I built this dark walnut coffee table for my wife, it measures 40″x22″x18″ high. The legs, the supports for the bottom shelf, and the two short frame pieces are cut from pallet runners while the shelves are pallet deck boards. The two long frame pieces are a store bought 1″x4″ which I distressed some before building.
I used my hammer to indent some screw and nail marks into the 1×4″ and also gave the board a few good whacks with my hammerhead and claw end to rough it up some more. Before staining and painting, I sanded everything with my belt sander and orbital sander for a smooth finish.
After I built the frame and attached the legs and bottom shelf supports, I spray painted it all white. After it had time to dry I used a medium sanding sponge to rough up and distress the white paint and then I used Jacobean stain to apply a wipe stain over it.
The pallet deck boards were all stained dark walnut and then attached with wood glue and trim nails with my air nailer. Finally, I applied two coats of a spray on matte finish. My wife loves it so I consider it a success!
