DIY Reclaimed Wood Pallet Desk

by Amy

$75

6 Hours

Medium

Ever want to use reclaimed wood to build a pallet desk? Start with a closet door for a super easy project. If you are lucky enough to have an old door, you can do this project for a couple dollars! The first thing we did when building our pallet desk was to take the dimensions of the old closet door we had, and the dimensions of the pallet wood (length and width), and work on different pattern options for the door. We decided to go with a simple pattern of vertical boards along the end, and a horizontal "work space" in the center of the pallet desk. This made the best use of our wood lengths and really just worked for what I wanted. Read more about this project here: http://www.prettypurpledoor.com/carpentry/reclaimed-wood-pallet-desk

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After you decide on a pattern and figure out your dimensions, it's time to make the cuts for the desktop. We used our chop saw and screwed in a "stopper"- which is just a block of wood screwed in at the exact board length we needed (you can see the stopper next to the drill near the right of this photo). This allowed us to quickly cut the reclaimed wood without having to measure every single piece over and over.

Glue the backs of the wood with some wood glue and nail them in using the trim nailer. If you use anything other than a tiny finish nailer, and your door/base is hollow, you'll have to be careful about nailing or screwing. Make sure you use the proper length nails/screws and test in an inconspicuous corner in case you totally mess it up :)

After getting the wood glued and nailed on, you can add a molding of your choosing. We picked a 2 molding and had to stain and do some work to it to make it match the rest of the desk. I think it came out pretty cool (pats self on back). We didn't cut the molding at 45's to connect them -- for a more rustic look -- but you certainly could.