How to Make a DIY Rustic Headboard

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Yogabed. The opinions and text are all mine. 

Sleep is really important to me. Good sleep. I’ve studied the science of sleep and the brain/body connection quite a bit so I’ve always been “that mom” who makes her kids go to bed earlier than the other kids. I’ve relaxed over the years as they’ve aged but I’m still very aware of how much sleep everyone in the house gets, on average. When we aren’t sleeping well we’re hungry, have less energy, our memory and cognitive functioning suffer. Plus we’re not much fun to be around. But it’s even more important for kids and teens because they’re growing. Their brains and their bodies need the time to work! My daughter has been sleeping on a really old, terrible mattress forever. It was time for an upgrade, which was the perfect opportunity for me to make her a new headboard to go with her new comfortable Yogabed™. And you can make a DIY rustic headboard, too. It was actually really easy and looks phenomenal. No woodworking experience required!

After a week, I’m still totally pleased with how this headboard turned out and my daughter is over the moon. She helped me build the headboard so she really takes pride in it as well. It’s something that will last as long as she wants it to last, which is a good thing. When she moves out in a few years it will go with her. But let’s not talk about sad stuff.

The new mattress is fabulous, in so many ways. That zip off, washable cover is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’re interested, check out the $100 promotion they have right now!

We didn’t do any faux distressing of the wood. Just regular pine that we stained with a Minwax Dark Walnut stain. It’s rich and really a perfect color for this piece. 

I used Ana White’s plans for a Reclaimed Wood Headboard. They’re easy to follow, even for a beginner. You could even have your lumber all cut at the lumber yard, if you don’t want to cut it yourself. No fancy cuts. I used a regular circular saw because that’s what I have. My daughter helped me measure and mark. I did the cutting. Then we assembled it together. 

We used a pre-stain wood conditioner and then applied 2 coats of Minwax Wood Finish in Dark Walnut. We couldn’t decide after the first coat if we wanted a second coat but I’m so glad we did it. It made a huge difference and we much prefer the final color. We then used a fast drying polyurethane coat to finish.

Headboard Tips:

1. Choose the straightest pieces of wood you can find. This will make your job easier.
2. Be careful with the glue. Any glue that leaks out between the boards won’t stain the same color so it will be noticeable.
3. Add an extra brace on the back. When I finished building the headboard I added an extra brace between the top and bottom of the headboard and nailed from the back to keep the boards a bit more stable and flat. The plans didn’t call for that but I’d recommend it, unless your wood is really straight.
4. Stain is stinky. Keep it in a well ventilated place for as long as you can before bringing it inside.

Then it was time to begin the room makeover! We started with an empty space after removing her old twin bed.

Yogabed™ sent us this mattress in the mail. IN A BOX! Do you see that box? I was totally skeptical and wondered if it would be more like a futon mattress. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m not saying this because they gave us this mattress. This mattress is now, by far, the best mattress in the house. And I have one on my bed that I paid A LOT of money for. We’re all taking turns sleeping with my daughter to enjoy the comfy new bed.

When we took it out of the box we read the instructions. Super simple. Just unwrap the mattress. Lay it flat and carefully cut off the plastic that is keeping it airtight. Then the magic happens. It took at 2 minutes for this mattress to refill with air. I wish I had taken a video of the process because you would have been able to hear all the squealing in the background. You would have thought it was Christmas!

Look, it’s a totally normal sized mattress! But it’s so much more comfortable.

The top cover unzips for washing and takes about a minute to zip back on. That makes this mama happy. I love anything that makes my life easier! The mattress was almost too pretty to cover but after we all rolled around on it for a while we put the headboard in place and made up the bed.

And, while the headboard is super awesome (or even more awesome than that), the best part of this story is about my daughter’s sleep. She has always had really interrupted sleep and is a huge sleepwalker. I never know where I’ll find her wandering in the night. We’ve got bells on all the doors, just in case. But I never connected it much to where she slept. Enter the new bed. My daughter hasn’t been sleepwalking since she started sleeping on this mattress. I am so used to finding her on the living room floor or some other random place every morning. But not this week! And better sleep will help with school and pretty much everything in her life. For that, this mama is grateful. 

About the mattress:

The Yogabed™ luxury foam mattress is comprised of the Yoga Comfort System™, an advanced layered system specifically designed to optimally support the body by dispersing weight evenly and reducing pressure points that cause tossing and turning.

The Yoga Comfort System™ is built on four core layers:

• 1’’ Yoga Instant Response Foam™
• 2’’ YogaGel™
• 6’’ Breathable Foam Base
• 1’’ Support Base

And, if you’re not totally sure, you’ll love that they have a 365 night trial period. Try it out to see if it’s all they claim it to be.If you’re interested, check out the $100 promotion they have right now!. That’s a FANTASTIC deal.

I’m currently making a new quilt for her so she can give that white one back to me. You’ll have to stay tuned for her new quilt later this month!

Thanks to Yogabed™ for the awesome mattress. I’m now planning to get myself one and all the other kids are hoping they get one too!

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Yogabed is comprised of the Yoga Comfort System™, an advanced layered system specifically designed to optimally support the body by dispersing weight evenly and reducing pressure points that cause tossing and turning.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Yogabed. The opinions and text are all mine.