Wood is an incredibly versatile material. Whether you’re a professional building a home or a DIY crafter looking for something to transform, wood can be put to numerous uses.
But freshly lumbered and milled wood isn’t always the most eco-friendly choice. And in many cases, it can also be expensive and even difficult to procure.
For those reasons, many people choose to work with recycled or reclaimed wood. Reclaimed material is wood that has already been used before, either in a home, siding, flooring, shelving, or even as a pallet.
Reclaimed wood often has character and patina left from its original use, which adds to the interest to the new purpose. You may see saw marks, nail holes, or worn spots that help bring interest to the finished piece.
If you’re looking for ideas of what you could make out of recycled wood, take a look at the projects designed and executed by these 21 bloggers. From coffee tables to fences, they’ve shown just how versatile some reclaimed wood can be.
1. Repurposed Pallet Fence
A contributor on Hometalk shared the way he designed and built a fence out of reclaimed pallet wood. Little modification was needed for the individual planks retrieved from old pallets; they were already at the right size for fashioning into fencing.
Now their dog has a place to run and play, and they have an attractive and eco-friendly fence around a section of their backyard.
2. Outdoor Kitchen
This contributor at Recyclart has built an entire outdoor kitchen out of reclaimed pallet wood. This includes cabinetry, a backsplash, shelving, a countertop, walls, and a ceiling.
The various pieces of wood were fitted together tightly to help give the kitchen more stability. The weathered appearance of the wood adds a lot of character and interest to the space, easily drawing a crowd that has more to do than simply grab some food.
3. Pallet Deck
Over on 99 Pallets, a contributor has built a deck for their RV entirely out of pallets. The deck is elevated from the ground using one layer of pallets, which has been mostly left intact. A second layer of pallet would was pieced together in a pattern to create a solid, attractive decking layer that makes an outdoor living extension to their motorhome.
4. Wooden Christmas Trees
If you don’t love the idea of a fresh Christmas tree, and want something that both has more character and is more eco-friendly, take a look at DesignRulz, where they teach you to build them out of reclaimed wood pallets. Whether you want a three-dimensional tree or one that will fit up against a wall, you can create an attractive piece of holiday decor that you can use year after year.
5. Herringbone Fence
When most people think about a fence made of reclaimed pallet wood, they’re probably picturing a fence made of many pallets stacked together. But a contributor at 1001 Pallets created a unique, patterned backyard fence entirely out of reclaimed pallet wood that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
Made of multi-tones of wood, the solid privacy fence not only blocks the view, it provides a view of its own.
6. Mason Jar Organizer
If you need a way to organize small items in your home, you can learn to use not only reclaimed wood, but also usable mason jars to create a unique wall organizer. The DIY Playbook has created a rustic, decorative, and functional way to store items using mason jars attached to a rustic section of reclaimed wood.
7. Reclaimed Wood Headboard
Bedrooms look their best when they have some type of focal point behind or above the bed. A reclaimed wood headboard, like the one that the bloggers at Sugar for Breakfast have created, can not only create that focal point, it can set the tone for the rest of the room’s style as well.
This rustic, richly colored headboard is the ideal jumping-off point for the rest of the colors and materials used in the space.
8. One Pallet Baby Gate
Having a baby or young child in the home doesn’t mean that you need to sacrifice your sense of style to keep them safe. Rather than using a plastic gate, this contributor at 1001 Pallets used a single pallet and repurposed it to create a unique, rustic, stylish gate that can get years of use. This gate can also double as a dog or pet gate, and is sturdy enough to be used every day.
9. Pallet Coffee Table
Pallet wood is incredibly versatile, coming in many wood species, lengths, and widths. This blogger at Pallets Ideas created a unique, decorative coffee table that has several tones, marks, and nail holes using pallet wood. The different tones, widths, and marks help add a lot of interest and character to the finished table.
