Plaid Basket-Weave Pattern Reclaimed Wood Wall Art

Dimensions: Roughly 31.75 inches square, ¾ inch thick; Weight 13 pounds. This piece, featuring reclaimed pallet wood, is a little bit rustic, a little bit refined. It could be a nice, warm feature piece on the wall in almost any room. The multicolor design and intricate pattern reminds me a lot of a quilt. Two D-rings are attached to the back, so all you need to hang it is a hammer and a couple of nails. $200. Click here to purchase.

The Story

To create this piece and effectuate a design idea I had sketched out, I turned to my ever-changing collection of pallet wood. I chose a few different types of wood (including at least oak and pine) to maximize variability of grain patterns. I carefully selected portions of the original planks to feature plenty of nails or nail holes, knot-holes, etc., to give it lots of character and visual interest. Each of the six wide planks that run vertically and horizontally were cut from a single original piece of pallet wood, the idea being that a continuous, consistent grain pattern would reinforce the general appearance that they are over/underlapping each other, like a basket weave. To increase the variety and emphasize the plaid look, I applied various contrasting stains. On the crosspieces I used two or three tones of Minwax brown stain and one called Sedona Red; on the little squares, I used one called Golden Pecan. I did not apply any poly, so the finished planks have no sheen to them; I just wanted a little more natural, rustic look on this piece than on most of my other pieces. For the backing I used a piece of 1/8-inch-thick underlayment. For the frame I used new 1x2 pine lumber. Using a router, I rounded the top edges to soften the look and cut a groove in the bottom to accommodate the backing. I cut them to length with mitered corners. I attached them to the backing with glue and ½-inch screws from behind. I painted the frame semi-gloss black (three coats, with light sandings between coats). The final step was gluing the stained pallet wood pieces onto the backing—two at a time for 4–8 hours each.

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