Okay, so if you follow me on facebook, which I hope you do! 
Then you may have seen that I was saying I was building a headboard for a recent shoot. Well, I got so much feedback from that, that I figured I would share how to do it, in case anyone else wants to try!
So myself, Kristy, Tara and my mom started off in the morning. We put on a big pot of coffee and decided to just go for it. We went and picked up some old worn down barn wood from a ranch, and put them into the truck.
The first thing we did after bringing it to our driveway , was wash off as much excess dirt as possible. Old barn wood is dirty!
Next we measure out the length and width of how long you need the boards to be. Our beds are queen size, so we measure the bed first, and then cut accordingly.
Here is the fun part! My mom is the AMAZING and SUPER TALENTED face behind Lavender and Lilacs, so she is the one who supervised and told us how to do it all. We are building her website so be sure to look out for it! She refinishes pieces of older and frankly sometimes ugly pieces of furniture, and creates RIDICULOUS pieces of shabby chic furniture. She literally has made nearly every piece in my house.
Anyway, back to the point. Power tools. My mom said I should try cutting and I will admit. I was scared. But after seeing Tara do it, and all her limbs were still attached, I went for it. And I am now addicted.
After you cut all the pieces, you lay out the wood how you want it to appear. Start off by doing this reverse so you can just drill into place.
By the way, my mom is a rock star.
Oh and always make time for an ice cold beer. Its best to use the drill while taking a sip and then pounding your chest. This will make you feel very powerful. Now I understand men. 
Be sure to drill enough in to really secure the wood. Sometimes it helps to have someone hold the wood down so it doesn’t move on you.
The next step is SUPER important. Sand, sand, sand and oh yeah….. sand. If you are using store bought wood, this will be easier. However, if you use old barn wood, or previously used wood this will take a while.
Last we took some cream colored paint and had fun! Brushing the wood with soft strokes wherever you want the paint. Then you put a few coats of clear varnish to try and smooth it out even more.
And wah-lah!! You have an awesome and truly original headboard that Anthropologie would die for!!
2 comments