We made a headboard!

I have looked at about 1000 diy headboards on Pinterest.  Maybe I've become pseudo-obsessed. Headboards just fancy up the bed!  Tim and I have been sleeping on a metal bedframe without a headboard for a long time.  Back before we were married, Tim made me a shoddy (sorry Tim) "upholstered" headboard.  This time, together we made a beautiful, re-purposed, rustic headboard.  Click read more to see how it's done.

We started with a piece of three-quarters plywood from the lumber store. I think the sheet we bought was 8' by 4'.

1. For the first step, lay your sheet of plywood on a sturdy surface, such as the floor or a work bench.

2. Next, we chose our wood planks.  Tim got some used wood flooring planks from a house his brother owns and is gutting to renovate. We are not wood experts, so I am not sure what kind of wood the planks are.  They're standard 2 1/4" wide planks. There are grooves that run along the sides horizontally so that they snap together.  It was my job to take nails out of the pieces.

3. We started laying the planks out in a random pattern on the plywood, fitting the grooves together and not letting too many edges line up.  We didn't cover the whole sheet, because we were going to cut it down, but we covered more of it than we'd need. Once we had a pleasing pattern, Tim nailed the planks down.

3. Next, Tim used his reciprocating saw to cut a 40 inch tall, 60 inch wide piece. We chose that size from guidelines I found online. Here is a handy chart to make the perfect headboard for your bed!

see how handy?

4. Once the headboard was cut, Tim used his electric sander to remove layers of stain and grime.  This scuffed the surface up to get it ready for stain. After you sand, make sure to clean off the sawdust with a cloth.

5. It is time to stain.  We used Miniwax Gel Stain in Walnut to get a nice, dark color that goes with our other furniture. Follow the directions on your can of stain!

Voila! We made a headboard!

To see how the whole room came together, click the photo below!

Love,
Mackenzie (and Tim)