Rustic Headboard

It's been raining like crazy where I am, so unfortunately, I haven't been able to do a thing with my darling bookshelf tree. Boo. So instead, I'm going to share a really, REALLY old project with you guys!!! When we moved into our house back in 2009, we only had a queen size bed. It worked.

Then, I got pregnant. Really BIG, uncomfortable pregnant. I needed more room to stretch out, and to toss and turn. My grandma had recently moved as well & didn't want to take her large, king size, 4 poster bed, that my late Grandpa had built so many years ago. JACKPOT! I wanted it. This is the picture I took the day we put it up. I didn't even put a comforter on it, just my pregnancy pillow. I was too fat & hot. Leave me alone. 

Anyway! Can you see that small board on the back? Yeah, that was the only "headboard" we had. No bueno. I needed something to lean against!! 

So I got on Google (this was before Pinterest took off) and started looking for ideas, when I found this blog: Today's Letters, with this image:

GORGEOUS!!!! A wooden headboard WITH lights!!! I immediately got Mr. Awesomepants to work! We used 4 - 2X10 wooden boards from Lowe's for the planks, and then 2 - 2X4's to attach them to on each side. We stained the wood first before assembling everything because we knew it was going to be a huge, heavy piece & I did not want to have to move it. I was huge, remember? So they best option was to assemble it in the bedroom where it would live it's beautiful life. Matching the stain was our biggest hurdle with this project. Obviously, I wanted it to match the existing bed & my grandma SWORE that she & my Papaw chose "Dark Walnut." Well, I've got news for her! Maybe she told him to use dark walnut, but what he actually used, was "Red Oak." (He did what he wanted) Once we figured that out, it was smooth sailing.

As far as assembling it, I didn't want the headboard to actually attach to the bed, because I didn't want to alter the way my Papaw built the bed. I wanted to leave it just like he built it when he was alive. So it really just sits behind the bed.  I wasn't blogging at the time, so here's a super awesome "Paint" drawing. Yes, I know.... Skills.

Now you can see kinda how he did it. And no, it doesn't move. It's way too heavy, plus, it sits REALLY snug between the two posts.
After assembling the headboard, he measured where the lights would be & installed them with the hardware included. We didn't want them to high, because we are lazy and didn't want to have to reach too high to switch them off. Remember to notch out a small hole for the cord to fit through. Since we didn't have an outlet right smack in the middle of the wall, I plugged in a long surge protector and was able to plug in both lights, plus both lamps. Handy! The headboard lights are from Ikea, only $10 each & like I said, the hardware was included.

Finally, here's the AFTER :) with a comforter this time! This project only took two days. One day for sanding and staining, the second for assembling. Easy peasy!

What a difference it made! It totally updated the bed and changed the entire look of it. I am so pleased with how it turned out. Thanks again to my Mr. Awesomepants for making my dreams a reality!

More information on bedroom furnishings:

Comforter: Urban Outfitters

Lamp Shades: I made them!

Lamp Stands: Target

Curtains: Target (Only $20, such a great buy!)

That awesome piece of furniture at the foot of our bed??? A pop up TV cabinet. Big thank you to my Momma for giving that to us, YOU'RE STUPENDOUS! 

Rustic Barn Doors

Anyone wanna know why I haven't gotten my Bookshelf Tree done yet? Because my most dearest, bestest friend bought a house & needed our help!!! Mr. Awesomepants to the rescue!!
Don't get me wrong, her house is totally awesome, even without our help, but she had one minor issue; Her laundry room is off her kitchen, and there was NO DOOR to hide it! Here's a picture that I snagged from her Facebook page that shows the archway. (Sidenote: I am IN LOVE with her granite!!!!!)

Totally crazy, right? Oh well, no problem, easy fix. She loves the rustic look, so swinging barn doors were the perfect solution. Since it's an archway, and wasn't intended for doors, we're gonna get a little fancy!! ;)
So here's what we did, in case you wanna get fancy too!

Measure the archway. Or breakdown a box, trace the arch and cut it out. I preferred the latter.

Now gather your 1X4 boards and begin gluing them together, then clamp to dry for about 30 minutes.
Since we are doing two swinging doors, they ended up being 5 boards wide. Here they are being glued together. The horizontal board on the top isn't attached yet. As you're gluing, you may notice that your boards are bowed and aren't laying flat & flush together. Totally normal. Tell your Mr. Awesome to use his big boy muscles and force them to flatten then quickly clamp them together to hold. We also used big rocks to keep them down while drying.

After about 2 hours of work waiting for the door planks to dry, here's what we ended up with on day 1. Check back tonight to see the semi-end result. 

UPDATE: May 7, 2013

Mr. Awesomepants and my BFF's hubby got the doors completely constructed today! YAY! They added the signature, barn door "X", using 1X3's and cut the arch using a jigsaw. 

The hardware isn't attached, just laid on top of the doors to preview what it will look like. The next step is sanding and staining. Mr. Awesomepants and I are leaving that up to them though. It's time to get back to work on our bookshelf tree!! But don't worry, I will definitely post a picture of their progress too!! 

OH! And while we're talking about her new awesome house, here's a picture of the house warming gift we got her!  

It was full of all kind of goodies for a new homeowner, such as Goo Gone, batteries, a hammer, wood glue, super glue, nails, screws, a squeegee for the shower, etc. So fun!