Thrift find headboards!

These two headboard projects were for my kids. For my son, I found a twin size head and footboard at a yard sale for $10. A neighbor gave us their child's old mattress and box spring. All I needed to do was paint! As for my daughter, she already had her bed set up for months, but we just had it sitting on a metal frame. I found this head and footboard on craigslist for $80 but I talked them down to $50. Here is what I did with both frames!

First, I cleaned both frames with TSP. This is a heavy duty cleaner you can buy at any home improvement store. Using saw horses, I laid out the frame and painted them with Old Town Paints True Black chalk paint. This paint is great and you don't need to sand the piece before using it. I put one heavy coat on first and then thinned out the second coat with water.

I let the paint dry overnight and put two coats of clear Old Town Paints wax on it using a rag. After a few hours, I buffed it with a microfiber rag. That's it!!!! Easy, easy!!!

For my daughter's frame, I was hoping I could do nothing to it, but when I got it home, I noticed the paint had yellowed on the headboard specifically. My daughter loved the design it had, so I knew not to sand that off. I also ran into two problems with the set up. First, her existing bed frame would not attach to the head and foot board. So I recreated side rails similar to my son's (the one in the above picture). I bought 2 boards at Lowe's for $4 total. I sanded them down with 80 grit sandpaper and a palm sander until I had a smooth finish and cut them to size. The second problem was that the frame wasn't as tall as I wanted it to be. So I found "bun feet" at Lowe's for $3 each. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the head and foot boards, put some wood glue inside and set the "bun feet" inside. I let it dry for a few hours.

Without "bun foot".

 With "bun foot".

Next, I painted everything using Old Town Paints Cotton White. I grabbed a few colors in my paint cabinet and my 6 year old daughter and I repainted the design on the head and footboard. It is not perfect but any means, but it means a lot to my daughter since she painted it! I clear waxed with Old Town Paints and buffed it a few hours later.

To attach the side rails, I used 2 L brackets at each corner. First I attached all the L brackets to the side rails. This way when I set it in place, I would know where to pre-drill holes for the screws in the head and foot board. BTW- This is a two person job!!!! Holding up the rail, I pre-drilled a hole the head board then attached it with a screw. I did this for all 8 L brackets. The finished product looks great!

Both beds cost me a total of $90! What a steal!

Happy Painting!