DIY Headboard

A headboard can really make a bedroom feel complete, but the price tag can be a bit ridiculous.  I've been wanting one for our new home so I did what I always do... I drew up plans to make it myself!  Turns out it is so simple to do and all total it cost me less than $40.  And while that makes my heart happy, the best part is that it's exactly what I wanted.  Man, I really love DIY. 

For my headboard, I knew I wanted something that was 5' wide and about 4'-5' tall.  The following plans will give you a headboard that is 37"(h) x 60"(w), not including the support beams.  The total height, including the beams is 53".  You can easily adjust this to any size though.  Do whatever works for your space.

Cut/Shopping List
1"x10" - 4 @ 60"
1"x2" - 2 @ 50"
1.25" pocket screws (12)
1.25" finishing nails (8)

Once you have your boards cut and sanded, use your Kreg Jig to make 4 pocket holes in each of the 3 bottom 1"x10" boards.  The top board won't need pocket holes. 

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I used a whitewash stain on my boards, but you could use any color that matches your decor.  That's the best part about DIY. 

On my boards, I first prepped with one coat of water based wood conditioner and let it for 10 minutes.  Then I took a foam roller and applied a thin coat of water based whitewash stain.  I waited 1-2 minutes then used a clean rag to wipe in the direction of the grain, which smoothed out the stain and created a uniform color.  I repeated the whitewash process a second time and let it all dry overnight.

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I knew that I wanted to add a quote or something in the color of my nightstand (Behr Distant Thunder) to tie the two together, but I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted to do.  I used the back of my bottom board to practice a little and see what I liked. 

We narrowed it down to the word "dream" or a little heart with "T+J" that was supposed to mimic the ones you sometimes see carved in trees.  (Side note, how sad is it that I forgot how to write a cursive "m" in my practice word...I wrote "drean"... not my proudest moment, especially since Serial was the one to point it out)

After seeing how bad my hearts looked and how little artistic capability I really had, we decided to just go with the word...spelled correctly :-)

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After I had everything painted and it had sufficient time to dry, I used Kreg pocket screws to attach the 1"x10" boards to each other.  Then I used the finishing nails to attach the 1"x2" furring strips.  I used one nail for each of the 1"x10" boards to make sure it was attached at all points.  I also used Gorilla Wood Glue for extra hold.

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I added a few pieces of these furniture pads, cut to size, to the bottom of the 1"x2" and along the back of them to protect my floor and wall.

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The last step is simply to put the headboard behind you bed and enjoy your new look!

Important: the 1"x2" pieces won't hold the weight of the 1"x10" boards on their own.  This plan assumes your bed will help hold this in place.

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Have you built a headboard?  I would love to see pictures of your project!  Feel free to leave a link to your blog/plans in the comments section. 

Happy Building!

~Jill

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