Making a headboard for the bed

How to Paint Your Wooden Headboard

Mary Smith
By Mary Smith. Updated: January 16, 2017
How to Paint Your Wooden Headboard

As going to bed is one of the most essential parts of our daily routine, seeing the same bedroom decor can make this routine seem plodding. Changing your room decoration is a good way to stop life being too repetitive and the headboard is often central to your room's visual style. However, it can be costly to buy a new headboard just because you want a change. With a little artistic flair and creativity you can restore and modify your furniture without breaking the bank. Once you've done it, it can look like a whole new room.

Read on as OneHowTo.com explains how to paint your wooden headboard.

You'll need:

  • Headboard
  • Screwdriver
  • Sander
  • Dye
  • Colourless furniture wax
  • Cloth
  • Brush
  • Table
You may also be interested in: How To Attach A Headboard To The Wall

Steps to follow:

1

Remove the headboard from your bed and put it on a table where you can work comfortably. Consider your body posture when working to prevent injury to your back.

2

If your headboard is covered in fabric, first remove the fabric and staples holding it on. Once you have exposed the wood of the board, you should sand it down well on both sides with a medium grit sandpaper. If your headboard is painted you must also sand it, but you may need a coarser grit to get the job done.

How to Paint Your Wooden Headboard - Step 2
3

After sanding, use a brush to remove all the dust. You can then start to apply your desired stain to decorate your headboard. Choose the tone you like the most. The more coats you apply, the darker the tone will become.

4

Leave the stain to dry for a few hours before sanding the headboard again to give it an even finish. This might require a finer grit depending on the finish you desire. If you go too dark, you can also sand the board again and try to get the balance right.

How to Paint Your Wooden Headboard - Step 4
5

If you want to apply more than one coat of stain, remember to sand the board between coats. After the last coat, you also need to sand it well and then apply a colourless furniture wax. This wax helps to give the stain a nice finish and protects it from damage.

6

Finally, after leaving the colourless wax to dry for half an hour, polish it by briskly rubbing with a cloth. You're then ready to reattach the headboard to your bed.

If you would prefer to have a matt finish rather than the glossy wax, you can skip this step. You can also lightly sand either patches of the board or the whole thing. This gives the headboard an 'upcycled' look, but should depend on the style of the rest of your bedroom.

How to Paint Your Wooden Headboard - Step 6
7

Once you have made these changes and decided to play around with your bedroom decoration, why not check out these articles on How to Decorate Master Bedroom Walls and How to Decorate a Bedroom Feng Shui Style.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Paint Your Wooden Headboard, we recommend you visit our DIY & decorating category.

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1 comment
Jacqueline
I love the light fixture in the room at the top of this article. It is like messy wires with white flowers on the end. Any chance you can tell me where to get one please?
OneHowTo Editor
You will easily be able to find them if you roam around many online shops such as amazon or etsy, we couldn't say the exact place.
hope this helps
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How to Paint Your Wooden Headboard