Homemade headboard

Give your bedroom a fresh look with this creative bedhead project.

Styling and photography Sarah Heeringa

Change the look of your bed with a new bedhead and use it to update the look and feel of the whole room. You can create a calm colour scheme using neutral shades of grey and cream, complemented by soothing greens and blues.

Step by step

Step 1: Measure the width of your bed and trim the plywood sheet accordingly. Use the sandpaper or sander to smooth the edges. Lay the dropcloth and coat the plywood sheet evenly using Resene Quick Dry undercoat. Allow a minimum of two hours for this to dry.

Step 2: Topcoat in a matt waterborne enamel. I used Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Merino. Allow to dry.

Step 3: Use the tape measure and pencil to mark the centre and other equally-spaced vertical lines. Tape lines using the masking tape. Add a number of horizontal lines to create squares. Make sure the tape is firmly attached to the board.

Step 4: Use the Resene testpots to paint the squares. Paint from the tape inwards towards the centre of each square. Start with the darkest shade and choose squares that are randomly spaced. Then add the next shade and so on to create a balanced effect.

Step 5: Once the paint is completely dry, carefully peel off the tape. Touch up any edges as necessary. Lean the headboard against the wall behind your bed or attach the headboard to the head of your bed using a drill and long screws.

Blending effects

Customise the colours and the painted effect as you go using this technique. Start by painting all the squares as solid blocks of colour. For a softer effect, paint over a few squares mixing a little more of the paint with the neutral base shade.

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Wall painted with Resene Quarter Frozen and, right, Resene Rice Cake.

Visit resene.co.nz and for more Resene makeovers with Good, click here.

Sarah is a contributing editor for Good and author of Reclaim That: Upcycling your Home with Style.