$100 Solid Wood Headboard



This is a project we did a few months back. My son was sleeping in our bed and said he didn't want to sleep in his twin bed because it was too small. We had a queen bed on a metal frame in the spare bedroom, so he decided he wanted to sleep in that room. So as a mother.....who was wanting her bed back.....was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen. I saw a pin on Pinterest of a headboard with lamps. I loved it and set out to make one of my own. My husband and I took a trip to Lowes and priced different options. The pin on Pinterest looked like fence panels, but that turned out to be a little more than what we wanted to pay.  I am saying that this cost us approximately $100. Here is what we purchased:

 

(1) 36" Flat Panel interior door for around $25

(1) 3/4 x 3 1/2 x 63 (top)for around $2

(4) 2x4x6 (sides) for around $2 each

(2) Lamps for around $25 each

Stain

Brushes

Sandpaper

Screws for assembly and to attach headboard to bed frame

 

 



Here is the finished Headboard! I know that the Chevron may be a little girly for a boy, but at the time I was making it I didn't think it would be. My nephew now sleeps in this bed, the twin bed was too small for him. We have since sold the twin bed and got my son a full size bed. Eventually I will change out the bedding for something a little more manly.

 

This is what it looked like after assembly and after I started putting stain on. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the assembly. I have included a diagram below of how we assembled it.

 

Here are pictures of the headboard after I put the stain on. I used a bristle brush to apply the stain. I stained everything except the back.

 

 Here are pictures of the back after we attached the lamps. We ran into a problem......the screws that came with the lamps were too long and we had to use several washers.......as you can see!

 Here are pictures of where we attached the metal bed frame and lamps. I really wanted a different style of lamp, but like I've said before sometimes a girl has to take what she can get. I wanted a lantern style lamp, but there were concerns about the combination of glass and an 8 year old boy! I could only see them getting broke after something goes sailing across the room! Then comes a visit to the ER and stitches. So we chose the safer route. It still turned out nice!

 

 

Here are the exact dimensions:

Top 3/4 x 3 1/2 x 63

Door 36 x 58

Each side is (2) 2x4x60

 

So here is how we assembled the headboard:

 

1) First we cut all the 2x4 to 60" lengths, then we glued them together in a "L" shape. The small 2" side up against the larger 4" side. My husband also screwed in screws at an angle on the inside of the 2x4 on the front to help secure it to the 2x4 on the side.

 

2) We purchased a standard 36" wide door and cut it down to 58". The top of the door has a piece of wood on the inside, so we were ok with attaching that end, but the other end that we cut was hollow. So my husband looked around and found a piece of wood that we glued to the inside of the hollow end of the door. We used wood glue and screws to attach it to the sides.

 

3) Next we glued the top piece on and gave the sides and top a good sanding.

 

4) After the stain was applied and dry we decided where we wanted the lamps and drilled holes for the cords and screws. After the lamps were assembled and attached we held the bed up to the frame and marked where the screws would need to be. My husband drilled holes and attached the headboard to the frame.