Hey guys! Claire has been talking about making a headboard for ages, so I was thrilled when she finally decided to share the project with us this week. I’m obsessed with the way she glammed up rustic wood with gold racing stripes. Check out Claire’s inspiration, as well as the full DIY instructions…
Hello again… Claire here! After a wild weekend at ACL, I was able to fully recover in the comfort of my cozy new bed. Remember when I asked for your input in choosing a headboard design for my next DIY? Well, I read the input from each and very one of you and decided to create my own variation of headboard #1.
So, what do you think of the final product (above)? Keep reading for the full instructions…

- wood planks (I used some salvaged old fencing)
- 3 boards, 1/4″ x 4′
- wood screws 1-1/2″ flat head
- screw covers
- hanging wire ( I chose durasteel since it holds up to 100lbs.)
- shield picture hangers (hold up to 50 lbs.)
- hook hangers
- 1″ wide painter’s tape
- gold spray paint
- drill
- hand Saw
- hammer
- tape measure
- Spray wood with a water/bleach mixture and wipe down to kill bugs & clean.
- Measure bed to determine headboard length. Mark wood & saw off boards to desired length. Tip: I made mine a few inches longer than my mattress. If you don’t have a saw, home depot has some for public use.
- Lay wooden boards face down. Lay the three narrow boards perpendicular on the back, and drill a screw into each board to connect and stabilize.
- Drill the two hanger hooks onto the outer two vertical boards. Thread steel wire through hooks, and tie.
- Flip over and tape off the pattern you want & spray. I love stripes and gold, so I created a barcode-like pattern with the blue painter’s tape and sprayed using gold spray paint.
- Hang shield picture hangers on the wall at desired height. Hang your headboard and enjoy!
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I LOVE the way it turned out. And the DIY is great. Great job, Claire!
Thhat looks great, Claire. Can’t wait to see it in person.
What a great idea!
Lovely.
Claire! I love all your DIY projects. This transformation is def one of my favs, you inspire me! Keep up the good work, always love reading your posts!
I really like this. It looks great.
I LOVE THIS!!! make me one!! my study group wishes they could make that instead of studying!! <3
So ridiculously simple and yet so absolutely beautiful.
Absolutely love it Claire! I cannot wait to see your next project……
Agreed – Claire did such an amazing job on this post!! Love the glam touch of gold on the rustic wood. She makes it look so easy… *sigh*
I l-o-v-e how this turned out! Can’t wait to see your next inspirational transformation!!!!
Ah! Love this, Claire! Why is this the first time I have ever checked out the site? I did my own headboard sd well a couple of years ago. Took old French doors with 2×4 windows and put them together. Very similar. Love, Love, Love this site and your DIY projects.
I love this concept! How did you prevent “over spray” when you sprayed your pattern???
Thanks Stephanie! I taped off the stripes with blue painters tape and sprayed very carefully. Hope that helps and good luck!
Awesome, thanks! I’ve been wanting to make one of these for a while, just need to find the salvaged wood!
Claire- Would you ever consider selling this headboard? Or making another for purchase? I’ve been looking for something just like this for our cottage!!
Hi Jen! Thanks so much for your interest but currently I’m not selling any of the items I make. I will definitely let you know should that change, and also am here to answer ANY questions you have if you want to attempt to make your own! -Claire
How did you get the wood grains to show up beneath the spray paint?
Hey Drew, I just sprayed one layer of spray paint onto the wood so that it didn’t coat it too thick and the wood still showed through. Hope this helps!
I have some old wood in the back yard of the house we just bought….hmm i sure hope I can do this…wish me luck 🙂
I just made my own version of the headboard!
If I can do this anyone can…I think it looks great, I can’t wait for my husband to mount it on the wall. Thank you Camille 🙂
Lovely! Thank you for sharing!
Did you also make the throw pillows? I’d love to track some down, or at least that beautiful gold fabric.
I just made this headboard. I love it! It is so easy and it looks great! Thanks for sharing.
Oh yay! So glad to hear that! I’d love to see the results.
I absolutely LOVE this! If you don’t mind…I was hoping to post this link & image to my blog. alittledoseofmorning.com. Thanks! 🙂
Of course! Thanks for asking, Elizabeth! So glad you love it 🙂
what kind of bed frame would you recomend with this head board?
I used a simple hollywood frame so that I wouldn’t have any footboard…it was also very inexpensive frame which helped!