Pallets are literally everywhere. A recent trip to the ballpark served as a reminder of this fact. I expect to see pallets in a warehouse or even piled behind a grocery store. As I walked toward Nationals Park earlier this summer I found a vacant lot turned into a bar thanks to cargo containers and pallets.
This industrial chic look didn’t scare away the crowds that rolled into the facility before and after a Washington Nationals baseball game. People were looking for good food and drinks after the last pitch. And the area around Nationals Park has been underdeveloped. This is a quick way to service the needs of the crowds flocking to the game without investing in major construction of a new facility. Called the Fairgrounds – the concept gives a sort of festival feel to the hangout spot where people can buy food and drinks as well as watch live music on a stage.
The Fairgrounds uses pallets and sea containers as walls for the big open space. This design certainly seems odd, but it works. Maybe it should not be too surprising. After all, the Internet is full of information about ways to turn scrap pallets into a wide variety of items from chairs and tables to bookshelves and headboards to so much more.
The Canadian Wooden Pallet & Container Association released a video last year showing all the ways that do-it-yourselfers have turned old pallets into useful products. You can view the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFGaW2FdKB4. It currently has been viewed more than 1,729,648 times on YouTube. You can also find all sorts of pallet décor at the popular sharing site Pinterest.com.
Of course, the anti-wooden pallet contingency has spoken out about the hidden dangers of wooden pallets that may be treated with harmful pesticides or fumigants. But the fact is that most pallets are heat treated if they are treated at all in the United States. Pallets may be dirty and have protruding nails. But they can be cleaned and nails can be hammered back into place. Otherwise, pallets can have a second life as furniture, a platform, or yes, even a bar.
