Update 7/12/11
Thank you to everyone who finds this page through google, stumbleupon or pinterest (among others). It is by far the most-visited page on my blog! I never thought this project would be so popular! Please leave a comment below with your thoughts!!
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Inch by inch, the master bedroom is coming together. We still lack a headboard (looking for the perfect wrought-iron one at the perfect price takes patience) and we are in a rut when it comes to a couple of blank walls, BUT(!) we have divided up the enormous room into half-bedroom half-workspace by constructing a room divider like so:
While in Boston, we saw something like this in a fancy modern furniture store, retailing somewhere between $200-$300. Yikes! Knowing that we could make one ourselves, Doug surprised me one Saturday with pallets (free) which he had assembled like you see here!
After a bit of finessing and perfecting, we moved them into place where they sat blank for over a month. I simply didn’t have enough to hang on them and didn’t want to just do part. So patiently I accumulated New York-themed hangings and finally last weekend hung them on the wall. Using small nails and binder clips meant I didn’t have to buy frames for anything I didn’t want to poke holes in (like the RENT poster). This method of hanging also means I can switch out and add new things easily!
Now if only the perfect headboard would fall right into my lap… actually, that would probably really hurt…
Here is a wider shot of the divider in action. It was the perfect height and length to divide up a huge room into two normal-sized rooms for the office and bedroom.
That’s an interesting style idea–to use the nails and clips. I think it’d be especially good for people who like to theme their houses for the holidays, because of the ease of interchanging the pieces of art/decoration. =D
I think the clip idea would be great for dorm rooms, as well, using push pins and then hanging posters on the push pins utilizing clips. . .
Great idea!!!
[...] from quite a while ago. I think I took it back in September when I was taking pictures for my room divider post, to show what was going on behind the room divider. Redoing the cabinets is on my list of New [...]
so simple and so great! Thanks for posting , I am going to try this for my patio.
Thanks, Heather! I love the idea of using these outside but would be curious if they should be weather treated. I am planning on moving these outdoors when I get a good 1960s style buffet or china cabinet to put where they are now (in my new place).
how did you put the pallets together, hinges etc…are the outside egdes smoothed and finished or just left rough…I love this idea!!! I have a yard full of pallets!!!
The edges are rough, but it helps that the pallets we used are relatively new and clean! I have snagged a sweater on the rough wood when I got too close though.
They are held on top of each other by hinges put on the “wrong” way, two on each set of pallets, although any strong straight metal would work. We used hinges because they already had holes in them.
There are large triangle-shaped hinges holding them together in the middle which means we can change its angle if we need to. Also, it folds in half, which was handy when we moved it to our new place!
Great idea! Do you have a picture of how they are held together?
Hello ,Are these supported behind with anything or do they stand up easily alone ? Thanks
If you bend them where the two panels meet, they are more stable. Of course there is danger of them falling, depending on what velocity they are hit at. Mine were stable for many months arranged this way. I do not recommend straightening them out because then it will be very wobbly. If you want to straighten it out it’ll need some other kind of support, possibly attached to another wall, ceiling, or extensions on the floor.
i am going to build a fence like this
I love the idea of a fence like this!!!