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.
My Friend Staci 
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!!!
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!
why not sand them and, maybe, pay the or clear coat to protect it? As for stabilizing you can drill wholes and use a really nice rope put through whole make know to big to fit through whole on underside then either use a hook stewed into a beam or one type of fittings pvc or even staples to ceiling. maybe nail to wall if close enough or nail it floor. I’m just guessing at what whorls I do. I love palettes but all need TLC to avoid splinters not change there look.
Some great ideas here! Thanks Gina!
How did you get them to stand without falling? Any kind of support without attaching them to the wall or floor?
Hi Stacey. How stable is it though? Wouldn’t it fall over if you bumped it?
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!!!
What are the dimensions? I was hoping to do this on an ugly wall we have at our wedding venue. Can’t attach anything so we could make our own wall!
I’m not positive on the dimensions since its currently packed up and put away, but I’d say each pallet was somewhere around 3 to 4 feet? I bet you could make one like this no problem!
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing this. I want to separate my washer and dryer from the rest of my garage so I can have my own little space for laundry(rent houses lol) and this would be perfect!
That would be perfect!! You could even screw some hooks onto the pallets to hold drip-dry items!
LOVE the clip idea. Pinned it and plan on using it :) Found your site through Design Milk’s Facebook Page, FYI…
Thanks for stopping by to say hi, and thanks for letting me know it was on Design Milk! Looks like I had a lot of “nays” but I suppose wood pallets are not for everyone. The nail and clip idea, however, I think can be applied in tons of different settings!
I just wanted to let you know that I’m actually using one of these in my wedding! One side will have photos of me as a child, and the other will have photos of my (soon to be) husband. I am so excited, I think it will be one of the most memorable things about my wedding! Thanks for the idea! :)
That sounds totally wonderful!! If you think of it, after the big day, I’d love to share a photo of it with my readers.
I’ll try to remember to do that! It’s on September 21st, so I don’t have much time to forget haha :)
Love this pallet divider!! Gotta have one! Can you tell me what type and size hinges you used for this piece? Thank you so much!
Ummm, “big” ones! I do not remember the size! I think they were like 4-5 inches long on each side of the hinge? Hope it helps!
Thanks, Staci!!! I’m going to have this made in about two weeks and I can’t wait! Your pages are wonderful!!
How heavy do you think these things are? And if I’m looking at them right–they’ve got horizontal hinges as well, right? holding the top/bottom ones together? If they were outside and the wind hit them, would they fold/fall?
o.0 just wondering. Thinking a fence like this would be perfect for our yard.
Great project!
Thanks for all your questions, Leah! I think if you were making a fence out of these for your yard, then you should definitely check with the city ordinances as far as proper fencepost depth, and put fenceposts into the ground as you would with any other fence. Other than that, you could attach the pallets to those using extra long screws!
We happened to attach the bottom ones to the top ones using hinges because that’s what we had on hand, but you could use other metal or wood pieces–something longer would probably be more secure.
Is the pallet divider attached to the wall at all? Or is it free standing?
This is free standing. You could attach it to the wall for added safety.
I’m attempting to make these for a fundrasing event. I was just taking a second look and was wondering if you removed the back pieces of the pallet?
Nope; most pallets have more boards on one side than the other–but they’re there. If you removed them they might get off balance, I think.
What a great idea! I really needed something inexpensive to divide off a workspace from my jewelry shop. Thanks for sharing.
Ah! What a perfect solution! You can even nail some displays to one side. Glad to be of some inspiration!
thanks for share these informative ideas, ……. a lots of thanks.. its very useful.
I hope no one else has asked this… I’m sure I’ve read all the comments… but are you using the pallet as is? You didn’t take them apart at all? So it’s just 4 full pallets? I’ve got them in my garage ready to go… :)
Yep, 4 pallets, as-is. My hubby made sure to get clean ones that were all about the same size, so we didn’t need to do anything to them!
I’m SO glad I found this! I’ll be using it as a room divider for our wedding venue. Thank you so much!
What did you hook them together with. I am getting ready 2 move in a small open aprement an this will be great.
We simply used gate hinges.
I’ve been wanting a room divider for my craft room for a long time and this is the answer!
