Headboard made from Salvaged Shutters


Headboard created from old shutters, upcycle, recycle-001

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I usually don’t make New Year’s resolutions.  Frankly, I have very little willpower and who can say no to chocolate. 

That being said, I love January.  January is the time I work on all those projects I’ve putting off because of the holidays.  To organize all those closets and storage rooms I’ve let get out of hand. New projects and new ideas await because this is 2016!

So, coming soon will be my storage room which right now looks like a hoarder lives in there, and my youngest son’s room.  He’s been wanting a new paint color and a new desk for quite some time. Hopefully, if I put this in writing then I’ll have to do it…sort of like a New Year’s resolution…though I’m still hanging onto my chocolate.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

It must have been July when my brother first showed up on my doorstep with a huge pile of these fantastic interior wood shutters. I immediately knew that I wanted to make a headboard.  The only problem was, I didn’t need a headboard.

Don’t despair if you don’t have shutters, an old paneled wood door will give a similar look.

At some point, I found that my oldest son and his wife were on the lookout for a new headboard for their guest room.  If I just happened to make one, what size would it be? Queen.

Upcycled Mortise Locks Shelves

Way back in August I shared with you my first project made from these shutters, a mortise lock shelf.

The shelf went together really quickly but the headboard took a bit more planning and was put on the back burner for a while.  I finally got busy gathering supplies by mid-November and by the time I was finished it turned into a great Christmas present.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

Start your headboard by laying it out flat.  A queen headboard needs to be about 5ft wide.  There is a little wiggle room…the headboard could easily have an extra inch, more or less, on each side.

With 2 sets of 3 shutters and 2 4×4’s, my headboard wasn’t quite wide enough, I needed one more panel.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

Removing a hinge on a shutter this old, is a project itself.  Paint remover didn’t even bubble, so out came the dremel with it’s cutting tool. I was able to cut through the layers of paint to make a new groove for a flat head screwdriver.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

With the added panel, the new width of my headboard was 5′ 1 1/2″.  Ready to assemble.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

Four lengths of 1×4 were cut to the exact width of the new headboard.  The 1×4’s were placed so that they cover the ends of the shutters but not any of the recessed detail on both sides of the headboard.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

This is a side view.  The 1×4’s were glued and nailed into place with finishing nails.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

4×4’s were cut.  You would think I would cut the 4×4’s to the height I wanted the headboard but you would be wrong…since this was a gift I wanted the headboard to be able to fit into my son’s SUV so he could get it home, a five foot high headboard would never fit.  These 4×4’s were cut to 43″.  I cut two more 4×4’s, 16″ to extend the legs. When my son gets the headboard into his home, he can chop off the leg extensions to whatever length he wishes to fit his bed. 

To attach the 4×4’s to the bed, 6 inch bolts were screwed into the sides. The bolts were screwed into the headboard where the 1×4 overlaps the shutters (look at the side view above). Predrill and screw the bolts where there are 3 layers of wood avoiding the empty space.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

I cut a 1×6 top shelf 6 inches longer (3 inches on each side) than the width of the headboard. Nail into place.

Underneath the top shelf is a small piece of crown molding, cut and nailed into place.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

Because the crown molding is sitting on top of the 4×4’s, there is a small gap underneath….

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

…which is filled in with one more small piece of quarter round molding.

Fill in any gaps with paintable caulking and any nail holes with wood putty.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

To attach my leg extensions, I drilled a hole for a dowel and glued it to just the extension side of the leg.  Another matching hole was drilled on the headboard (don’t glue the dowel to the headboard side).

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

Since I had this molding sitting around, I mitered the edges and nailed it onto my leg extensions.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

When the extension slides on, the molding hides the cut in the 4×4.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

The nail holes and edges were sanded and ready for painting. The headboard then got 2 coats of an interior semi gloss white paint.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

I don’t know if you can tell, but for a little added strength, I screwed 2 more wood screws in each corner thru the 1×4’s and into the 4×4’s.

Headboard made from recycled, repurposed shutters diy, headboard tutorial

All finished and still sitting in my living room.  I think my son and daughter-in-law really like it, but when it came time to leave it was either the headboard or the dog. For some reason, they chose their dog.

If the headboard ever finds its way to its new home, I’ll be sure to take pictures.

Update: When I wrote this, there were no pictures of the headboard in it’s new home it sat in my living room for 2 more weeks, the post has since been updated.

Headboard created from old shutters, upcycle, recycle-001

Headboard created from old shutters, upcycle, recycle

More headboard inspiration….(the second one uses an exterior shutter)

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday, Inspire me Tuesday, Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday,

Be Inspired Tuesday, Home Decor and More, Wow us Wednesdays,

Talk of the Town, DIY like a Boss, Handmade Hangout Party,

Funky Junk Party Junk, DIY Sunday Showcase,

That DIY Party, Silver Pennies Sundays, Amaze me Monday,

Friday Furniture Fix, Link Party Palooza, Fab Friday Link Party,

Bewitchin Projects Block Party, Two Uses Tuesday

I was featured at

Talk-of-the-Town-button-Knick-of-Timehandmade hangout- small logo OCsilver_pennies_sundays_featured_button

FFF feature button 250x250_zps1dj53s4vYour-Home-Decor-And-More-LinkParty-Button

24 Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.