I present my son’s first gift! I made this Fantastic First Birthday Pallet Toybox from 100% recycled pallets and some paint. It took quite a long time to build the frame. I believe I spent around 50 hours just sanding the piece because the pallets were pretty rough. I used about 20 pallets and a hundred or so different screws and wood glue, but I’m really happy with the finished project.
Fantastic First Birthday Pallet Toybox:
First, I built the box frame. It is painted black in one of the pictures below. Make it any dimensions you want, but I wanted it to shallow enough so that my little one could fetch toys out of it without falling in. Next, trim deck boards to fit for the floor and secure with screws. Then, I clad the sides of the box with more deck boards, installing them from the inside to create a recessed look. I sanded…and sanded… and finally got this smooth enough to be safe around my child.
Paint, Lid & Trim:
Time to paint! I decided to make it cheery and fun for my son. So, I painted it with several bright colors in a rainbow pattern that encircled the box. Next, I painted the trim black for a nice contrast. I created another frame and clad it like the sides of the lid and painted it white after sanding. In the meantime, I trimmed out the top of the box with more deck boards, mitering the corners for a finished look. I made sure the pieces fit well to prevent pinched fingers. Finally, I installed the lid.
Finishing Touches:
To make it unique for my son, I carved his name out in wood, as well as carving out a few fun shapes for the other sides. I painted them all in contrasting colors and fastened them to the outside of the box. We’re very happy with this Pallet Toybox and can’t wait for our son to see it.
Editor’s note: Here’s a link to our Pallet Safety page for your reference. When making indoor pallet furniture, particularly for little ones, always be sure of the source(s) of your pallets. ONLY use heat-treated (HT) wood. When in doubt; throw it out!
April Smit
Mandy Wenlock
Robbie Gilligan u build I’ll paint
Ashley Davis Kellie Davis Tom Briody Ricky Davis.. alrighty men let’s get onto this for bubba briody, Tommy ash needs one for ur place, rickfang we need one for princess briody at aunty and uncles and one for our big princess for home too
The finisned box has soft close hinges on it
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
If it’s a toy box, please use safety hinges. That lid could drop on a kids head!
Thanks for the safety tip. If you’ve built something with a set of safety hinges, we’d love to see it. The more we help each other, the better the projects get! Happy Palleting! – HS.
The creator of this fabulous piece says that he did use soft-close hinges. From the photo, the editors couldn’t tell, and it got overlooked. Good safety point for any future crafters, though. Thanks for sharing! – HS.
Looks great. Just my 2 cents worth of idea, I wonder if you could add some lid damper to protect your son’s fingers.
The creator of this fabulous piece says that he did use soft-close hinges. From the photo, the editors couldn’t tell, and it got overlooked. Good safety point for any future crafters, though. Thanks for sharing! – HS.
lol i made this and many others
Your work is BEAUTIFUL! Please feel free to share any other posts you’d like. :-D If you have any problems, feel free to reach out to us – or you can contact me directly – 10*************************@gm***.com and I’d be happy to help. Nice work, and thank you for sharing it! <3 -HS