It’s not too precious so I can decorate/un-decorate/re-decorate at will without having to pre-plan for studs or worry about marring the surface.
I have a half wall that I stuck some push pins into just under the trim so the holes wouldn’t show and looped a length of yarn as my “display board”. I’ve found that wooden clothes pins, large and small are great holder-on-ers, plus they give me something else to craft!
I’ve also stuck a couple of push pins through my craft lamp shade and hung a bider clip on it, which also works with a magnet that looks like a push pin with a binder clip.
My third thought upon seeing this [1 was cheap! 2 was “we have a stack of pallets] was to take some ribbon or butcher’s twine to wind/weave around the slats and from front to back to replace my yarn string.
The possibilities with this are almost endless. Plus,this would be a great place to audition different paint colours or designs on a bigger space before committing to something.
Thanks for posting this. Seems to be an obvious, brilliant, “why didn’t I think of that” solution.
okay it looks nice and all but you did not leave the how to do this ? or I did not see the intructions for it . lol how are we sppose to do it ourselves withought the know how instructions
Wow, fantastic blog layout! How long have you been blogging
for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is wonderful, as well as the content!
Any ideas on stabilizing the wall. I need for walls in my antique booth. LANdlord won’t let us put nail \s or hooks in to the building wall. I can’t let it fall down. Help?
Hi Louise,
You can attach some wood stabilizing pieces to the bottom of them that would run along the floor a foot or two in each direction (front and back).
I LOVE this idea! This would be a perfect solution to my predicament. My mother had a stroke and is moving into the livingroom while she rehabs at my house (she’s unable to walk up the stairs right now). We moved a twin bed & dresser down there but obviously she’ll need some privacy. I love the style & flexibility of your pallet divider. I’m thinking about putting up 2 sets like yours & create a ‘door way’ btwn the 2.
This is a interesting article. ty :)
Just wanted you to know I love the pallet room divider — I so have the perfect spot for one !! Thank you for sharing
Love this!!! Perfect idea for my situation.
Wow! There sure are A lot of things you could do with these pallets! Room divider, Fence a back yard table! COOL!!! I made a plant holder out of mine!
Thanks for this! My, now teenage, son just moved down into our basement and I want to partition off his area without spending a ton of cash. I’ll probably connect them to the wall somehow, though, because when he and his brother start fooling around, I could see them crashing down. He loves the look of it, though. Thanks again.
Thanks! How would you recommend attaching these to a wall, especially in rentals where you may want to avoid huge holes in the wall?
If you want to avoid putting holes in the wall, try adding stabilizing pieces of wood that run along the floor to the bottom of the pallets with L-brackets!
i am using this idea to divide my bachelor flat,look nice and any advice regarding safety and stability .
love it
I am looking for pallets to make this now. I am moving into a one room flat and need a “wall” to seperate bedroom from living room . I can’t wait to get this done. Thanks for the idea.
I’m glad you like the idea!
I have been racking my brain on how to separate my kitchen and laundry area in the home we moved into last year. Since it is an old farm house we are renovating, this is exactly what I need! I do crafts with pallets and have a huge stack of them. Just have to get the hinges. Thanks so much for sharing this!!!
Where did you get the pallets from?
Hi Julia! We got our pallets from a friend who worked at a local lumberyard. Some stores re-use pallets so make sure to ask before taking them. Sometimes you can find advertisements for “free pallets!” on craigslist-like sites as well.
Staci Jackson *My Friend Staci * http://www.myfriendstaci.com
On Mon, Dec 14, 2015 at 3:46 PM, My Friend Staci wrote:
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I love this idea! My son is moving into a large area that is just one room and we were trying to figure out how trying partition off his bedroom area for privacy. I thonk this will be perfect! I’m going to call our roofer to get some from his jobs. Thanks for sharing this!
Yes!! This is lovely. Had to stare at it a bit to see how it was done. Very cool!
It’s end if Dec. 2019 and your blog post is still pulling people in to have a look at your pallet room divider. We have an awkward placement of a washer dryer in a ‘bonus’ room. the divider needs to be sturdy enough that somebody won’t knock it over when walking by and yet movable if the washer and dryer needs to be serviced. We haven’t moved into the house yet, currently still condo dwellers but found a big source of free pallets. Thanks for your inspiration!