My favorite pallet

You should have seen the way that my Dad looked at me when Dan and I came home from our honeymoon with a pallet.  It was similar to the look that Dan gave me when I asked him to pull over to get it.

For our honeymoon, Dan and I went to Chincoteague Island.  It was absolutely beautiful! The coolest part was that we were accidentally there for the pony swim. If you have never heard of this event, definitely check it out! We will be going back with our kids in the future!

One day we were driving through town and I noticed a pallet in a back alley leaning against some trash cans. The natural gray color, the wide plank wood, all the bangs and bruises... it was beautiful! I fell in love. It didn't take much to get Dan to pull over, but he did take some convincing to put it in the car with us (bugs? mold? mildew? ...it's probably fine).

Fast forward to my Dad's face, "You brought home a pallet...?" YES! Luckily he allowed it to live in his garage until Dan and I moved out (Thanks, Dad!). The pallet's next home was in our apartment.  If you are doing apartment living you know how careful you have to be with the walls; a pallet is a great solution!  Simply balance the pallet on top of a dresser, leaning against the wall.  Then you are able to decorate however you want, nailing frames, etc. into the PALLET and not the wall!

We have now moved the pallet three times and I have had to defend my pallet each time (Dad, Dad again, and a friend who helped us move). When we moved into current home we were so thankful to have so many people help us move, but with so many hands there was almost disaster... when our friend saw the pallet in our moving truck, they thought it must have been trash! "Why is there a pallet?  I guess we'll need to throw that out..." Nooooooooooo! I began to explain the pallet and how we use it, but only got a confused look.  "I think I'll have to see it before I get it."

I think I have now converted the "pallet haters" in my immediate vicinity (yes, even Dad!). There are so many cool things you can do with pallets: build furniture, shelves, decor... I chose to leave mine whole and intact because it seemed like a work of art on it's own.

Here are some ways I helped our pallet reach it's potential:
In order to use the pallet to display beautiful things, I needed something to fill the gap between the front and the back frame.  Dan and I were walking through IKEA one day and I decided to take a gamble on these candle trays.  They fit like a glove and solved my pallet problem.  I love that they are just the right width to sink into the gap, without falling through.
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[link to Candle tray]

I included a mixture of old and new and played with colors and patterns.  I love how crisp the white looks against the weathered wood of the pallet.  I tried to flow white throughout as a grounding color.  If you find a frame that you love, but hate the color, USE SPRAY PAINT.  I found both of my white frames at yard sales and bought them for their shape and design.

Mason jars fit perfectly in the gap of the pallet, and were ideal to display small collections.  In our mason jars we have shells from our honeymoon, and buttons and "keys to a successful marriage" from our wedding.  I love mason jars because they provide beautiful storage for tiny things, those small and special pieces you find but then think "what will I ever do with this?"  Answer: use a mason jar!

Our pallet is one of my favorite pieces in our home.  Not only is it beautiful, it's the perfect canvas to showcase who we are.  On our pallet you can see that Dan loves Dr. Pepper, I accidentally collect bird decor, we went to JMU, and we have the cutest puppy in the world.  You can learn a lot about someone by how they decorate their pallet!

Do you have a pallet?  How does it  define YOU?