Scavenger Chic

Illuminated Pallet Wood Side Table

• By Joan
• March 28, 2016
• 13 Comments

I remember at Christmas time when my brother-in-law, Bill, gave me a fresh supply of pallet wood he asked me if I actually had any plans for all that wood.  (best Christmas present ever, by the way)

At the time, nothing came to me, but since then, I’ve been cruising thru my pile. Since Christmas, I’ve made 2 Valentines Hearts, updated some bunk beds, backing for some shelves, a valance, patent art work and my cubby shelves…all from pallets. Can you tell, I love pallets?

And of course, I have another pallet project for you…an outdoor side table that lights from within.

To make this project you’re going to need pallet wood, 6 exterior deck spindles like these, 8  cheapy Dollar Store 5×7 frames, an 18×18  porcelain tile for the top, some scrap 2x? for the top and bottom and a couple of hinges.  For attaching and finishing you’ll also need a supply of paint, nails, screws and builders adhesive.

Start by laying out your pallet wood until you get to a height of about 24″. Cut the pallet wood to eleven inches and repeat.

Figure out where you would like your cutouts to be on your pallet wood and trace around the glass from the frames.

Cut out the rectangles you just marked with a jigsaw.

With finishing nails, attach the pallet wood you just cut to the spindles, extending past the spindles on both sides by 5/8 inch.

Gather and cut your pallet wood for the remaining 2 sides.  These sides should be the same length as the first 2 sides (24″) but will measure only 9 5/8″ in width.

Mark the frame holes in the same position as the first 2 sides and cut out. The frames are not attached yet.

Nail one of these sides to the deck balusters from the first 2 sides you made.

Turn the box over and nail just the upper half of the remaining side to the box.

I finally cut off the excess balusters.

For the bottom half of this side, use scrap wood and screws to join the pallet wood together.  What you’re making is a door that you can access the inside of the box. The scrap wood is in far enough so that it doesn’t get in the way of the balusters.

Attach the pallet wood door with hinges making sure that the frames are still able to fit.

I chose to paint the inside black, so that when my box was illuminated, it wouldn’t light up pallet wood.  It’s pretty easy to paint at this stage when there is no top.

The frames are painted white with an exterior trim paint. You could wait to paint them when the entire box is assembled, but then you would have to paint around the glass.

Scrap wood 2×6 and 2×8 are cut for the top and bottom and screwed into the balusters.

Put the glass back in your frames and attach the frames with builders adhesive.

Ready for painting. Again, this is white semi-gloss exterior trim paint.

For the top, use the 18×18 tile and the two remaining deck balusters.

One tool I do not enjoy is the router, so I got my hubby to rout a groove in the top of the balusters so the tile can sit flush.

Mitered the edges for a picture frame effect.

And used builders adhesive in the groove to attach the tile.

If you want the top to be permanent, you can attach the tile with the builders adhesive to the box or just leave it loose to use as a tray.  So many options!

Using my little door, I inserted a strand of white Christmas lights.  I put a cup hook near the top to hook the lights on.

The nights are getting warmer and I’m all ready for night time entertaining (and my next pallet project).

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