Time for an upgrade to your headboard? What if you could make one yourself, a quick and easy DIY build, and have a result you will be proud of? This is it, you can build this DIY headboard yourself, and it will be a piece of furniture you will be happy to say you did it yourself!
This is a fun and easy DIY project that will add a ton of character to any bedroom space. Having a bed pushed up against any wall is fine, however a headboard helps polish & finish off the space. You can easily do this project for under $100. You can also customize it for any size bed. Let’s get started!
This post contains affiliate links to help you find the products I use for this project. Purchasing from any of these links pays me a small commission. To see my full disclosure policy, click here.
Supplies You’ll Need:
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Old door (look at your local construction re-purpose store)
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Trim
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1×4 for the topper
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Wood Glue
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Brad Nailer
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Measuring Tape
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Square
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Hanging hardware
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Paint
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Topcoat
Step 1: Find a Door
I headed to my local home building salvage store where they have a TON of doors to choose from. There are usually stores just like this one in most cities. They collect used home supplies and re-sell the for a discounted price. It’s a great place to get unique items to add character and charm to your home. I picked a solid wood door with a few inset panels for detail, to do this project.
Step 2: Measure and cut.
Measure the door and cut off the edges to get the desired width. Standard mattress widths are as follows:
Twin: 39″
Full: 54″
Queen: 60″
King: 76″
Headboards are usually sized with an additional 2-4″ on each side of the mattress.
You can really make it any size that works best for your space, these are just some guidelines to get you started!
Cut the door to size using a circular or jig saw. You can see how I did it in this video tutorial:
Step 3: Cut and apply your trim.
Adding trim to the top of the headboard really gives it a nice finished appearance. I used a piece of crown molding and a 1×4 for the cap. Cut these to size and attach using glue and a nail gun.
If you don’t feel like cutting crown, you can also do this with some straight trim. Like I used here:
Step 4: Sand and prep for paint.
Sand the edges of the wood trim, scrape any peeling or cracking paint from the door (take precautions if you think there could be lead paint on an old door) and clean the whole thing with either a mix of denatured alcohol and water or a TSP solution.
Step 5: Paint!
You can use any furniture paint you’d like. On one of these doors I used General Finishes Milk paint in a custom mixed gray color (4 parts Snow White, 1 part Driftwood). Apply with a nice brush and let dry. On the other DIY headboard I used Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky chalk paint. Use what you have!
One quick trick for you. After the first coat of paint, if there are any roughs spots, especially on the raw trim wood, wrinkle up a piece of paper bag or kraft paper and “sand” with that. It will take off any rough-ness without taking off the paint! Once you have done that you are ready for a second coat. Use a topcoat if you feel like it’s necessary or to give the headboard a bit of shine.
Step 6: How to Hang the DIY Headboard
You can just hang the door on the wall using a Hangman Hanging System. However, if you’d like to attach the headboard to your bed frame, add 2x4s to the door. I just attached using 2 screws. Now you can use bolts and nuts and bolt this directly to the metal bed frame.
Step 7: Step back and admire your work!
You did it! You just built yourself a custom, one of a kind headboard.
You now have a beautiful, unique headboard for your room!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this simple Up-cycled Project! I love how this turned out, and I can’t wait to make another one!!
Until next time, stay creative!
Jenni
Thank you for the inspiration. I am working on a bedroom makeover, and this article is very helpful!! Keep up the good work.
Beautifully done, and great directions!
Thank you so much!
Hi, thanks for an easy to follow video! Can you tell me what brand/type nailer you are using that is so quiet? It looks easy to handle. Thanks!
This is a Hitachi brad nailer from amazon. However, I just got a new Airstrike from Ryobi and it is by far my favorite brad nailer!! Check that one out!