| | | |

DIY Headboard – more changes in the master bedroom

Remember the new bed that is in our master bedroom? I showed you the other week when I shared my new night stands

Well, my whole bed switcheroo came about on a rainy Monday morning when I had a serious case of the blahs.. What better way to get out of my funk than to rearrange my entire house? Right? You do this too, I hope..

Make your own headboard

I kept passing the guest room – AKA the disaster zone dumping ground for all unwanted throw pillows, discarded craft projects and random Christmas decorations. All of a sudden it dawned on me that the bed in there would actually be a nice change in our master bedroom. It was a hand me down Pottery Barn platform bed from my parent’s guest room, which I loved, but I always thought it needed a headboard. Then I thought duh, I can build one now with my trusty jigsaw and nail gun (me and my power tools are slowly taking over the world, ok well maybe just the house).

DIY Wood Headboard

So, being the extremely level headed reasonable person I am, I decided to wait until the Mr. got home from his business trip to try to move it  I had to drop everything and move it that minute all by myself. Well, little man was there too, and he clapped for me, but he certainly wasn’t pulling his weight.

DIY Headboard with moulding

I really wish I could have caught it on tape, because it was probably one of the more hilarious things I’ve done (right up there with my DIY upholstered bed fiasco). Just envision me putting each section of this bed (it breaks down into 3 parts, 3 extremely heavy parts) on a rug and dragging it toward the staircase…

(oh did I not mention our guest room is on the main floor, and our master is on the 2nd? Yeah, up the stairs we go…)

then attempting to slide each piece up the stairs,

grunting like I’m in some sort of Iron Man competition or an episode of American Gladiators (my brother watched this show endlessly in the 80’s) only to get it to the top and have it come sliding down at me in slow motion…

your basic Pottery Barn bed staircase avalanche – I’m sure it happens all the time.

A double bed in a room

Well, I survived, the bed survived, the bottom of our stairs survived (with the help of some touch up paint and spackle) I finally got all 3 pieces up the stairs and we all lived happily ever after. Although I could barely move for 2 days afterward…

Now onto the diy headboard! This was so easy and you could make this for just a plain bed frame too. It’s actually sort of a faux headboard, because it is just a few pieces of moulding nailed to the wall.

Here I’ll break it down for you with this handy graphic –

Board and batten diagram

I used a little liquid nails, a level, and my brad nailer to secure the pieces to the wall. I wanted a fairly simple style since the bed already has the baskets underneath and my nightstands are more the star of the show anyways.

Headboard and Wood

Once I had my design down, I caulked everything to get a seamless look and gave it 3 coats of Silent White paint in satin by Clark+Kensington (which is quickly becoming my go to white color).

TADA! Instant headboard. Bonus it only took about 2 hours and $40 to make.

Build your own headboard

The width of the headboard measures about 67 inches (for a queen bed). I made my headboard about 2 inches wider on either side than the actual bed (although in these pictures for some reason it doesn’t look that way, weird camera angle I guess) to make it look a little more substantial. You could use more intricate pieces of trim if you wanted a more formal look, the possibilities are really endless with this one.

A bedroom with a bed and a window

I’m finishing up a few more changes in here and pretty soon I will be ready to share the whole room reveal with you guys!

A double bed in a room

PS If you follow me on Instagram you will notice a few sneak peeks of some big projects coming up, blog post coming soon!!!

Linking up to I Heart Naptime

Similar Posts

66 Comments

  1. Hi Kelly! This looks great! And I’m the same way always moving things around – usually by myself. :)

  2. Hi Kelly!
    You’ve created such a gorgeous bedroom and I’m impressed with your determination and headboard-building skills! We have the same bed and are inspired by you to build this headboard. I’m sorry if I missed it somewhere, but how high is the headboard please?

    1. Hi Christina I nailed it down into the board it’s resting on top of, does that make sense? So instead of into the wall down thru the board?

  3. I love the bed base, with the baskets. Did you find a hack for these? I have a King Tempurpedic mattress so I need a substantial base. LOVE LOVE THIS, want want want this. Can you help???
    Ally

  4. New at diy but want to try headboard. Can I just use a hammer instead of nail brad and what part did you nail and liquid nail. Thanks!

    1. You can use a hammer totally! Just smear a little liquid nail on the back to help it stick to the wall while you are nailing everything in.

  5. I love this tutorial and I love those night stands. Did you enhance some you had purchased or did you buy them in the two tone colors? Would you share where you bought them?

  6. Kelly, this is my first time to your site – I got here following a Pinterest pin of this project. It’s awesome, and I loved reading about your adventure. Thanks for sharing. I’m going to use your idea mixed with another idea. I’ll try to remember to let you know how it turns out. Thanks, again.

