For Christmas in 2018 my Dad gifted us a new King mattress. We were so excited to upgrade to a King and quickly built a bedframe to fit our mattress, read more about building the bedframe here. The headboard we had been envisioning was put on hold; that is until the “Quarantine of 2020”.
We were inspired by the beautiful headboard by Jen Woodhouse and decided to use it as an inspiration for our own. After my Mom’s hardwood floors were destroyed during Hurricane Florence we salvaged some from demo to use for this project! We decided to finish the wood on the headboard itself but paint the trim white to match the bedroom furniture that I refinished a few years ago.
We were inspired by the beautiful headboard by Jen Woodhouse and decided to use it as an inspiration for our own. After my Mom’s hardwood floors were destroyed during Hurricane Florence we salvaged some from demo to use for this project! We decided to finish the wood on the headboard itself but paint the trim white to match the bedroom furniture that I refinished a few years ago.
SHOPPING LIST
(Based of California King Mattress)
(Based of California King Mattress)
1 – Plywood Board
1 – 1×3 @ 8 feet long
2 – 1×3 @ 6 feet long
3 – 6″ French Cleats
1 1/4″ finishing nails
Lots of leftover flooring, pallet wood or any other reclaimed wood you can find. We used 46 partial pieces and barely had enough from what we had salvaged.
Stain- We used Minwax Espresso
Polyurethane
Semi-Gloss White Paint
Lots of leftover flooring, pallet wood or any other reclaimed wood you can find. We used 46 partial pieces and barely had enough from what we had salvaged.
Stain- We used Minwax Espresso
Polyurethane
Semi-Gloss White Paint
CUT LIST
2 – 1×3 @ 41″
1 – 1×3 @ 76 3/4″
1 – Plywood @ 40 x 75″ (We had Lowe’s Cut this for us)
Lots – 45 degree cuts at varied lengths
TOOLS
Step 1
We started by drawing a line in the center of our plywood and laying out the salvaged boards to make sure we had enough boards the correct length. (I had collected these a long time ago and we ended up with exactly the right number of boards- so if you’re also using salvaged boards grab more than you think you need!)
Step 2
John used the Miter Saw to cut the center board’s at a 45 degree angle. Since we were using old hardwoods we paid careful attention to the grove on the boards to make sure that they would still fit together after they were cut.
Step 3
We used a rubber mallet to fit the boards together. In small sections, we glued and nailed them to the Plywood.
Step 4
Rather than cutting each board individually we decided to use a circular saw to cut off the extra boards along each side. (We started out using a Jigsaw but the circular saw was much more effective).
Step 5
I used our palm sander to sand off the old Polyurethane and stain with a 60 grit. Then, I used wood filler to patch the holes before sanding again with a 120 grit.
Step 6
I applied two coats of Minwax Espresso stain before adding two coats of polyurethane. We also precut the boards for the frame and I painted them with two coats of white paint.
Step 7
We attached the frame boards using wood glue and nails. We put the top board on first and then added the two side boards.
Step 8
To hang the headboard we used three French Cleats and spaced them out over the stud’s on our wall. We measured, leveled, remeasured and checked again to make sure that everything was level.
We are more than happy with how our headboard turned out! We only wish we had more leftover wood for more projects!
Now that we’ve finished, I’m trying to decide what to hang above the bed. What do you have above your bed?
Make sure to pin this post for when you get started on your build!
