How to Make a Headboard
Using Old Wood!

Are you ready to learn how to make a headboard that is one-of-a-kind and will be impressive in any room? This DIY project is so easy, and if you are looking for cheap decorating ideas, you can't beat this one!

This headboard was made for a special four year-old little boy, who dreamed of being a cowboy! What I love about this headboard is that it transitions from boys bedroom furniture to teenage bedroom furniture. So, let's get started with this tutorial.

Before we get into the fine details of learning how to make a headboard, you may be wondering where you can find old wood. My husband and I found these planks at the flea market. You can also look in old junk stores, antique stores, and salvage stores.

Wood with character is the first priority and as a general rule, nothing trumps age as far as character goes. The planks we found came from the roof of a 100 year old house that had been demolished.

This wood was perfect! The nail holes and black marks all over the wood just gave it unbelievable character. My husband had to spend some time removing all of the nails and staples.

We made sure to get enough lumber to cover the height and width of our twin headboard.

The standard mattress widths in USA & Canada are: Twin/Single- 39", Double/Full- 54", Queen- 60", King- 76" (Dimensions in inches.)

Normally, you want your headboard to be a little bit wider than the mattress, so in this case we wanted our headboard to be a minimum of 41 inches wide.

We did not want to cut planks to get our width, so we used 8 full planks, which gave us a total of 45 inches.

We made sure our outer most planks were as tall as we wanted the headboard to be. There is not a standard headboard height, so just determine how tall you want your headboard to be based on your design and total height of your bed.

We cut the two outer most planks to our desired height. We then cut two boards to use as the frame to support the planks.

These four pieces formed the basic frame for our headboard.

We then cut the planks to fill in the center of the headboard. It is not necessary for them to be as long as the outer planks. They just need to be long enough to extend below the top of the mattress.

With each cut, we laid the pieces together like a giant puzzle to make sure they fit together the way we expected.

We fastened the pieces together using screws from the back side making sure the screws were not long enough to protrude all the way through to the front. And, since we were using relatively soft wood, we made an effort to stagger the screws to reduce the chances of splitting the wood on the front plank.

And the final touch was putting the diagonal piece on the front. A diagonal piece will always add significant strength, but in this case it was also a critical part of the design to help create the old barn door look. We used the same process of screwing from the back side.

The last step was coating the headboard with several layers of polyurethane in high gloss. Not only does this protect your headboard, but it brings out the rich wood tones beautifully.

Instead of attaching the headboard to the frame, we located two studs in the wall and screwed the headboard directly into the wall.

The total cost for this project was $65. You can't beat that! So, whether you are looking for unique kids bedroom ideas, or you want to learn how to make a headboard for a fun guest room idea, go for it! It will be the centerpiece of the room! And your friends and family will be SO impressed!

Return from How to Make a Headboard to Kids Bedroom Ideas

Return from How to Make a Headboard to Decorating Ideas Made Easy Homepage