Used pallet wood is still very popular among upcycle designers. I’m not talking about those designers that use new pallets. No, only discarded wood. But like I said in the post about the Re-Stacked Lounger, you should be careful. On a side called earth911.com is an article about the question:  are pallets safe for reuse projects? According to Candice Miller, a horticulture educator and expert from the University of Illinois Extension: “You have to consider where [the pallet] came from, what’s been shipped on it and what you’re going to use it for.”

Pallet wood design: readily available and environment-friendly

Anyway, on my search for more great ideas for use of pallet wood I came across a collection of furniture by Sascha Akkermann. He’s a master carpenter and free-lance designer with a focus on furniture and interior and designed this upcycle collection called ‘Produktwerft‘. It comes from a wish to create readily available and environment-friendly design.
“The Produktwerft series, established in 2012, enhances used and antique materials that have a history with new clear-cut design. In close collaboration with a recycling company, furniture and accessories are saved and revived. Each product resulting of this ‘upcycling’ process is environment-friendly, sustainable and inimitable.”

Photos © Sascha Akkermann

Produktwerft shows what can be done by combining used pallet wood with plastic collapsible crates. The wood is treated with organic furniture oil, just as new exotic wood. The patina and the random arrangement of the wood make each piece unique.
The result is a very elegant and honest upcyle design collection that gives those, in my opinion, ugly plastic crates a very nice functional place and look.

Design by Sascha Akkermann