Thanks to thrift stores, yard sales and hand-me-downs, you don’t have to be swimming in cashola to acquire unique and quality furniture. Today I want to show you how I transformed a broken bed into a cool DIY headboard bench.
Save The Furniture
During one of my routine visits to my favorite thrift store, I spotted a wood headboard in their dump pile. The side rails were broken so it was deemed un-sellable. After I gathered the courage to ask if I could purchase their garbage, I walked away with a $5.00 treasure.
I didn’t waste any time, and got right to work transforming this headboard and foot board. I chopped up the foot board, cutting 18 inches off of each end. These pieces will act as the sides to my headboard bench.
You can keep the center pieces to add more details to your bench if you would like. I set mine aside and will save them for another project down the road.
Put Your Headboard Bench Together
After cutting my foot board, I gave the headboard and side pieces a quick sanding. A high grit sandpaper was all I needed to smooth out the peeling finish in preparation for paint.
Right away, the bench starts to come together. This is my kind of project since I have the patience of a toddler.
I drilled holes, and attached the headboard pieces directly to the legs of the foot board. Countersunk three inch screws worked great for this part of the project.
Another option would be to use metal L brackets to attach these two pieces.
Build The Bench Seat
A support system will need to be build for DIY headboard bench seat. I used 2×4 lumber and screwed it directly into my headboard and foot board pieces.
Because the 2×4 lumber is what I had on hand, that is what I used. However, this created a pretty beefy bench seat. If you have a headboard and foot board that came with the side rails, these could be re-purposed to build this frame. If purchasing wood is your only option, 2×2 or 1×4 lumber would work too.
Paint and Glaze
I opted to paint and glaze my DIY headboard bench. Even though I was persistently harassed by an abnormally large flying beetle, I prevailed and manged to cover my bench in a gray chalk paint.
I glazed my headboard bench using gel stain as a fun DIY experiment. I trimmed 1/2 and inch of wispy bristles off a cheap paint brush, and went to town.
Most of my glazing efforts were focused on the trim details of the headboard. The glaze gives an added dimension, and really brings out decorative elements.
With the simple wax on wax off concept, I gel stain glazed my entire headboard and foot board. Using a clean rag, I gently wiped excess stain off keeping it from looking too streaky or blotchy. I wiped as little stain off as possible in the areas I wanted to draw attention to. All the fancy stuff basically.
Don’t Forget the Bench Seat
I used the same gel stain to finish the seat boards as I did for glazing. My not designer self, thinks this ties everything together.
For my DIY headboard bench, I made the seat out of re-claimed 2×6 boards we’ve had laying around for a while. Not only do I love the look of chunky lumber, but this bench would make a great earthquake shelter as well.
The Finished Headboard and Foot Board Bench
I sealed my entire headboard bench with some water based poly acrylic. This easy to use sealer is my go to finish for all of my furniture projects.
I think this DIY headboard bench turned out so good. As such a unique piece, it would be great for a front porch or entryway. I’ve even had people enquirer about using it as decorative seating for a wedding. So don’t be too proud to grab that headboard sticking out of the dumpster, and run home with it to DIY your own beautiful bench.
Enjoy!
Check out the video tutorial!
Find more DIY furniture inspiration here!
