DIY Wood Plank Headboard

STEP1: PREP WORK

I got the wood cut at the home improvement store all in the measures I needed them.

The first step is to sand down the edges and corners of each board so it won’t be so sharp and kind of give a small rustic look.

Once each piece has been sanded up, clean each strip to remove all the dust.

STEP 2: PAINT THE WOOD PLANKS

I wanted the wood marks to be visible and yet a white look So a wood stain is ideal.

You can create this effect by watering down latex paint. I made it a 1:1 proportion of paint and water.

Start painting each board. To get the look I wanted it took 3 coats letting each coat dry for a few minutes.

You might ask why watering the paint down if I’m applying so many coats. Well, the paint as they come is really thick and it would cover completely the wood in one coat. When you water it down, you create a stain, the wood absorbs slowly the paint and water in each coat and reveals the marks.

Also, by doing this you measure how much you want the white to show up.

Let the paint dry for a couple of hours.

STEP 3: WASH DOWN THE PAINT

Then with a damp towel rub lightly each board. This makes the paint more evenly and allows you to reveal more wood marks in specific places that might have too much paint.

Let it dry again completely.

STEP 4: SEAL EACH WOOD PLANK

Spray the transparent sealant. It dries really quickly so this is an easy process.

Just to be sure let it dry for about 30 min so the smell goes away a bit too.

STEP 5: ASSEMBLE THE WOOD PLANK HEADBOARD

The final step is adding the support pieces.

Lay all the boards together back side up in the order you want them.

Measure about 20 cm {8 to 10 In.} from the edges toward the center and draw a line along all the boards.

This helps to have a guide to keep boards in place and then to place the support piece.

As I said I wanted the pallet headboard to be easy to dissemble, so we used bed brackets. I also didn’t want screw heads visible and this was the best option. But you can just screw them together. This part is totally up to you.

I’ll explain how we did it with the bed brackets.

Place the support piece in place following the line but the line should be visible on the end side.

Place the bed brackets between 2 planks and with a pencil, trace the borders and holes on both: boards and support pieces.

For better results do this process with all the brackets and corners.

Start screwing on all the pieces.

Also, I’m so control freak and paranoid that I even added some extra flat joints between planks in the center just in case LOL.

We placed all the joint pieces inside the back of the headboard between the support pieces so from the sides nothing would be visible.

There you go!!!! The painted pallet headboard is ready!!!

… well almost ready.

STEP 6: INSTALL YOUR BRAND NEW WOODEN HEADBOARD

I didn’t want to damage the wall so I added some felt pads to the back of the support.

Put it against the wall behind your bed and…

Tadaaaaa… Now the headboard is ready to ROCK!!!!!