A New Headboard

That title really isn't very exciting, but my brain is tired and I couldn't come up with anything catchy. :) Jas built me a new headboard for our bed, not because there was anything wrong with the old one, but I had just  grown tired of it. When we first moved into this house, the newly built bed had no headboard. We eventually settled on a padded one, drew up some plans, built it, and then covered it with a chocolate brown fabric to match the nightstands. It was simple and functional, but not very pretty.

Fast forward a couple of years, and my mind has been percolating with possible headboards for months. Thanks to Pinterest, I found plenty of inspiration, but nothing that was perfect. So as usual, I shared what I would like with my wonderful husband, he took me to Menard's to research outside-the-box options to create my vision, we settled on a plan, and then he built it. It's our proven method for creating things for our home, and I love the way it plays out.

For this particular project, I knew I wanted a more "rustic" look, but not too over-the-top. I liked the look of several wooden headboards I'd seen via the interwebs. Like this one, for example . . .

But I also liked the idea of lights attached to the headboard itself, instead of lamps on nightstands. Sort of like this one . . . 

Jas was on board with my vision, so we made a trip to Menard's to do some research. We looked at several possible options, including cedar tongue-and-groove siding and decorative wood panels, but in the end we decided on beadboard in an unfinished whitewood. The knots give it so much more depth and character, and that's what makes it beautiful. We chose to stain it a dark walnut to blend with the existing dark wood furniture in the room. Plus, the walnut stain was leftover from our coffee table and end table we built for the basement family room. 

The biggest decision to make was really the choice of light fixtures. After much back-and-forth, I decided on these oil rubbed bronze wall lights from Menards, with a gorgeous alabaster glass shade. We mounted them upside down, and the great thing about them is that they rotate, so if you want to read in bed you can position them accordingly. They really finish it off nicely!

Jas used the existing structure from the first headboard, but removed the padding and fabric cover. We attached the beadboard (which is tongue-and-groove) to the face, then finished it out with some pine moulding trim. After a couple of coats of polyurethane stain, we attached the lights and hauled the whole thing back upstairs. It looks beautiful!