Materials:

• 2 inch nails for air gun (recommended) OR 2 inch screws for drill OR 2 inch nails for hammer
• Electric drill (will need one of these in addition to the air gun or a hammer)
• Square head drill bit
• 3 metal plates
• 1/2 inch screws
• Sander OR regular sand paper
• Chop saw OR regular saw
• Spray paint (match the colors in the wood tones — we used a dark brown and a light grey color)
• Ebony wood stain
• 1 sheet of plywood

Choose Your Tool:

 

(*** We recommend using the nail gun or the drill if you have one.)

Step 1: Stain the Plywood Backing

• Use a piece of plywood for your backing, the size will be determined by the size of your headboard. You want the backing to be about 6-12 inches smaller than the size of your headboard.
• Use either a roller or sponge brush to apply the ebony color wood stain, blot the excess with a rag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Designing the Pattern and Layout of the Wood:

• Move the planks of wood around until you find a pattern you like, Greyson layed his out in a staggered formation.

Step 3: Cut the Wood to Match the Layout Design

• Mark the ends of the wood where you will want to make your cuts.

• Using your chop saw or regular saw, cut the wood at the desired marks.

Step 4: Sand the Wood Until All the Splinters are Gone.

• You don’t want splinters on the wood so that your hair, pillow, or blanket won’t get caught on it.
• Using your sander or sand paper, sand the wood planks until smooth, but not too smooth that you lose all the fun detail in the rustic wood.

Step 5: Stain the Raw Cut Edges and Ends of the Wood

• You’ll notice once you have cut the wood that the ends will look really bright compared to the top side, so you’ll want to take your spray paint and lightly coat the ends to match (Greyson used a dark grey color).

• To add more depth, take your rag and dip it into the wood stain and apply to a few of the creases on the planks.

Step 6: Nail the Finished Boards to the Plywood Backing

• Using your nail gun, electric drill, or hammer, nail the finished boards to the stained plywood backing.

Step 7: Screw the Metal Plates to Warped Boards Where Needed

• The metal plates might come with 1 inch screws but make sure you’re using 1/2 inch screws, you don’t want want to use longer screws because they will show through the front of the board.

• Screw one side of the plate into one side of one of your boards on THE BACKSIDE. Screw the other side of the plate into the back of the other side of the board to tighten them so they are flush with each other. Do this to any other boards that may need it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 8: Mount the Finished Headboard to the Wall or Bed Frame

• You can screw or hang your wood headboard into the wall directly above your bed, OR you can screw it to the bed frame like we did.
• Using your drill, screw 3 bolts/screws into each side of the bed frame.

 

Watch a video of this tutorial here:

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