Bench From a Lonely Headboard

Jody Harris
by Jody Harris
7 Materials
$10
3 Days
Medium

We had a queen size headboard that was given to us by a friend. We liked the strong lines on it and thought it would make a great back for a bench. It turned out to be very comfortable too! Something I was a little worried about at first. We had most of the wood, paint and stain or got them for free so this project didn't cost us much. If you were to go out and buy the wood and headboard, at 2nd hand stores, it would probably be over $60 easy.

We got excited and painted the headboard out first before we took a picture of the original color. It was stained a dark color to begin with. After 2 coats of country white paint, we let it dry overnight then sanded it for a distressed look.

Next it was time to build the seat of the bench. We measured and cut the 2 x 4’s to the width of the inside dimension of the headboard. For the depth and height we just measured a chair and transferred those measurements to make the bench.

We used our Kreg jig to make hidden pocket holes and attach all of the pieces together.

This is the stain we used for the base of the bench. It matched the original color of the headboard. We love this color!

We had this piece of pine that we formally used as a shelf and decided to use it for the bench. We cut 5 pieces approximately 17 inches long. We then used 2 thinner pieces of pine, also cut 17 inches, to make the bench fit without going wider than the headboard.

On the 2 end pieces, we cut out notches so they would fit properly in the seat section.

Then they were stained with the same Jacobean stain as the bench base.

After a good day of letting the stain dry on the seat pieces, we painted and then distressed them with the same country white as the headboard.

We dry fit them to see how they looked!

We then attached the two pieces together and secured the seat pieces using exterior wood screws so they fit snuggly against the back.

To attach the back to the seat section we used 4 inch bolts. We wanted the 2 sections to come apart for ease of transportation and so it wouldn't be so awkward to move!

Here is a close up of how the bolts looked from the back.

Here is the entire backside view. We also sealed it with an exterior sealer so it could be put on the front porch or out in the garden.

And tada, here is the front! Tell us what you think of the base being a different color. Should we paint it the country white and distress it like the rest of the bench? We still aren’t sure.

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  • Melissa Melissa on Jun 26, 2019

    I just purchased a twin headboard and foot board at a resale shop for $5, this is exactly what I wanted to do with them. My intention is to put them on the deck or around the fire pit. Thanks for the tutorial

    I'm really excited to get started on it.


    Also, personally, I would paint the whole thing the country white and distress. However, I also like Angie's suggestion of painting the back legs to match the front

  • Linda Linda on Jul 03, 2019

    I also used a headboard for an entryway bench. I love the back rest on yours.

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