While out attending garage sales on a Saturday, I came across an estate sale with some interesting old items. Some old plated silverware in a little wooden box captured my attention. I wanted to buy it just because it had such a neat old pattern & design on the handles. I had no idea what to do with it but wanted to create an interesting display. One day the idea came to me to use some of the old weathered pallet boards I had been storing in the garage as a base and then mount the silverware to the boards using some copper wire I had salvaged from an old motor. That’s how I came up with my Pallet Wood Wall Display idea!
This ingenious Pallet Wood Wall Display is perfect for those small collections (even mismatched ones)!
First, I experimented with the layout of the pieces of silverware until I had achieved a pleasing configuration. I did not clean off the old patina on the utensils because I wanted to maintain a look of age and rustic beauty. I also incorporated the original wooden box in which the silverware came in. The late owner of the estate had kept them in the box for many years, and her daughter had come to treasure the container as much or more than the silverware. In her honor, I decided I couldn’t leave the box out of the display.
Honor the heritage of your collectibles with a Pallet Wood Wall Display!
Once I had the positioning of the silverware the way I wanted, I made tiny dots using a black felt-tipped marker to mark out my drill holes. I carefully removed the flatware and placed it in the same configuration on a separate board to ensure the proper placement of each piece, but a photograph would work well too.
I selected five interesting-looking pieces of oak boards with a slat width of 3″ and kept them at the length of 41.5″ Then I arranged them side by side, staggering the slats approx. 1.5″ to create a more rustic and visually appealing look. Next, I selected some weathered pine boards for which to attach the oak boards to keep them lined up properly. I attached the oak boards to the pine boards using 1.5″ brads using a brad nailer. Because I wanted the entire piece to stick out from the wall slightly, I used another board to make a shelf along the top and secured it with brads and a few triangle-shaped wooden braces for added stability. Then I lightly sanded down the rough splinters from the newly cut ends of the pine boards. To simulate age & weathering, I mixed dirt swept up from the garage floor with a tiny bit of water and rubbed it into the end grain. I wiped away the excess residue.
Disguise the fresh-cut ends of your Pallet Wood Wall Display using DIRT!
Next, I drilled out the marked holes using a 3/16″ drill bit. Using the salvaged copper wire, I cut the salvaged copper wire into short lengths of approx. 3″. One by one, I wired each piece of silverware to its respective place on the board, using two passes of wire around the top and bottom of each utensil. Be sure the wires are fairly snug, then twist them together on the back side with pliers and bend flat against the boards. I had to use much longer lengths of wire for the spoons wired to the wooden box. Next, I drilled the box to mount the inside spoon. The wire held the receptacle in place without brads or adhesives.
…But how do you hang the Pallet Wood Wall Display unit up once it’s built?
Once I wired everything into place, I had to figure out how to hang it. Because the finished display was fairly weighty, I used a large carriage bolt and anchor in the drywall on the wall where it wanted to hang it. Then I notched out a little groove on the underside of the top shelf of the display on which to hook the lip of the bolt, to prevent it from sliding off once it was hung up. The finished piece looked great, and I couldn’t be happier displaying this in the hallway outside my home office. Overall, a very pleasurable and satisfying weekend project and a great way to show and preserve some old eating utensils from the Victorian era.
Want t0 to know where to BUY pallet furniture if you don’t have the time to make it? Make some cracked log lamps for your garden area!
