Wall-Mounted Headboard from Reclaimed Old Five-Panel Door

Dimensions: Width 75 inches, Height 26 inches, Weight 35 pounds, Thickness 2 inches, including ¾-inch thick French cleat on the back. Width is perfect for a king size bed, which is 76 inches; would also work well for a California king, which is 72 inches wide, or even a queen bed, which is 60 inches wide. $150. Click here to purchase.

The Story

I’m surprised by the large number of old wooden doors I see sitting next to trash cans or dropped into large dumpsters when houses and apartments are being renovated. I can’t take that many because of my limited storage space, but I rescued this one in my Glover Park neighborhood of D.C. I removed the hardware (which may find its way into other projects) and painstakingly stripped away several layers of paint. I trimmed the bottom rail to be the same width as the top rail, so the piece would be symmetrical, and did some sanding. I applied Minwax “Red Mahogany” stain and finished it off with three coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic. Variability in the wood even after sanding creates some of the character in the final piece. I created and attached a French cleat to the back, so it can hang securely on your bedroom wall with only a few screws. This was the first door I ever upcycled into a headboard, and I was pretty happy with it.

Related Item: Free-Standing Reclaimed Shutter Headboard.