Bedroom DIY Idea: Make Your Own Reclaimed Wood Headboard

Written by

Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director at AT Media
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director at AT Media
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published Jul 19, 2017
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(Image credit: Winkie Visser)

Reclaimed wood headboards aren’t a new idea; really great examples have been spotted in homes of all styles in recent years. But this reclaimed wood headboard stands outt. It’s not only easy to DIY — it’s a fun way to display art, too. Here’s how you can get a similar look for your home.

Ilse van Elleswijk and Jasper tackled this DIY project together, and it’s a simple but sophisticated design most anyone could replicate. It’s certainly the focal point of the bedroom in their Dutch home. There are two specific things that make this headboard project stand out:

1) It spans the width of the room
Stretching this headboard from wall to wall — and not just making it fit the size of the bed — makes a powerful design statement.

2) It’s not just a headboard, it’s a display shelf.
Rather than just paint applied directly to the wall to create the illusion of a headboard, this headboard has depth to it. And it’s this depth that allows the headboard to function as a shelf, perfect for displaying objects and art.

How they did it:

A wooden framework was built

Ilse and her husband first made a simple frame made of pine plywood that fits snugly in between the two walls that flank the bed. Essentially, they made a large rectangle. The depth of the rectangle frame — or the depth of the shelf — will determine what size lumber you should purchase.

(Image credit: Winkie Visser)

They attached the frame to the wall

On the wall, the couple used screws (and anchors appropriate for their wall’s material) to attach metal brackets to the wall. They used these brackets, but you can find similar ones at most any hardware store. Then they attached the wood frame onto the brackets using wood screws.

(Image credit: Winkie Visser)

They covered the wood frame with reclaimed wood

With the framework in place, it was fairly easy to cover it with reclaimed wooden planks cut to the same length. Ilse and Jasper chose reclaimed wood planks that are roughly the same size as the height of the wooden frame attached to the wall, but you could choose longer planks and create a hidden shelf, if you wanted. The reclaimed wooden planks were attached to this rectangle frame (at the top and bottom) with screws.

They styled and accessorized

The reclaimed wood gives an instant modern farmhouse vibe to the bedroom, and the size of the headboard makes a dramatic focal point! Ilse’s a big fan of accessories; she feels they add coziness to any room. And now thanks to this DIY project, she can add a lot of art and accessories to her bedroom and easily rearrange elements or add new pieces.