DIY Headboard

Small Back Story

Last year before Tim deployed we got Max a bed. He had been sleeping in the crib that converted into a toddler bed for way to long. Literally about a week before Tim left we bought a bed. Originally we were going for a twin sized frame made out of wood. Of course the BX did not have what we wanted in stock and it had to be shipped from another store. When it finally came in, the frame was broken and had to be returned. At this point I didn't care, he had a mattress and a box spring and they were sitting on a cheap $50 metal frame. Good enough for now.

Fast forward to present day and Max is still sleeping on the metal frame and it is starting to bother me. So like every other person around the world I turned to Pinterest. I typed in "DIY Headboards" and of course there are hundreds to look through. I finally decided that this tutorial looked easy enough but still grown up enough to be okay for Max. There was only one problem, this tutorial is for a full size bed, Max is only a twin so my measurements are totally different from hers. 

So here is how I made my headboard for a TWIN SIZE bed frame.

Step 1: 41 inches wide - I measured the width of the frame. It was 38 1/2 inches wide so I rounded up to 39 and added 2 inches. That means there is going to be about 1 1/4 inches extra on each side. 

Step 2: 44 inches high - I measured about how high I wanted the headboard from the floor, which was 48 inches high. The headboard is going to be bolted to the frame so I just subtracted the inches from the floor to the where the bolts would be place and that was about 4 inches. So 48" - 4" = 44 inches. 

Step 3: 26 inches total height of headboard - I measured just below the mattress and went up to the height of where the headboard would sit on the wall. 

Supply List + Cost

- 1 box of 1 1/2 dry wall screws = $4.37

- 1 small container of stain (black walnut was my color) = $4.78

- (3) 1x6x6 pieces of white wood = $20.43

- (1) 1x6x8 piece of white wood (posts) = $7.90

- (3) 1x4x8 pieces of pine = 5.97

- (4) 5/16 hex nuts = $.44

- (4) 5/16 hex bolts = $.80

- (4) 5/16 x 1 1/2 fender washer = $1.18

- scrap piece of 1x1 = FREE (leftover from another project)

TOTAL COST = $45.87

The original person that did this tutorial did it for cheaper but I had to buy white wood because my Home Depot did not have the cheaper "uglier" wood for me to use. It worked out because I didn't have to do as much sanding as I thought I was going to, so I was happy. 

Step 4: Cut the posts and headboard pieces. Using a chop saw I took one of the 1x6x8 and measure 44" from each side. There will be a small piece left over from the middle. Then measure out the rest of the 1x4 and 1x6 pieces to 41" wide. Take and extra piece from one the 1x6x6 pieces to use as the brace in the middle. 

As I as cutting I looked at each piece of wood and labeled each piece with an 'F' so I knew which side I wanted to put on the front of the head board. 

Step 5: Laying the boards out. Lay all the 'F' sides faced down on the ground while alternating 1x6s and 1x4s. (see example below). Once they are all laid out take one of the post pieces and lay it on top of the head board pieces. 

Make sure that everything is lined up as straight as can be and I predrilled all of my holes before putting my screws in. My husband has 2 drills so this went pretty fast for me. After all posts were attached I added the shorter piece of 1x6 to the middle of the board for the brace. Once I had both posts attached and the brace it looked "unfinished" to me. I asked Tim what he thought and he agreed. He made the suggestion to add a top to the headboard. So we went looking around for a piece of wood to attach the top.

Step 6: Attaching the top. Tim went looking and came back out with a piece of 1x1 that we had left over from another project. So I screwed the 1x1 into the brace in the middle and attached to top to the 1x4 by screwing it in from the bottom. This was the hardest part. 

 

Step 7: Sanding the headboard. Once everything is screwed together get your electric hand sander out and grab your nearest helper to help him take part in making his own headboard. Love my boy!

Step 8: Staining I used Minwax Black Walnut, the small can. It was more than enough to do both the front and the back. I only used one coat on each side, but I really let it sit before I wiped it off. Another good tip WEAR GLOVES! Stain is very sticky. I used an old t-shirt to wipe the stain off. I let the front dry over night and the next morning put a coat on the back. I let that dry in the sun and before I went to bed I brought it in the house to dry in the air conditioning for another day.

Here is the finished head board after it has dried for 2 days. Now we just have to drill the holes and mount it to the bed.

Step 9: Mounting to the bed.  I had Tim help me with this one as I was unsure how to get the bed on the frame. We took a few pieces of scrap wood and put it under each post until it was at the height of where the bolts would attach to the frame. Then put a washer on each side of the wood and tighten down the nuts. That's it! Pretty easy.

The entire headboard was built in about 2 hours. This could easily be a weekend project due to the amount of time you will need to let the stain dry. Now I just need to do a little more decorating in Max's room, but the headboard was a good start and SUPER CHEAP!! Good luck!