Headboard repurposed from a Privacy Screen $0

First things first - two finished products (headboard and night stand)….

I just finished making the side table from an unfinished wood box - that's the next post.

I absolutely adore the color we painted our bedroom - Palladian Blue (look the color up on Houzz.com - they have a truer picture of the color).  It has a slight grey undertone that changes hue as the day's light changes.

As I lived with just the painted walls and a bed in the room for months before we were able to move in, I began to dread filling the room and walls with furniture and decor items - hiding the restful wall color.

So I started looking for a "fretwork" headboard - open wood work that would let the wall color show thru.  They're not trendy right now so it wasn't easy finding them.  When I did find one online - they were only available online and not available for viewing in showrooms.  I'm not buying such a large purchase without touching it.  So, I held off (and it was killing me).

When we unloaded the attic in preparation for moving I found this privacy screen that had been up there for about 10 years (I know, I know, I REALLY hold on to stuff). (It had three panels held together with hinges but I had already taken one off before I remembered to take a picture)

It's made of a light weight wood, backed by paper.  I didn't discover until cutting out the sections that - what appeared as a solid sheet of handmade paper backing each panel - was actually a hard foam type panel covered on both sides with the paper.

Back of panels

Panel after cutting out large sections and before staining

I cut out the paper/foam panel that covered the larger sections of the panels.  The remaining paper backed sections and wood were stained.

I brushed on a penetrating stain first - then put on and wiped off a darker walnut GEL STAIN (my fav).

After the stain had dried - the two panels were connected using a flat stock metal brace.  The headboard is very light. It was attached to the wall using alligator hangers and a couple of nails.

I didn't stain the back

Side Note regarding the stain I used:  Originally, our house had reddish stained wood doors, window casings and moldings.  We've replaced the baseboards with taller boards and added a larger crown moulding (using the old baseboards as part of a larger crown moulding).  All base and crown were painted "snowbound" - an off white.  The existing window casings and doors were stained a walnut color to create a warmer tone, using Gel Stain.  When a bare piece of wood was needed to match a door we moved, Mr. Merrill of Merrill Paint & Decorating in Hendersonville, NC matched the color of the original stain on the old wood in a penetrating stain.  I put that on the bare wood first - then the Walnut Gel Stain so the woodwork would look uniform throughout the house.

Both stains dry fast.