How to Give a Headboard a Geometric Makeover

5 Materials
$50
1 Day
Easy
My daughter recently bought a house, and she is now trying to fill up all the bedrooms with furniture. Buying all new furniture is not in the budget, so I gave an old free headboard a modern makeover. The idea for this design was based on the barn quilt headboard I made her. It was made cutting 100's of small pieces of wood into shapes, painted and then gluing them together like a jigsaw. This is the easy way to get a similar effect.
DIY Geometric design headboard
This headboard was part of a 4 poster bed which was broken and on its way to the landfill until my friend thought of me. I jumped at the offer as I always do to free wood. I used a handsaw to cut the bedpost shorter.
Even though it was chalk paint and they say you don't need a primer, I always add one. On past projects I have had the wood bleeding through my chalk paint and making dark unsightly patches. Fill in any holes with wood filler and when dry sand the filler smooth.
The headboard did have these big holes left by the side supports which were too big for wood filler.
To fill the holes I used some plywood cut to size and pushed into the gaps. Then the gap was filled with the wood filler and sanded smooth once dry.
The headboard was given 2 coats of white chalk paint as a base colour.
DIY Geometric design headboard
Using painter's tape I randomly added shapes to the headboard. I started with big triangles and gradually made smaller ones inside them. Smooth down the tape to prevent any paint bleeding through.
DIY Geometric design headboard
Using a small foam paint roller I randomly painted the shapes using 2 shades grey chalk paint. Paint one colour at a time to prevent the colours from smudging.
DIY Geometric design headboard
Once the paint is totally dry you can remove the painters tape to reveal your design. I found this part so exciting.
DIY Geometric design headboard
To seal the paint and make it more durable, the headboard was given 2 coats of water-based polyurethane.
DIY Geometric design headboard
And that was my headboard makeover done. This was quick and easy and the results were stunning. The pictures do not do the colours justice.
The final product. It still needs some work but as a spare room it is great. The cost of this project is hard to guess because the items used were free or I had them at home. But it does work out a lot cheaper than buying a new one.
Looking for more headboard ideas, check out this unique headboard made from recycled kitchen cupboard doors.
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Unique Creations By Anita
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  3 questions
  • Laurie Laurie on Oct 09, 2020

    Did you paint the headboard with primer first or did you add primer to your chalk paint?

  • Joan Stanley Joan Stanley on Oct 09, 2022

    If you were going to still use it as a headboard, why did you do away with the slots to attach the frame?

  • Kathleen Corcoran Dooley Kathleen Corcoran Dooley on Oct 16, 2022

    Very nice. Is the headboard attached to the wall or the bed?

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