DIY Weathered Wood Headboard

Hey Guys!

It's been decided: I am terrible at this blogging thing.  So, I am trying something new... welcome to my first blog/vlog combo!  (Let's see how this goes).

It has been forever since I've shared any DIY house projects.  But rather than write an instructional guide along with some photos, I decided I would just bring you guys along for the steps, and let you watch it in action.



After years of saving, Blaine and I recently bought a King bed (*claps*)!  I won't tell you how old our Queen bed was, but I will tell you that I may or may not have graduated from Junior High, High School, and College during its lifetime...  so, it was overdue.

Before we even bought the King mattress, we've had a King size headboard sitting in our shed that was given to us by my brother and sister in law when they moved.  Where did they get the headboard?  So glad you asked.  Remember the fireplace makeover?  The same handyman who helped build that, built this headboard.  Our good friend Tim... I think everyone needs a Tim! His talents abound!

The headboard was a beautiful, unfinished piece -- I wish I could tell you the type of wood he used, but I have no idea.  Blaine and I knew we wanted to either stain or paint - Blaine wanted to stain it, I wanted to paint it (surprise).  But we were (meaning, I was) undecided about what color would look best in keeping with our bedroom.  So I went Pinterest hunting.  And I found a nice compromise.  (If only Pinterest could solve every stumbling block so easily).

I found a "weathered wood" look, which is literally a mixture of both: stain and paint.  And the best part: it comes out looking gray!  I felt like Clark Griswold plugging in the Christmas lights (when they actually worked)!

via GIPHY

You'll see the process in the video, but the gist is to stain the wood first, let it dry, then mix one part paint with one part water, and paint it as you would any piece of furniture.  Except instead of letting it dry, you take a lint free rag (we just used an old t shirt) and wipe the paint away, so you end up seeing the wood grain through the paint.  In the end, it didn't turn out exactly like I'd pictured, but it didn't disappoint me, either!  There are places I could have gone heavier or lighter on the paint, but I will say this is a very forgiving project. There isn't any right or wrong way to do this, but more just playing with it until you "get it like you like it" (Ben Harper, anyone?)  Anyway, this is one Pinterest "pin" I can check off the list!  There are about 800 others I haven't tried, but I might soon!

I promise I will get better about posting content for you guys!  Summer is so close, and I can guarantee I will be spending a lot more time with a paintbrush in my hand and a DIY idea in my head :)  In the meantime, leave me a comment to let me know how you like the video vs. reading a blog post (like I did with the fireplace makeover).

Thanks for reading & watching!
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"Think left and think right and think low and high.  Oh, the thinks you can think up if you only try!" ~Dr. Seuss