After completing my bedroom makeover I thought the room needed a little something…I just wasn’t sure what that “something” was. Then it came to me: build a DIY headboard using laminate flooring!
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Below is a picture of my newly renovated bedroom…kind of plain right.
I’ve never made a headboard before, so I wanted to keep it simple.
And this is the cheap DIY headboard that I came up with.
It was cheap: most of the building materials were scrap pieces.
What did I use to Build this cheap DIY headboard?
Horizontal Boards = Laminate Flooring
The horizontal boards are actually laminate flooring that I’d bought for my kids playhouse many years ago (that I never installed…sorry kids).
Trim = Leftover Window Casing
The white trim around the edges of the headboard are leftovers from my bedroom makeover.
Base to Support the Laminate Flooring = old plywood
The plywood that is the base behind the laminate flooring was out in my yard behind my shed for at least 3 years.
So was this a cheap project? Yes. Very cheap.
I purchased two 1”x4” boards that were 10-feet long. These cost about $5 each.
How to build a Headboard using Laminate Flooring Summarized
Step 1 – Cut the 1×4’s
I cut 2 X 54” tall pieces from one of the 1″x4″ boards to use as my vertical pieces.
Then I measured our queen bed frame and determined that I needed 2 X 56” pieces for the horizontal pieces (one for the top and one for the bottom).
Step 2 – Cut the Plywood to go over the 1×4’s
Then I cut a piece of plywood to go over the 1×4’s.
I measured from the outside edge of the vertical 1×4 to the outside edge of the opposite vertical 1×4. This was 63-inches.
The top to bottom measurement for my piece of plywood was 26-inches.
Securing the Plywood to the 1×4 Boards – if you have short enough screws you could screw the piece of plywood to the 1×4’s.
My screws were too long and poked out through the back. This would have damaged my walls.
So I ended up temporarily using these “too long” screws and then I pulled them out later. I didn’t want to make a trip to the hardware store (a little lazy I know).
So after I had the laminate flooring completed (see step below) I screwed down through the laminate, through the plywood and into the 1×4’s. Then my “too long screws” were no longer too long!
Step 3 – Cut the Laminate Flooring pieces to fit on the plywood
I laid the plywood on the ground and the cut my laminate flooring pieces to fit this piece of plywood. I use my jig saw to cut the laminate flooring.
Usually when you lay laminate flooring on the ground you don’t glue it. But since I was going to be hanging these pieces vertically, I needed to glue them together so they’d stay tight together.
It got really cold outside so I had to bring the project into my basement. (Do you like the original 70’s carpet 🙂 )
I placed a thin ribbon of the glue along the edge of the boards where they “click” together. Then I used various weight to help keep the laminate together while the glue dried and to prevent it from bowing.
So at this point I had a rectangular piece of laminate flooring all glued together, but not connected to the frame yet.
Step 4 – Attach the Laminate Flooring to the Headboard
After the glue dried on the flooring pieces I drilled pilot holes through the laminate flooring, through the plywood and right down into the 1×4’s.
Then I screwed these all together trying to make sure everything was flush and square (as much as my skills allow anyway).
Step 5 – Cut and Glue the Trim pieces to the perimeter
Once the main parts of the headboard were all fastened together I cut the trim pieces and glued them to the outside of the headboard.
I used Gorilla® wood glue and clamped the trim to the headboard while the glue dried. (That glue worked really well…super solid once it dried.)
Step 6 – Drill the Holes where it’ll attach to the Bed frame
The next day once everything was dry I placed the headboard up against the bed frame. Then I used a pencil to mark on the 1×4’s where the holes in the bed frame base were.
I used my drill to drill the holes through the 1×4’s.
Then I inserted bolts through the back of the 1×4’s and bed frame and tightened a nut onto it to fasten then my new headboard to our bed frame.
One Thing I Forgot to Do
One thing I didn’t take into consideration was the baseboard (the trim piece at bottom of the wall).
You can see the white baseboard in the photo above.
When I push the new headboard back against the wall, the bottom gets pushed tight against the baseboard.
But that means the top of headboard is sticking out, away from the wall, the distance of the baseboard thickness. (My baseboards are 1/2″ thick.)
When my headboard is pushed against the baseboard, it means the top of the headboard is sticking out 1/2″ away from the wall.
This might not be a big deal, but you don’t want the headboard smacking against the wall.
To rectify this I put a 1/2″ thick piece of baseboard onto the BACK of my headboard along the top. And glued it into place to fill in this gap. (As shown in picture below.)
If you decide to make a cheap DIY headboard like this on your own, you’ll want to look at the size of your baseboards in your bedroom. What is the thickness of the boards? Get a small piece of wood that is the same size and attach to the top of your headboard to eliminate this gap.
In case you scrolled down this far and forgot what the finished product looks like, here it is again. Here is my first DIY headboard with laminate flooring.
I’m pretty happy with the result. Especially considering I’ve never made a headboard before. And it was super cheap.
If you want to save this for later to Pinterest, you can click the picture below. It is my Before and After pic showing my headboard made from laminate flooring.
If you attempt a headboard like this, I’d love to see pictures. What did you come up with?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article on how to build a DIY headboard using laminate flooring.
Thank you
Tim
Up Next:
See what I accomplished on a $500 Bedroom remodel…before and after pics… was it worth it?
How to build a toddler kitchen helper stool
How we used old kitchen cabinets in our Laundry Room Makeover.
