Building a floating pallet bed - with LED lighting

Pallet Bed - What do you need for it?

We provide a brief suitable guide on how to assemble the pallet bed as a floating construction in just a few steps and equip it with LED lighting.

A LED pallet bed combines sustainability, do-it-yourself charm, and modern lighting design. It is constructed from standard Euro pallets and illuminated with LED strips underneath the bed construction. This indirect lighting gives the bed a floating effect and creates a particularly cozy atmosphere – ideal for bedrooms, youth rooms, or guest rooms.

How much does a pallet bed cost?

Euro pallets come in various types. Larger, unplaned pallets are available at most industrial and trading companies for 5 - 6 Euros each. However, these are mostly used and may splinter or require extensive sanding. Those who don't mind this or cover the pallets with other types of wood can already obtain a complete bed construction for little money.

New and planed Euro pallets can be purchased at specialized stores, online shops, or simply on eBay classifieds. Here, the prices usually range between 15 and 30 Euros each. This also depends on whether the Euro pallets are already sanded or painted. If you want to implement a pallet bed with indirect lighting, you need to decide which type of lighting you want to use. Should the lighting be only warm white and dimmable, or should colors also be adjustable (meaning an RGB control)? After this decision, the next step is to choose the suitable product among the LED strip sets.

Which LED strip set is the right one?

As a specialist store with over 400 lighting plans in the private, hotel, and gastronomy sectors each year, we generally advise against DIY store strips at the lowest prices. Those who want reasonable quality in terms of brightness, durability, and also safety must invest a bit. That's just how it is. But it's better to invest properly once and enjoy the realization for a long time than to have the joy end shortly after due to a defect, right? ;-)

What transformer do I need for my LED strip?

Here there is a simple formula: Each LED strip has a certain wattage per meter that is conducted, and the power can never be fully utilized. Therefore, a 100 W transformer, as indicated below, is sufficient for the calculated 96 watts. The wattage is thus (at least) covered. For warm white/cool white LED strips (only 2 chips, hence higher power distribution) and/or the use of DALI controls, the power difference to the transformer must be at least 10 - 15%, meaning a transformer with correspondingly higher power than what would actually be calculated for the LED strip.

If you want to solder more LED strips together or use a different LED strip: You can find additional (stronger) transformers for your setup here. If you have questions about suitable configurations, our service team will help you directly. Just tell us your project, and we will let you know which LED strip is right for you, or what exactly you need.

In our shown project, the following is needed for the lighting or installation: 1x 5m LED-RGBW strip

• 1x transformer (100W)
• 1x LED controller
• 1x control panel (either for wall or as a remote control)
• 1x cooling profile, into which the LED strip can be easily clipped
• Additionally: mounting glue (Pattex or other special glue) & corresponding Wago clamps for easy clamping of the cables.

When setting up your LED pallet bed, make sure to use high-quality LED strips, ideally with dimmable function. LED strips with remote control or smart control via app are particularly practical. The right light color is also important – we recommend warm white (about 2700 K) for a harmonious light image. Optionally, you can also use our s.luce LED strips with extra flat aluminum profile – this makes your project look especially professional.

Assembly Instructions for the Pallet Bed with LED Lighting

Typically, we always have these products in stock in our lighting online shop or with a short delivery time of 5-7 business days. This way, you can start assembling your pallet bed within a week.

Assembly Instructions: In 7 steps to realize the floating pallet bed. Pallet Treatment: Assuming you do not cover the pallets, sand the pallets cleanly on the outside (borrow a sander?) and paint or impregnate the wood accordingly. If the pallets are covered, you can basically skip this step (however, rough sanding can still be beneficial if you want to avoid wood shavings or falling wood pieces).

1. Placement in the Room: Now carry the pallets into your bedroom / wellness room / party hut / garden house or wherever you want to set up the bed
2. Bed Dimensions: The dimensions of a Euro pallet are 120x80x14.5 cm. This size fits perfectly to create a bed with standard mattress sizes such as 160x200 or 240x200. In the shown example, a floating bed with 160x200 cm is being built.
3. Bed Backs: Place two pallets crosswise and screw them together using flat brackets. These will serve as the back and later weigh down the entire bed construction.
4. Base Frame: A floating bed is characterized by the fact that naturally no supporting legs are visible. Therefore, place a whole and a half pallet flush in the middle to the bed back pallets on the ground to form the base frame. Connect these together and screw them to the back.
5. Sleeping Area: In the next step, place the pallets for the nightstands or the sleeping area on the centrally located pallets as shown in the picture and support them with books or other support utensils of your choice.
6. Screwing Tight: Please screw these pallets together (very) tightly using brackets from the hardware store. You should not skimp on screws here.
7. Load Test: Once everything is tightly screwed, you can immediately check the load-bearing capacity of your bed. Typically, the floating bed does not require wall mounting. The two pallets at the back are very helpful here, as they additionally serve as support and weight. Furthermore, fluffy cushions can be easily placed on them (...).

Installation of indirect LED lighting for the bed

1. Cutting the cooling profiles:  Lay the cooling profiles once and make sure that they do not protrude at the bottom of the bed. You can easily cut them with a flex or pliers
2. Adhering the cooling profiles: Apply adhesive points with the mounting glue to the cooling profiles and stick them to the underside of the bed
3. Connecting the RGBW strip set: Install using a screwdriver in the following order: wall outlet or socket -> transformer -> RGB controller -> RGBW LED-RGB strip. (If using a socket, the transformer must be connected with a socket plug. You can get such a plug at any hardware store)
4. Learning the RGBW strip: Now you need to properly learn the LED strip: 1. Power on. 2. Press "on" 3 times on the desired zone of the remote control / panel. The LED strip blinks 3 times and is learned. (Note: If that was too fast: More detailed information can be found in the instructions in the product packaging of the remote control / panel)
5. Inserting the LED strip: Now gradually remove the adhesive film from the underside of the LED strip and clip it into the cooling profile
6. Final result: When you are finished, you can turn on the LED strip and the indirect lighting is ready.