Hey there <insert wave aka Forest Gump style>,

I promised a quick and easy DIY on the guest bedroom headboard last week, so today, I’m finally getting around to sharing it. If you’ve followed along with my guest room refresh I did for the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE, you know I rode the struggle bus trying to find a headboard that would be inexpensive yet look good with the wallpaper we added to the space. I decided on a Wood Block Headboard.

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Why a DIY Wood Block Headboard?

I had seen photos before on Pinterest that featured wood blocks as an art piece, and with all the texture and warmth of the wood, I knew it would make a perfect headboard for this space.

Materials Needed:

• Plywood cut to size- 76 x 34 for a queen size bed with 7 inches on either side (so I can add lighting)
• 3 – 4 x 4 posts
• 1 – quart each Varathane Wood Stain in Iron Navy, Sunbleached, Walnut, and Grey
• Wood Screws
• Wood Glue
• Saw

Steps:

We used the saw to cut the posts into three sizes. 1/2 inch, 1-inch, and 1.5-inch pieces. Stacking them by size as we went.

Next, we (totally meaning my husband) used a sander to smooth the blocks. We used an electric sander starting with 40 grit, then 100 grit. I then took a sandpaper block of 220 grit to finish smoothing them.

Now, it was time for the fun part! I stained all the blocks. I chose Varathane wood stain because It dries fast and covers easily. The colors are Navy, Grey, and Walnut. It took two coats to get the coverage I was looking for. We stained three sides because of the different depths.

Then, we cut a piece of plywood the size we wanted for our queen-sized bed. We went with 64 inches wide and 30 inches tall. So we had had our base. We then attached (using wood screws) two 1 x 2 posts cut to the height we needed for the plywood.

Finally, we started to glue the wood blocks to the plywood in a random pattern—a few tips. Push the blocks firmly in place so that the glue has solid contact with the blocks and the plywood. Stand back every couple of rows to ensure you keep the colors and heights mixed. We placed books on the glued blocks overnight to let the glue set. We painted the edges of the plywood a light brown.

So with every DIY I do, there is usually that moment when I think,…how could I miss that?!?!?! Ours was when we realized we could have made this much easier on ourselves if we had made the math work, and the blocks would have filled the plywood divisible by four. But nope, not how we roll. So, we had to trim one block on every row to make it fit. Sigh.

Finished Wood Block Headboard! I love how it looks with the wallpaper mural.

Shop the room here.

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That’s it! Easy and inexpensive.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Until next time,

-Libbie