Pallet Projects: Upgrade Your Storage Structure with Old Pallets

You’ve probably often seen piles of wooden pallets in the back of warehouses, large stores, factories and other large businesses. But, in recent years, reclaimed wood has exploded in popularity. DIY websites, craft shows, and decorating magazines are time and time again giving us ideas on what we can do with this shipping pallets.

One idea is to use pallets to upgrade or update your storage structure. We’ve even seen people build sheds completely with these wooden materials—but for this post, we’ll focus on sharing ideas for using them for your existing shed.

Shelving Units Made from Pallets

Break apart pallets to create shelves; you will likely need other wood for the walls of your shelving unit. This example from NaturalBuildingBlog, found via Pinterest, will help you visual how to make shelving unites

A Rack Made from a Pallet

If you have smaller garden tools, craft supplies, or other small items that could be nicely organized by hanging them, you might wish to hang a pallet outfitted with hooks (or two!) on the wall. Here’s an example from Woohome, found on Pinterest.

Pallet for Wood Storage

If you have a woodstove, fireplace, or firepit on premise, here’s a pallet project idea: Build a wood storage unit for inside your shed, or to put up alongside the unit. Katie Brown shared an example on Pinterest, which you can view here.

New Siding Made from Pallets

Side your interior walls with the wood from your pallets, then stain or paint to your liking; this can give a warm feel to the inside of your shed.

The ideas are seemingly endless when it comes to repurposing pallets to update your storage shed.  

Transformations: Setting Up Your Outdoor Home Gym

Outdoor structures are so diverse! On our blog, in the past, we’ve featured a few creative uses for outdoor structures, including home offices, potting rooms, and chicken coops. This month, we introduce another idea: the home gym. It’s a like a permanent gym membership!

Maybe your house doesn’t have enough space for your equipment, or perhaps you just want a sanctuary separate from your living quarters that allows you to get out of the house—even if it’s just a few yards away.

The investment of this on-site outdoor gym will vary. For instance, you might already have an outdoor structure on the property that you can transform into a workout space. Or, perhaps, you already own a few pieces of exercise equipment. The size of the shed may vary, too—but make sure you get one spacious enough for the type of workouts you typically do. Either way, this is a project that can pay off if you’re committed to your fitness routine as gym memberships can be pricey!

You also have many options for designing your outdoor shed—you can certainly leave things bare bones, or you can completely finish the shed by adding siding, flooring, windows, storage, and then painting and decorating.

If living a healthier lifestyle—mind and body—is important to you, but you don’t necessarily want machines, you can still create a retreat where you can do yoga, meditate, or aerobics.

Other considerations: While electricity is not a necessity, you may wish to run power to your outdoor gym for several reasons including air conditioning to keep you cool or to hook up a device to view workout videos (a TV/DVD player, computer, or internet-ready TV—in which case you may also need wi-fi access).

Setting up an outdoor gym in a shed or other outdoor structure can be an exciting project, and there’s an option to fit varying budgets. Most of all, this type of retreat will encourage healthy habits right at home!

3 Tips for a Great Paint Job: Painting Your Shed or Outdoor Structure

A new coat of paint can make your outdoor structure look as good as new! Whether you’re painting an unfinished shed for the first time, changing up the look of your existing backyard structure, or adding a fresh layer to help maintain and preserve your shed, there are a few things to consider as you prepare to get out those brushes and rollers.

Painting Your Shed Tip #1 – Choose the Right Paint

Walk into a paint store or the paint section of any home improvement or hardware store and you’ll be greeted with hundreds, if not thousands, of shades to choose from, up and down the rainbow, from the egg shell to midnight. Unless you’re re-painting in your previous shade, you’re likely to spend some time choosing a color. But don’t forget that selecting the proper TYPE of paint is important, too. For the best protection, we strongly recommend a high-quality exterior 100 percent acrylic latex paint, perhaps in a semi-gloss or satin finish.

Painting Your Shed Tip #2 – Prepare Your Surface (Or, Clean and Prime)

Before you begin to lay on the paint, you’ll want to ensure your wood surface is ready. A smooth and clean “canvas” will help prevent flaking, chipping and blistering in the future, and it also makes the painting process easier. Give your exterior walls a good cleaning, maybe bringing in a pressure washer if there are years of grit and grime. (Use caution with a pressure washer though; older, weathered wood may be damaged with too much pressure.) Sand down any rough edges, and repair or replace any broken pieces of wood. Caulk any open spaces.

After your shed is clean, you’ll then want to apply primer. This is an important step because the primer helps protect your wood, helps preserve the paint and, in general, contributes to a nicer finish.

Painting Your Shed Tip #3 – Pick the Proper Brushes

The type of brush you choose contributes to the quality of your end results. A higher quality paint brush is pricier, but consider that a better brush leads to a better application. Remember that you will need various size brushes, too. You’ll need smaller ones for around trim, windows, and other features. Rollers might be efficient for you, depending on the size of your shed and/or the height of painters!

These tips for a great paint job are just a few ideas—applying the proper number of coats, protecting areas you don’t want painted, and taking your time and being careful also will help your shed shine and your hard work last longer.