Now that the patio has been paved, it’s time for projects to actually make that space an outdoor living room of sorts. For months and months, I’ve been dreaming of a pinterest project that involved turning a couple of wooden pallets into a hanging patio bed, so that was Task #1. I wanted something simple that was comfortable and outdoor-friendly. Here are some of my inspiration photos.



This is in no way a step-by-step tutorial on building a pallet bed, but if you’re interested, I can ask Craig for more detailed steps. Overall, I think it was pretty simple, other than the wood on the pallets being very hard to drill into, even for my super strong handy man.

We acquired the pallets for free — Craig had a cabinet built for our basement at the Builders Surplus outside of our neighborhood, and he happend to see some extra pallets lying around outside the building, so they let him have a couple. He’d tried that tactic at Home Depot, but they sell theirs back, so I’d recommend asking a smaller business if you can have some of their extras.

Craig started by screwing the 2 pallets together side-by-side. He then added four 3/4 inch bolts and a few 2x4s for extra stability. Once the pallet “bed” was together and sturdy, he drilled holes on each of the 4 corners and inserted big metal rings for hanging. The pallets aren’t exactly the same size, and that was fine with me, as it has a more rustic, handmade look.

We bought chain link to hang the bed underneath the deck, and Craig secured large hooks/S rings to the beams for hanging the bed. It’s a good thing I’m so strong (joke, joke) — I helped him carry this giant block of wood around the house and into the backyard AND held it up for him to attach the chains to the hooks. Who needs strong men when you have me as a helper??

Ta da!! It’s sturdy and will *hopefully* hold a few adults. It actually swings a lot more than we thought it would, which makes me happy/a little nervous. I can’t wait to get a cushion and some pillows on this thing and really test it out!

Task #2 was simple — hanging clear glass bulbs to add some warm light at night. It’s very dark under the patio at once the sun goes down, so this would be a perfect addition for evening use. We only had one mishap with a strand falling to the ground mid-hanging and breaking a bulb, but that was easily fixed by using one from the end of the strand that wouldn’t really be seen when hung.

I’m THRILLED with the magical glow that these little guys give to our patio wonderland. Now all we need is a cover for the pallet bed, a small table and chairs, the wine crate planters and some plants, and shrubs around the edge of the patio….. stay tuned for the finish product. Hopefully this part won’t take us another year!