DIY Door Headboard

 

Transform an old door into a (nearly) new headboard

 

A queen-size bed frame can easily set you back $2,000. A salvaged door? This one cost about $25. Of course, turning it into a headboard did require some work: sawing the door down to size, adding chair-rail molding to the top, brushing on a few coats of paint. But you could pay a pro to do the heavy lifting and still come out ahead — at which point, you get to lie back and count up your good deeds: You've recycled an architectural castoff that didn't deserve to be trashed, saved loads of cash, and created one truly unique piece of furniture. All facts that should help you sleep easier.

 

STEP 1: Choose a solid wood door, preferably with a design element like paneling, that's a few inches taller than your bed is wide. If your door is too long, you'll need to trim it down with a power saw.* Determine where to cut by positioning the door sideways at the head of the bed; any decorative details should be centered.
STEP 2: Fill any holes in the door with wood putty, then sand with medium-grade sandpaper and wipe down with a damp cloth. Flip the door horizontally and choose one long side to be the top of the headboard. Saw* a piece of chair-rail molding so it's the same length; attach it with wood glue. Once the glue is dry, hammer several finishing nails across the top of the molding to secure.
STEP 3: Coat the headboard with primer; let dry, then paint with two coats of semigloss in a color of your choice. (If your door has panels, consider painting them a complementary shade.) We used Farrow & Ball's Wimborne White and Babouche (farrow-ball.com).
STEP 4: Hang the headboard on your wall so that at least half is visible above your pillows. Treat the door as if it were a heavy mirror: Screw two D-rings into its back, just below the molding and a few inches in from either side. Stretch heavy-duty picture wire between the rings and twist to secure. Hammer a picture hook that can bear up to 100 pounds into the wall and hang.
STEP 5:

To further support the board, measure the distance from the floor to the bottom of the door. Saw* three pieces of two-by-two lumber to that length (to fit between the bottom of the headboard and the floor). Screw each plank into the wall (one at each end of the board, one in the middle) to help support the headboard's weight. Sleep tight!

 

*Not comfortable with power tools? Most lumberyards will do the sawing for you for a couple of bucks per cut (it's free if you buy lumber there).