Make your own Boho Pallet Planter Shelf

Made from reclaimed pallets, these bohemian planter shelves are perfect for the garden, even within the popularity of small space living. Taking inspiration from our signature shelves, this piece adds an outdoor alternative to the mix. Dressed with succulents, terrocota pots and painted in vibrant hues, these shelves are sure to add a real centre piece to your outdoor space, whether that be a balcony, patio or window shelf.

You will need:

Wooden Pallets

Pallet Breaker or Crowbar

Claw Hammer

Tape Measure

Combination Square or straight edge

Pencil

Saw

Clamp

Hole saw and drill

Sandpaper or electric sander

Mask

Wood Glue

30mm pin nails

Metre Rule

Good Quality masking tape

Chalk paint in your preferred colours. (You can use alternative paint here)

Paint brushes

Ronseal non-yellowing outdoor varnish.

Top Tip

Try to find wider pallet boards for the shelves, so they will fit the holes to slot your plant pots in. Check the size of your plant pot to get a guide for what you will need. A variety of widths for the back also give the best effect, but ensure they're all the same thickness.

Note! If you don’t have all the tools and materials in the list then please improvise! If you don’t have holesaws still give it a go! You could use this as a shelf in the house or just to stand potted plants on! We like to see you make it your own so don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

Step 1) Break up your pallet using your pallet breaker. As you will see in the following steps, it is better to have a variety of pallet widths, you especially need wider pallets for the shelves to unsure your holes for your plant pots fit. Try to source pallets which are all the same thickness.

Step 2) Remove the nails from your pallet wood, this can take some time so be patient. Use a hammer to nock them through on the reverse side and the claw of your hammer to remove them. Some snips or pliers can also be helpful to remove nails.

Step 3) Measure your pallet wood for cutting. We measured our shelves at 450mm/45cm, but these can be smaller if you wish. If you would like your back pieces to also have a straight cut (the bottom of our back pieces are straight cuts) then measure these at this stage too (for angled cuts on the top see the next step). Always use a combination square to get a 90 degree angle. Experiment with the heights of your back pieces, try quirky uneven effects by having some higher than others.

Step 4) Use your combination square at the 45 degree angle setting and mark the top of your back pallets at various heights. Note: if you do not have a combination square, you can use the handle of your saw to mark 90 degree and 45 degree angles.

Step 5) Cut all of your marked pallets using a hand saw. Use your clamp here if you feel necessary to keep it clamped to the table and easier to manage.

Step 6) Take your shelf wood and work out where you would like your plant pot to sit. Please note we have only applied holes to two of our shelves as we wanted one shelf to sit on the floor in order for it to stand upright without additional fixings. Use the hole in the bottom centre of the planter to mark where the centre of your hole saw should be.

Step 7) The size of your required hole saw will depend on the size of your plant pot however, as a note, you need it to be the diameter just below the lip of the pot, this will ensure the plant pot will rest on this lip when placed into the hole. Clamp your wood onto a secure and scrap (you will go through onto this) surface and use your hole saw and an electric drill to drill the hole. Please unsure you clamp your wood securely as hole saws can easily rotate wood which can be dangerous. We suggest you wear protective gloves and eyewear.

Step 8) Sand all of your wood using a medium grit sand paper, ensure to wear an appropriate mask for this task and undertake in a well ventilated area. If your wood is very rough, wear gloves to avoid splinters.

Step 9) Now you have all of your wood ready to assemble, lay your back panels out in the required design. If, like us, you have left one shelf hole free, mark this shelf flush with the bottom of your back wood panels, be sure to mark the sides of the wood too so it is visible from the back when flipped over (mark the remaining two shelves location on the back panels at the same time). Now you may need an extra pair of hands. Flip your back panels and place the bottom shelf in the required position with glue applied to the edge. With someone holding the shelf in position, tap in your pin nails allowing at least two for each piece of pallet wood.

Step 10) Take your metre rule and draw the lines from the remaining two shelves on the back as a guide using the lines you drew on the edges of the pallet boards.

Step 11) Attach your top shelf first, followed by the middle shelf (in the same way as we did in step 9) and using the guidelines drawn in step 10.

Step 12) Use a good quality masking tape to mask up your shelves ready for painting. With appropriate sized brushes for the design, apply your paint. Be brave with your designs, think outside the box and don’t be scared to try something new.

Step 13) Once your paint is dry, apply your varnish to protect both the wood and paint outdoors.

Step 14) Dress your planter, for added details try painting geometrics onto your terracotta plant pots. If you want to attach your planter to the wall, apply simple picture hooks which can be purchased from most hardware stores.

Note! If you don’t have all the tools and materials in the list then please improvise! If you don’t have holesaws still give it a go! You could use this as a shelf in the house or just to stand potted plants on! We like to see you make it your own so don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @nikkitapdesigns and tag us in your photos of your pallet shelf planters!