Scavenger Chic

DIY Bookshelf Headboard from Reclaimed Doors

• By Joan
• May 29, 2024
• 4 Comments

DIY Bookshelf Headboard from Reclaimed Doors

This is the project for you if you have just enough room for a headboard but little to no room for side tables.  Where would you set your clock, your phone, the book you were reading, a cup of water, the remote?  We are about to make a bookshelf headboard from reclaimed doors.

I’m using 3 reclaimed doors for this project, 2 hollow core doors and one old solid 3 panel door.  They were all free from the local dump pile.

Cut the three panel door the width of your bed trying your best to even out  where the panels will sit on the bed.  This door worked well for a  60 inch wide queen bed.

Cut two lengths of the hollow core doors  how wide you would like your shelves, about 10″.

From one of the remaining hollow core door pieces, cut another strip about 1 1/2″ wider than the first 2 strips (11 1/2″).  This will be the top of the bookshelf.

From the second remaining hollow core door piece cut another strip about 8 3/4″ wide.  This is the 10″ width of the side minus the width of the paneled door ( 1  1/4″).  This piece will be used for the bottom of the bookshelf.

Although I’m working with old doors, I don’t want my headboard to look like it’s made from old doors.  Fill in your doorknob holes and hinge holes.   This doorknob hole is filled with a large dowel and I’ll later fill the edges with wood putty and sand.

If you’re using hollow core doors you’ll have to reinforce the sides where you’ve made cuts.  Many hollow core doors are filled with nothing but cut pieces of cardboard.

Cut wood blocks to fit, use wood glue and clamp into place.

Cut the door piece that you’ll be using for the top of the bookshelf to your desired length.  This will be the width of the bed (60″) plus the width of the 2 side pieces (2 1/2″) plus 1  inch overhang on either side of the headboard (2″) or 64 1/2″.

Cut the second piece, the lower shelf to the exact length of the paneled door (the width of the bed), 60″.

Lay out your door headboard. 

The shelf dividers in the center of the headboard are the cut offs from the side pieces of the headboard.

This side angle should give you a better idea of how everything lines up.

The end of this top piece still needs to be filled in.

Use construction adhesive to adhere the top of the paneled door to the lower part of the bookshelf.  Use a couple of finish nails to hold everything securely while the glue dries.

Continue attaching all the pieces with the construction adhesive and nails.  Let dry.

Fill in the nail holes with wood putty, let dry and sand.

Once all the main pieces are secure, turn the headboard over.

Finish off the back of your bookshelf.  I’m using leftover bead board, though pallet wood or even a plain piece of plywood would work just as well.  Nail onto the door frame.

Since I had some leftover molding lying around, I used that to trim out the top piece of the bookshelf mitering the corners.

Use a paintable caulk to fill in any gaps that you think may not be covered  or filled in by paint.

Paint as desired.  This is a grey chalk paint finished with antique wax.

I didn’t trim the sides of the bookshelf headboard until I had it in position on the bed.  I wanted the headboard to sit high enough so pillows could sit up against it, but not so high that the pillows would slip thru the gap at the bottom.

You can find one of my window wreaths here.

For this kind of headboard, wall mounted bedside lamps work great.

No room for side tables, but this bed is all cozy in it’s little nook and still just enough room to walk around the bed.

Until next time, stay inspired.

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