A picket fence headboard can be a happy reminder of the outdoors or a garden in your bedroom. It can be a great addition to a child's garden-themed bedroom. Making one requires some woodworking skill but is a good woodworking project for a beginner. You can make a picket fence headboard for a full-sized bed in an afternoon with a few power tools and few pieces of plywood. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Cut two pieces of plywood 4 inches wide by 52 inches long. The length of these will vary based on the width of your bed. These two pieces will hold the rest of your picket fence headboard in place.
2. Mark and cut out nine pieces 5 inches wide and 36 inches tall. Lay the pieces out on a work table. Make a pencil mark 4 inches away from the top of your pieces. Measure out two 45-degree angles from each side of the top of each piece.
3. Cut along the lines you drew in Step 2. You can also skip Step 2 for safety's sake if making a child's bed.
4. Measure from the bottom edge of your bed frame to the top of your bed. Cut two pieces of the 2 x 4 beam this height.
5. Sand down all the pieces of wood.
6. Lay the two 4 x 52 inch pieces cut in Step 1 parallel to each other on your table about 1 1/2 feet apart.
7. Lay the nine picket pieces across the length of the long beams. Keep an inch between each of the picket pieces, and center them vertically on your beams.
8. Using a drill and flathead screws, drill each of the nine pieces to the two beams from the top. You should drill a total of 18 times. Each single piece should be supported by the two of the lengthwise-running beams.
9. Lay the 2 x 4 beams under either end your new headboard piece with about 6 inches of overlap. Screw the beam and the board together.
10. Prime and paint the wood. You can also do two coats of white paint. Let it stand to dry.
11. Bring up your headboard and line it up with your bed frame. Mark where the frame slots meet your headboard legs.
12. Use screws and a screwdriver to mount your headboard.
Tags: your headboard, fence headboard, picket fence, inches wide, inches wide inches, nine pieces, picket fence headboard
