For a complete list of The Blogvember Challenge prompts, click HERE!
November 10 – Share a household trick or trick, or a great DIY.
My goodness, do I love me a great DIY. I would much rather jump in and do something myself than purchase the item. There is something to be said for breaking out power tools, getting your hands dirty and being able to be proud of your end result.
Thanks to Pinterest, I’ve done quite a few DIYs over the years in our old farmhouse. I’m not so sure my husband feels quite the same way. Many days he’s walked into this house after work to find me mid-project, carpet ripped off the stairs, boards torn off, paint stripper on, and he just shakes his head and walks past.
Making this headboard for our spare room is hands down my favorite DIY I’ve ever done. It was easy and came together quickly.
I bought my wood from Lowe’s. I took my measurements in and had them pre-cut the wood for me to the exact lengths I needed. For a queen headboard, here is what I purchased.
- 4 | 1×6 shiplap cut to 66″
- 2 | 1×4’s at 52” (vertical supports)
- 1 | 1×3 at 56” (horizontal base support)
- 1 | 1×3 at 25” (small vertical support)
- small nails
- stain (any color you want)
- a way to attach it to the wall (velcro strips, nails, screws)
Make sure you look at all the lumber well and don’t get any that are warped. That makes assembly so much easier!
Lay out the 1×6 boards horizontally so that they are even. I used shiplap, so I also needed to make sure the tongue and groove was together. I put the 25″ small vertical support vertically in the center of the shiplap (the shiplap was left to right, the support was top to bottom). I used small nails to secure the support to the shiplap. Make sure your nails aren’t too long, or they’ll stick out the front of the headboard.
After the center vertical support is in place, you can put the two 52″ vertical supports on. These are basically the legs for your headboard. I laid them on the headboard and measured how far from the top and sides they were. I didn’t want my headboard to be lopsided or unlevel once it was stood up. I actually measured three times just to make certain they were in the right spot. Once I knew they were in the right spot, I nailed them down.
The next thing I did was put the 56″ vertical support on the legs. I believe I put it around 7″ up from the bottom. High enough that I knew it would brace it well. Nail that in place.
And there you have it, you’re ready to stand your headboard up! Now it’s time to sand it. Sanding will not only get rid of any print or marks on the lumber, but will allow the stain to set better and get rid of any splinters.
Now for the finishing touch, stain. I chose a grayish stain, as the flooring we put down in that room had a gray color in it. It goes perfectly with it. I also bought special stain sponges to apply the stain. And I put on rubber gloves so my hands didn’t get stained.
I let the stain dry for 48 hours and it was ready to go in the room. Because it’s in our spare room, I knew the bed would always be in the same spot. For that reason we just screwed it to the wall. You could also use a heavy duty velcro on the back if you think you may be moving it around in the future. I also put felt pads on the back of the headboard so it wouldn’t scuff up the freshly painted wall.
This was such a fun DIY for me. If you give it a go, make sure you comment below and let me know how it worked out!
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