  7. Wow! Impressive. I just tackled my first upholstered head board. Don’t think my skill levels are up to yours. Great job!

    Lisa

  8. Pingback: DIY Headboard #883
  9. Ohh this room makes my heart happy. Nailed it!! We have the same style! This gives me some inspiration to redo my master bedroom! Where are those mirrors from?

  10. Hi Kelly, thanks so much for sharing! I am not a DIY’er (yet), but would definitely like to start with this headboard in my master. How many inches is it from the floor to the top board and how far down the wall did you stop the boards & paint?

    Any extra info or tidbits I may need to know would be appreciated. I hope I do you proud once I’m finished!

    ~Janee

  11. Do you know about how much this ended up costing you? And what size bed were you making it for?

    It is gorgeous btw so thanks for posting!!!

  12. Turned out totally gorgeous! Did you refinish the end table/nightstand or did you purchase it? Love the contrast of the wood drawers! Plus what color did you paint the lamps! Absolutely LUV THEM!!!!
    Lori

  13. Love your bedroom . The headboard looks great . Could you tell me where you bought your duvet and what is the name of it . Thank You !!

  14. What about the foot board? Did you buy or make? If you bought it, where can I get one?

    1. Hi Samm, it’s actually a platform bed from Pottery Barn, it’s all one piece that the mattress sits on top of.

  15. You must be very happy as this is really a very lovely headboard.

  16. I’ve had a few projects like that before! You just HAVE to do them right this very second! I remember shoving a tall dresser up our curved staircase a few years ago by myself… probably not my smartest moment! The headboard looks beautiful, and so does the bedroom!!

  17. lOVE how the hedboard turned out! Totally finishes this bed off so nicely, the bedding looks great too! Glad you were able to use grandma’s quilt. You really amazed me one this one! Great job!

  18. I know the feeling of something having to move “now”!! I haven’t done a bed frame, but other furniture. I love the idea of how you made this headboard!

  19. Love this bed frame headboard, so substantial. I remember when I could move furniture by myself my hubby would think I was insane moving big pieces by myself. I could do it and it had to be done at that moment, LOL. Can’t wait to see the total reveal.

    Cynthia

  20. Love your I’m-doing-it-no-matter-what attitude :-) That is an awesome idea, to create the look of a headboard simply by attaching trim to the wall! Your bedroom looks so calm and serene and pretty and beachy – lovely!

  21. How come we get in the mood to redo the house when our husbands are gone? Could it be they would tell us that, “it can’t be done”. I am finally at the age where I think twice before I move heavy furniture (although, I lifted a cement planter into my trailer last night). I always figure if it’s going to get done, I have to do it. My husband tried to put together a new headboard I got from Wayfair and finally I sent him packing and in a few minutes it was together and I was making the bed. Your headboard looks very professional and the room is so peaceful looking.

  22. I’ve definitely had days like this – haha! So glad it worked out for you. This room is just beyond stunning & I stared at the photos for a good 10 minutes. Pinning now!

  23. I am so glad I’m not the only one who moves heavy furniture by themselves only to have major back pain for the next week and a half. Ha. I also totally get the rearranging furniture. I rearrange our living room at least four times a year. Sometimes you just need a change. Your new headboard looks wonderful too!

  24. Oh I laughed…one of my spare bedrooms is referred to as the black hole…..my dumping ground! And when it comes to moving furniture…well…I could definitely picture you doing this as just yesterday I played musical arm chairs….living room, sunroom, family room and my craft room got to play….and there is still a stray wing back sitting in the living room waiting for a new home! And the headboard looks great….amazing! Love your blog!

  25. I love, love, love it. I thought it was a complete bed frame until I read the post. It looks amazing. I think I could even try something like this; well, I am probably dreaming.

  26. Just pinned it! I love the way it looks with the bed — perfect. I can’t imagine you shoving those pieces up the stairs. Please let me know what vitamins you take. Also, this is a very important question — do you have a tool belt? You know, one with a little embellishment on it- something girly, girly. And last, but not least — what color are your power tools — have you spray painted them yet to match your decor?? I can’t imagine you having any dull colored anything :-) Where was Buddy when all this was going down?

    1. ha ha ha, no I totally need a bedazzled tool belt – it’s on the to do list now :) and you are right, where was Buddy? Could have hooked the bed up like a dog sleigh…

  27. Absolutely, completely, 110% PERFECT! The entire thing from the bedding, to the window to the lamps are gorg! Pinned!

      1. what is the wall color? I am having my master bedroom painted soon and would love to do this! thanks!

Comments are closed.