, that it is a shame to ever see any go the burn pile or waste recycling. Because of their rough nature, anything you build from them has an instant mojo, something defines the very word “rustic”.