In this post I will show you how I made a natural wood headboard from a pallet and for a 150 cm bed. A 100% handmade wooden bed back, ideal if you have or want to have a modern rustic bedroom, or an ethnic decor style.
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Cheap rustic decoration
For some years now, ethnic and rustic style bedrooms have been very fashionable even among people of very different ages and vital moments. Modern rustic bedrooms combine very well with modern ethnic decoration in general, but in the end what compensates us the most is that it brings us an approach to nature that otherwise we can not have, since many of us reside in the city.
Another reason is that having an ethnic bedroom or a modern rustic style in general combines very well with a handmade decoration. I discussed in another post how I made a globe and rope ceiling light.
Which is better? Natural wood or artificial wood
Actually, I think it’s more important the finishes. Because inside there is always wood, although in the case of artificial wood (chipboard, for example) is in the form of chips and with some glue. However, having the option to make some furniture with natural wood planks, it is always fun to jump into it.
The best option to have a cheap wooden headboard
Choosing to make a bed headboard out of pallets is a simple and quick option to have a great little home detail with natural wood
How to make a natural wood headboard with pallets
In this case, I was fine with just one pallet. But I did think it was important to pick one that wasn’t particularly stained or too chipped or rough on the surface. I also took into account that the planks had to be approximately the same size as each other. Or, if not, that there be more than one of the same width. This was important because since the bed is five feet wide and the pallet is about three feet wide, I would have to make some splices to lengthen the slats to five feet.
First step. Sanding the future natural wood headboard
Even though, as I said, the pallet was quite clean and smooth, the first thing I did was to sand it with sandpaper. First coarse, then fine.
At this point it was also important to plug the holes that were there from the big nails that held the pallet as such. I used pliers because the nails were really a bit big and they were resisting.
For the holes, this time I did it with aguaplast, but the most suitable and what I usually do in these cases is a mixture of sawdust (if possible from the same wood I am using) and white glue, and I use it as if it were aguaplast, with the advantage that it has the same color and the same texture as the wood, since it is sawdust from the same wood.
Second step. Paint the wooden headboard in rustic style
Really here any finish is valid. The only important thing is that it is to the taste of the consumer. There are fantastic original wooden pallet headboards finished in different colors that look absolutely fantastic. I have seen fabulous pallet headboards painted in white or even green.
I opted to give it a few brush strokes of white and a few coats of Judea bitumen. Mostly because I wanted to give an aged look to the wood to make a rustic headboard to match other elements of the rustic decor of the house, such as the rope lamp. So before assembling the slats I painted them.
Third step. Assemble the wooden bed back
Although I don’t have photos of this step, I put in two vertical cross members for the handcrafted wooden bed back. Another option would have been to put the slats together with glue and nothing else, but I preferred to have some space between them.
Final result: a rustic bed back for a handmade home decor.
Here is a photo of how the back of the double bed finally turned out:. A solid wood headboard that, although obviously not as impressive as a carved wood headboard, is a very worthy option in my point of view.
If you don’t have the time and/or desire to make a handcrafted headboard yourself, here are some examples of headboards in this style that you can find online:
And in this link you have other ideas for do-it-yourself pallet headboards
