How to Make a Headboard Out of a Vintage Door
Personalizing your bedroom can be as easy as changing or adding a new headboard. Vintage doors make the perfect headboard because they are already full of architectural details, promising a one-of-a-kind bedroom look. Remember to take the size of your bed frame into account since it determines how much you will need to alter your headboard. Consider your other bedroom decor such as your area rugs, too. Also, be careful to not mess up the alignment when attaching the frame to your bed, since this can cause your bed to squeak later. If you want to avoid potential squeaking issues, you can always hang the headboard on the wall, further giving you a restful and quiet night's sleep. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Blue painter's tape
- Marker
- Band saw
- Sanding block
- Stain or paint
- Paint stripper (optional)
- Hand drill
- Drill bit set
Instructions
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1
Place the door lengthwise between the head of your bed and the wall. Use blocks to raise the door off the floor until the bottom edge of the door lines up with the headboard mounting brackets on the bed's frame.
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2
Cover the face of the door with blue painter's tape. The tape is low tack and will allow you to draw on the door without damaging the wood.
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3
Trace the outline you want for your headboard onto the blue painter's tape with a marker.
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4
Place the door on a vertical band saw table and cut away the excess wood by following the line you scribed onto the tape.
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5
Sand the edges of the cut wood with a sanding block to remove any imperfections. Take your time with this part. Work slowly as it is easier to sand off more wood than it is to add more wood back onto the headboard.
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6
Remove the blue painter's tape and wipe the board with a tack cloth.
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7
Stain the cut edges of the wood with a wood stain or paint them. If you cannot locate a stain or paint that matches the door, you must stain or paint the entire project with new stain or paint.
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8
Place the headboard against the mounting brackets on the frame rails and mark out the holes for the screws. Drill the holes with a hand drill and drill bit.
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9
Attach the headboard to the frame rails with the screws designed to work with your frame rails.
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Tips & Warnings
If you must paint or stain the entire door, strip the original paint or stain by applying a chemical paint stripper with a paint brush and then wipe the stripper off. Using chemical strippers will prevent the need for excessive sanding. On raised panel doors, this is a good thing since you won't chance rounding over the corners of the raised panel with a sanding block.
