A few months ago my friend Joe shared and celebrated his new holiday house bike rack on Facebook. It was a sophisticated affair where he wedged the wheels of the five odd sized family bikes into the gaps in a pallet. And that was it. Bike rack made. Well done Joe, master builder.

Actually I was inspired, and have been keeping an eye out for pallet projects ever since. There are so many great ideas out there …bed bases, portable outdoor decking, coffee tables …the list goes on …. you can see some great ideas here.

and pallet benches

pallet tables and chairs

more pallet tables

Or, you could see some in real life at Fifteen Pounds in Fairfield (south of the station). Celebrating the potential of the pallet.

Fifteen Pounds opened a couple of years ago, and as a Mum with pre-school children at the time I cannot tell you how very thrilling it was to have somewhere nearby to go with a courtyard/garden and nice food. Because Fairfield generally lacks courtyards, and really, there’s little joy in taking your 3 year old out for lunch to an indoor venue.  Or even worse, sitting out on the pavement.  With a courtyard there’s a bit of ‘pottering’ leeway don’t you think?

Anyway, Fifiteen Pounds provides loads of inspiration for the second hand stylist. The pallet work is good … amazing even.  Indoor tables, seats, benches, outdoor tables.  And there’s more.

For example, how cool are the newspaper racks … Old plumbing pipes painted the best green colour.  And can you see what they hold the newspapers in place with? Tongs!  How fun!

And as a long standing lover of wooden boxes I admire their collection.  How lovely is the citrusy one with the oranges in it, and how great do those other stacked ones look with all the fruit spilling out.

So, if you like your pallet and want to see the potential you should pop in to Fifteen Pounds for lunch, or breakfast, or just a coffee and a treat.  I can recommend the almond croissants … good for your soul though perhaps not your heart.  And speaking of hearts, I was super impressed with my latte last week.  That top heart is sooo perfect … I bet the person who made it gave themselves a little pat on the back before they sent it out!