DIY Planked Headboard

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Hey guys!  If you follow us on Instagram, you may have seen a sneak peak of this project (you may have even asked if the tutorial was up for it ;))

It took me longer than usual to get final pics (finding a time when my kids rooms are actually picked up is near impossible in the summer 😉 ) but I managed!  This is the last of my 3 kiddos beds.  If you missed the first two, you can see them HERE and HERE!  I have held off on this room because I wasn’t sure exactly what design I wanted but surprisingly, I was inspired by a reclaimed wood floor that I spotted in a restaurant – go figure 😉

*** Update – Free Printable Plans for this headboard are now available!  Click the image below or HERE to print!  And, a special thanks to Jay from Jay’s Custom Creations for creating the printable version of these plans!

So, I came home and got to work!  This is seriously such an easy headboard to build.  There’s really no wrong way to do it but here’s what I came up with 🙂  This headboard is for a full mattress but very easy to convert to add width or subtract for another size.

I started with a piece of 1/4″ Purebond Plywood that I had Home Depot rip down at 37.5″x52″.  You can read all about why we LOVE Purebond Plywood HERE!

Next, I started cutting planks.  This is a great project to use your scraps on!  I chose 1×2, 1×4 and 1×6 boards and you can see in this picture that I alternated them.  I put a 1×4 between each row.  The first cut you make doesn’t matter, just make sure to stagger your joints as you go.  I also tried to use longer pieces under rows where I used shorter pieces. The planks will fit flush around the edges of the plywood so that it is completely covered.

Next, I stained each of the boards using 4 of my favorite Varathane stains – Wheat, Early American, Dark Walnut and Kona (you can find the stains HERE on Amazon). Again, no rhyme or reason to the pattern, I just tried my best to mix them up so the same colors didn’t touch. Try to keep the pieces close to their original spots to save a headache 🙂 *** To stain these, I used a foam brush (one per color) and wiped on one-coat, let the stain sit for about 5 minutes then wiped it with a clean cloth.

Once the stain dried, I used my Corner Cat Sander to distress the edges of the planks.

Then, I glued each plank onto it’s spot on the plywood

and placed them exactly where I wanted them.  You can move them around a bit while the glue is drying.

Once they were where I wanted, I used my brad nailer to shoot 1-inch nails through each of the planks – at least get a few on the ends of each plank and the center.

Once the glue was dry, I drilled 1 1/2″ Kreg Jig pocket holes into the back sides of the planked headboard (this will help attach the legs).

Then, I attached the legs with 2″ Kreg screws (the pocket holes are circled in the pictures).  The legs are 2×6 boards cut at 53″.  I stained the boards before attaching them to the headboard.  You can use any stain for the legs, I chose Dark Walnut for mine.

Progress so far!

To dress the top up a bit, I applied a line of Gorilla Glue wood glue along the top of the headboard

and used my brad nailer with 1 1/4″ brad nails to attach a 1×3 to the top. (the 1×3 trim is cut at 65″ and centered on the headboard so that there is an overhang on the front and back side.

For the top trim, I attached a 2×4 board, cut at 67″, with 2 1/2″ spax wood screws and wood glue.  I like to use my impact driver when I’m drilling into 2x boards – saves the arms!  You can also use your drill for this part! This board is centered on the 1×3 so that there is an overhang on the front and back and there will also be a 1″ overhang on each end.

Here is the headboard with the trim pieces.  I do recommend staining the trim pieces before you attach them – apparently I was just too darn excited to get this sucker done 🙂  It was a pain to stain it after.

I also distressed the legs once the stain was dry.

Woohoo!!!!!  One last finishing touch!

What I loved so much about the restaurant floor was the exposed nail heads on each plank.  So, I picked up a package of nickel thumb tacks at Home Depot – athey did the trick 😉

I just hammered them in to the corners of each plank.  This part doesn’t have to be perfect, just eye ball it.  I did off-set mine from plank to plank.

Now, all of my kiddos have their mattresses up off of the floor and on really cute (cool for my boys) custom beds 🙂  And, the best part is….I can start on mine!!!!! I found the quilt at Pottery Barn Teen but I don’t think it is available anymore. You can look at their quilts HERE!

I do love the platform bed that I designed for this headboard and you can find the Free Plans for that as well HERE!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Ashley

Here are the beds that I build for our other kiddos 🙂

Twin storage bed for my daughter

Platform Bed on Wheels for my teen son