Rustic Queen Headboard

We have been searching for a headboard for my daughters’ new bed for a few months now. She couldn’t decide if she wanted metal, wood, new, or old… So, I started searching online for how to make your own headboard to see if we could find something. I came across a video tutorial, showed her the finished product as a base guide and she loved it! Seeing as it fits great into our rustic decor, I was excited to give it a shot and see what we could come up with. Off to Home Depot we went to get all the products to DIY!

 

Sorry, I don’t have a picture of all the items listed – didn’t think of it until after the fact – oops!

 

 

 

List of Materials Needed:

Two – 2″ x 4″ x 8 Ft

Three – 1″ x 10″ x 6 Ft

Three – 1″ x 4″ x 8 Ft

2 1/2” Screws

1 1/4” Finishing Nails

Sanding Block

Wood Stain (“Honey 272” by Minwax was the color chosen for this project)

 

 

 

Time to get to work~

 

 

As you are at the big box or lumber store of choice, most of them will cut your lumber for you if you ask for free. If not and you have a saw at home, that works too. We were able to get the pieces cut and fit in our smaller sized SUV for this trip by laying the middle seat down.

 

List of Cut Sized Lumber Needed:

2” x 4”s – cut two 56” long pieces

1” x 10”s – cut three 62 long pieces

1” x 4”s – cut one 63” long piece

1” x 4”s – cut two 62” long piece

1” x 4”s – cut two 20 ¾” long piece

 

 

We added a center 2” x 4” piece to the back of the headboard to help keep the main boards running horizontally from shifting or warping. Wood can have a tendency to change shape as it ages. A little reinforcement can’t hurt right.

 

 

 

Now it’s outside to start the staining process. I would suggest a larger tarp or plastic if you want to protect the surface behind and to the sides of whatever you’re staining/painting/sealing. I didn’t get too much “splash” of stains on the wood fence panels, but I did get some. Stain is quite runny and it can easily go everywhere without you realizing it, especially if you are applying it with a brush as I did.

 

 

This headboard was stained on the front, top, sides, bottom and back. It took the entire 8 ounce container of stain – not a drop left at the end. This is the end result color of 1 coat. If you want a darker color, you could wait 4-6 hours and apply a second coat.

 

Having fun getting the stain everywhere 🙂

 

 

I wouldn’t recommend cheap gloves for this project if you are wanting to keep your hands and nails clean – hahaha. I purchased these cheap latex gloves at my local Dollar Tree and they just couldn’t hold up. Had to share this picture for laughs~

 

 

 

This is the end result after drying overnight. I am thinking of sealing it with a water-based polyurethane.

 

 

Top corner to get a little closer look at the color and wonderful grains this wood shows through with the stain.

 

For a full video on how to make this headboard – head over to YouTube to watch the video that inspired me from “The Rehab Life” – Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mVmYzPy2BY&list=WL&index=14&t=0s.

I spent more than $20 but it was worth it! Can’t wait to get this all put together with the bed!