After an extended hiatus due to child bearing, I quit my paying job to raise my kids…and during naps I’ve had time to do a little woodworking!  Since I’m no longer making any money, my projects need to be economical.  I found an antique door and decided to repurpose it into a king-sized headboard!

After cutting the door to 75″, I stripped the side I was going to use and sanded it down.

I went to the lumber yard with my 5-month old and got all my wood…boy do I get some strange looks as I am a baby-carrying mama so she goes where I go! Making sure of course to avoid clunking her in the head as I select boards!!  I bought 1-4×4, 1-1×3, 1-5/4×6 and 1 piece of crown moulding.

I cut the 4×4 into 2 equal 50″ pieces for the legs.  I carefully marked the legs and used my circular saw to cut out a rabbit where the door will sit, using my jigsaw in the corner to complete the cut…like a glove!!

The door was stained with General Finishes Grey gel stain and an oil-based poly applied with a foam brush. This is now my usual method of staining…wipe-on poly is great too, however, it wanted to remove some color this time.  So to keep the darkness of the grey, I used the foam brush.

Since they only sell mediocre 4×4’s, I sanded the legs for like an hour with my orbital sander.  I primed and painted them using SW wood primer and Pronamel which I already had in the basement.

Once the legs and door were “finished”, I glued and screwed them together.

The 5/4 x 6 was cut to 82″ so the side would have the same overhang as the front.  I attached it to the 4×4’s and top of bed with screws.  I then nailed (18ga) the 1×3 and crown moulding to finish the trimmed look.  After some filling, sanding and painting, I have a headboard!!

It is the first piece I intend on selling.  I need to make money to support my project habit!!  I hope you like it!