DIY Interior Design, Turn an Old Door into a Bed Headboard

When your bedroom needs an update you can turn an old door into bed headboard for minimal cost, and this simple DIY interior design project will dress up your bed and give new life to an old door.

DIY Interior Design, Turn an Old Door into a Bed Headboard

Select an old door that is a few inches longer than your bed is wide, if the door is too long, it can always be cut down to size.

If the door is too long to be used as is, place the door on its side at the head of your bed before cutting it down to size. Center any decorative elements in the door to the center of your bed, measure and mark the cut lines on each end of the door.

Clean and/or strip any paint or varnish from from the door, fill in any holes with wood putty, sand the entire door with medium grade sandpaper, then remove any dust particles with a slightly dampened cloth.

Next, paint the entire door with primer and allow to dry. When the primer is dry, paint the door with 2 coats of semi-gloss paint in the color of your choice, allow the paint to dry between coats. If the old door has ornate details or raised panels, consider painting the door two different complimentary colors to highlight the details.

When the paint has dried, it’s time to hang your new, recycled DIY bed headboard. This method of hanging your bed headboard makes it portable, should you ever move from your current location, plus it only puts one hole in the wall.

Screw in 2 D-rings to each end of the back side of the door, just below the chair rail molding and 2-3 inches from each end. Stretch a length of heavy duty picture hanging wire between the 2 D-rings and twist the wire around the D-rings to secure. You can double the picture hanging wire if the old door is unusually heavy.

The next step is to place a picture hanging hook in the wall above your bed that is strong enough to support the weight of the old door. Before placing the picture hook in the wall, take some measurements. At least half of the recycled door needs to be visible above your bed and the picture hook needs to be centered with your bed in a wall stud. Once you have found the right location, screw the picture hanging hook into the wall and hang your new bed headboard.