I started out this weekend like any other crazy, stressed out mom - with caffeine. Once the caffeine kicked in, ideas were swirling. We've taken the time to update the house & do new projects thanks to my Young Living income, and our room was one of the only rooms that has not been tended to. When we first bought this house, I had ZERO vision with what I wanted to do with it. We had no DIY skills and were overwhelmed with the task of making the space our own. Over time, we added touches to make it homier, but it wasn't until recently that we were able to afford to the big changes.
I have wanted this wooden headboard for a couple of years now, but I felt so intimidated by the project. I did the Pinterest "research" and realized that if these chicks with power drills could do it, I probably could too. So, I measured, I researched, and I loaded my THREE children in the car and headed to Lowe's for supplies. Daddy works on the weekends, so my plan was to work all weekend and surprise him when he came home on Sunday evening. Best laid plans...
You may remember seeing this set-up. I painted the wall our bed is on a baby blue when we first moved in. No plans to make that a theme, but I wanted SOMETHING on the walls. So, I painted that random ass wall blue and the others an oatmeal color. Last Christmas, my in-laws made us this beautiful headboard, but again, we had no plans to do anything to make our room cohesive.
So, you want to build a headboard. It's easier than I thought it would be. Wood, screws, power drill, tape measure, pen, stain, (and I added roofing nails to the front just to make it look even more rustic).
Line up your boards in the order you'd like them to lay. I chose the sides with the most wood character to face out, and the ones that were a little less straight to go at the bottom. When you are choosing your boards at the store, lay them all out to be sure they don't bow up or down because those will cause your headboard to bow.
Decide how far apart your furring strips need to be for mounting to your wall.
Start screwing your nails into the furring strips.
Once you have finished, you are free to stain. Wipe down your wood to be sure there are no pieces of dirt or splinters on the face of it.
I stained each piece and let the stain sit for 2-3 minutes before wiping it off with a ratty old t-shirt I found it our mess of a basement.
Once I finished each board, I took extra stain to different places on the headboard and let it soak in to give the headboard a more rustic feel rather than a perfectly even stain.
Allow your stain to dry 24-48 hours before you add any extras like the roofing nails, and especially, before you hang it.
I screwed in simple D-hooks on each of the furring strips and then had my husband help decide on placement.
Now we have a place that I am proud to show off AND happy to spend time in after just a quick weekend makeover!