10. Scrap Wood Planter
Made entirely out of scavenged wood, this planter has a unique, tapered shape. The blogger at Lady Goats is no stranger to DIY projects, including using repurposed materials to complete her ideas. This planter uses pieces of wood in varying lengths all cut to fit the same taper, so it’s an ideal project to create from wood that you have left over or that you’ve saved from something that’s been torn down.
11. Reclaimed Wood Mirrors
Many pieces of reclaimed wood have a rustic vibe to them that comes from the fact that they have wear marks, saw marks, and nail holes. Those attributes are part of what makes these rustic wood-framed mirrors from The Space Between Blog so charming. The weathered wood gives the bathroom a rustic look, pairing well with the vanity and flooring.
12. Reclaimed Wood Rolling Shelf
Reclaimed wood has so many uses and ways that it can be pieced together – just like new and freshly milled wood. This rolling cart by Ana White is made entirely out of reclaimed material. It still shows the saw marks and wear of its original use, giving a lot of extra interest and character to the finished design, as well as a lot of function.
13. Garden Bar and Stools
This garden bar and its matching stools were made out of a combination of reclaimed timber and reclaimed pallet wood. Created by a contributor to Recyclart, the bar top features reclaimed roof joists, while the stools are made with reclaimed roof supports. The entire project was created in just two days.
14. Reclaimed Wood Garden Pathway
You don’t need any carpentry skills to create a garden walkway using reclaimed pallet wood. This walkway created by Funky Junk Interiors has just the right amount of wear and patina to blend in perfectly with the rest of the landscaping, creating a walkway that is not only functional, but stylish as well.
15. Reclaimed Wood Hall Table
Bloggers over at Handmadeology spent hours sanding down the old, reclaimed wood to make this hall table. To help accent the wood and provide some stability, they also introduced some reclaimed pipes into the mix. This helps give the table not just a rustic vibe, but a slightly industrial one as well, letting it fit into more decors.
16. Pallet Wall
Reclaimed pallet wood can be put to decorative purposes as well as functional ones. The blogger at Just a Girl details exactly how she made this attractive accent wall for the bedroom entirely out of repurposed pallets. The different tones and grains in the wood make an ideal accent wall, as they definitely keep attracting the eye.
17. Barn Wood Coffee Table
There is nothing like the color and texture of reclaimed barnwood. As this blogger discovered when she created the table; a paint or stain would actually take away from the style and beauty of the wood. In this case, leaving the weathered wood bare is the ideal way to help complete the style and call attention to a fabulous design.
18. Pallet Bench
Many people look at pallet wood and see some of the potential, but it takes a master craftsman to truly unlock it. This bench made entirely out of reclaimed pallet wood has been expertly cut and crafted by a contributor at 1001 Pallets before being both stained and painted with Chalk Paint to bring out the variation in the boards and show off its character.
19. Reclaimed Wood Planter
Reclaimed wood is perfect for recreating casual additions to your backyard or patio. This rustic planter made of reclaimed wood by the blogger at Make It Love It went on to turn the planter into a fairy garden. The contrast of the colorful fairy garden pieces with the rustic wood is an instant attention getter, perfect for starting conversations at parties.
20. Reclaimed Wood Fireplace
Add a fireplace to any room of the home and you have an instant focal point and gathering spot. Blogger Kristi Murphy made hers into an incredibly special accent in the room by using reclaimed wood planks to create the surround. The varying color and texture of the wood adds warmth to the room even when the fire isn’t lit.
21. Reclaimed Wood Console Table
This reclaimed wood console creates an open shelving unit that probably has more character and interest than anything you could store on it. Made by Laura Cox. this reclaimed wood console shows all its original wear and love, perfect for creating a rustic vibe inside any home.
Create with Reclaimed Wood
Reclaimed wood has a wide variety of uses, no matter where you source it from. Give some new life to old wood and utilize reclaimed wood in all its forms for your next project.
