Primary Bedroom Headboard
This headboard is a MOOD. I have been wanting to do something on the moody side for a while, but was super nervous because I tend to like more bright and neutral spaces. I am so glad I ended up going with the black accent wall. It turned out better than I could have imagined.
Materials Used:
40 - 1” x 2” x 8’ boards
4 - 1” x 3” x 8’ boards
3” drywall screws
1 gallon of Behr Cracked Pepper paint (I used an eggshell finish)
Varathane Early American stain
Varathane Early American puddy
Power Tools Used:
Sander
Compound Miter Saw
Nail Gun w/ Air Compressor
Electric Drill
How To:
This headboard was a super easy DIY, but also very time consuming due to the amount of sanding, staining, and polyurethane-ing required to achieve this look. It was totally worth every minute though.
Doing the math was easily the most difficult part of this project for me, but I calculated the size and quantity of boards as such: 1x2s are 1 1/2” wide and 3/4” deep (depth of the board was used as gap/spacer between each board). I wanted the headboard to be wider than my bed to give a more grand appearance so I knew that I wanted the headboard to be approximately 7’ wide (84”).
1 1/2” board + 3/4” gap = 2 1/4”.
84” / 2 1/4” = approx. 38 boards
1 1/2 * 38 = 57”
3/4” * 37 = 27 3/4” (the # of gaps should be one less than the number of boards)
57” + 27 3/4” = 84 3/4” —> width of headboard (all boards that I planned to have horizontally on the wall were cut to this length)
Step by step instructions below:
First, I painted the wall and the 1x3 boards that I used for cleats. The cleats are the boards that I attached to the studs that I later attached all of my 1x2 stained boards to. You will want to make sure that the painted boards are cut to size prior to painting. I used pre-primed boards, but if you not to buy pre-primed then you will want to prime your boards first with a wood primer (I typically use Kilz).
Just a note about the cleats… these are not required for building this headboard. You can choose to attach the 1x2 boards directly to the wall. I chose to use the cleats so that if I decided to later remove the headboard there would not be as much damage to repair.Next, I used a stud finder to find and mark the studs. I marked all of the studs with painters tape so I could easily remove it once the boards were installed. I also measured and marked with tape the distance that each stud would be from the left corner of the room. I measured the distance from the edge of the tape identifying the start of each board from the left corner to the center of the first stud. I did this so I could predrill holes on the cleats so the boards did not split when I attached them to the wall with screws.
I predrilled the holes on the cleats. I drilled the first hole based on my measurement from the previous step and then additional holes 16” apart to align with the remaining studs. I then was able to attach each cleat to the wall with the help of another set of hands. It is important to make sure that the cleats are level.
Once the cleats were attached, I was able to begin attaching the 1x2s. Prior to attaching the 1x2s, I sanded, stained, and polyurethaned all of the boards. I attached the top horizontal board first using a brad nailer. It is extremely important to make sure that this board is level.
Next, I attached all vertical boards. I made sure the first board was level and then used a 1x2 turned sideways as a spacer.
Lastly, I filled all nail holes with puddy to give the headboard a finished look.
