Scavenger Chic

DIY Shiplap Arch Headboard

• By Joan
• July 22, 2020
• 3 Comments

DIY Shiplap Headboard

My husband and I are about to buy a king size bed and with a king size bed we will need a king size headboard.  

I don’t even think about heading to the store to find a headboard, I head straight to Pinterest and to my garage.

Before I can begin, I needed to find some inspiration.  This headboard is going to be around a long time and I needed to love it.

I shouldn’t be surprised that the first headboard that I fell in love with was from Joanna Gaines at Fixer Upper.  With shiplap and an arch, how could you go wrong?

This second inspiration piece, and with a similar design was from John Biermacher over on Hometalk.   He also got his inspiration from Joanna.

I don’t know about you, but that was all the inspiration I needed. I was ready to put my own take on a shiplap, arch headboard.

First things first.  Find a nice big floor somewhere and start laying out your wood.  Right now it doesn’t have to be exact, you’re just seeing what you have, what you’ll need, and the basic overall design.

I’m using a couple shutters I found in the trash, a piece of trim from the architectural salvage store, and lots of wood my oldest son was storing in my garage leftover from a few projects that hes completed.

I ended up needing to buy 2, 1×3’s by 6ft and one piece of bendable molding.

I’m using the shutters for the headboard arch.  They are super wide at almost 16″.  I picked them up a couple of years ago from the trash pile at a local salvage yard and didn’t even realize that they were shutters at first.  The hardware was what caught my eye and since I didn’t have a screwdriver on me, the entire shutter got thrown into the back of the car. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to find a use for them.

If you don’t have wood this wide, or even a few pieces put together, consider using a piece of plywood.  The edges will be hidden on the finished project.

A normal king size bed is 76″, so I’m cutting these to 75″ allowing for a little side trim to add the extra inch,  If you have a large room, consider letting the sides of the headboard extend past the mattress by a few inches.

I did have to remove all the old hardware and the back braces from the shutters.  If you have old hardware you need to remove it may be worth investing in a Dremel Rotary Tool.  The cutting tool cuts through the layers of old paint so you can recut a slot on the screw to fit your flat head screwdriver. 

Temporarily lay the outside trim onto your piece to give you a better idea of how large the arch should be.  I’m using bendable molding to create the arch.  A couple small finish nails hold the molding in place until I get the curve I want.

Once your curve is perfect.  Use a pencil to mark your cut line.

Then use a jigsaw to cut out your arch.  

My son did point out that I didn’t really need the entire shutter for the lower part of the arch because I was only using the ends.  This is true, but I’m not throwing my innards away, you’ll still see it in a future project.

Arch is cut.  Nothing is attached quite yet.

I started filling the hole in the shutter with caulk.  I didn’t fill it all the way to the top.  The top finish layer has to be something that is sandable.

Assembling the Headboard

Start with the shiplap inside the arch. 

On the back of the shiplap nail on scrap wood so the shiplap doesn’t shift.  I also extended the scrap wood (pallet wood) past the shiplap to hold another piece of the headboard.  More on that one in a second.

Use wood glue and nails to attach your cut arch pieces directly to the shiplap.

To those pallet wood extensions I’m attaching another filler piece ,a 1×6 that is almost 75″.   I could have extended the shiplap all the way up but I was out of that wood.  This piece is not quite as wide as my headboard but it doesn’t have to be, it will soon be hidden.

Over top of that orangish piece of wood, I’ve nailed on 6 more 1×3’s. Just use scrap wood.  These happen to be pieces of the back braces that I pulled off the shutters.

You’re trying to bring that area of the headboard up to the same level as the arched pieces and you will use these pieces when you add the top piece of molding.

Nail on the top trim board (75″) leaving just enough room for the top molding piece. Nail on the side trim pieces extending them down below the end of the arch.  The headboard will stand on these legs, so cut to length based on how tall you’d like your headboard. FYI, my side trim is 55″.

I’m using wood that is 3/4″x 4″, slightly skinnier than a normal 1×4 because that’s what was in my garage.  Use what you have.

 

With a nail gun I’m attaching the trim (btw, it’s plastic) that I used to create the arch.

Nail on 1×3’s to the sides of the headboard covering up all those rough edges.  I know, this is a terrible picture of those side pieces but you can see them more in the pictures that follow.  These side pieces start just below the top molding and extend the length of the legs.  I’ve nailed this piece so it’s just slightly higher than the side trim pieces.

Miter the ends of the top molding and nail onto those scrap wood filler pieces.

Finish off the top molding with 2 more mitered corners for the ends of the headboard.  Nail into place.

Last piece of the bed is the addition of a top ledge.  Mine is a 1×6 that extends about an inch on both sides of the headboard.  Nail into place.

With wood filler and/or wood putty fill in all the nail holes and in my case, the shutter cutout.  Sand smooth when dry.

Time to paint.  A coat of black chalk paint unifies the entire headboard.

Lightly sand the edges if desired.

If you’re using chalk paint, finish with a coat of clear or antique wax.  Paint on and rub off the excess.  This is the antique wax which gives the black paint a brownish tint and also finishes off the sanded edge.

From the side you can definitely see how the wax gives a finish to the flat chalk paint.

I can’t show you how the headboard looks with my fantastic new king size bed because I haven’t actually bought it yet. 😆 ….but when it comes I’ll be ready!

Find your inspiration.  Until next time.

 

 

I know you want more headboard inspiration….