DIY Headboard from a Closet Door

I promised to show you how I made my painted arrow headboard, and today I'm doing just that!

(In case you missed it: master bedroom updates)

The steps were pretty basic, but I did take some pictures along the way.

The headboard itself it actually a wood closet door, circa 1960ish. I have five more of them sitting in storage, if ya want one! (I use curtains over each of my closets to make them seem bigger).

Here's the previous headboard:

I did love it, but was ready for a fresh update.

The background is one large piece of dropcloth stapled to the door, and the Union Jack stripes were adhered in the same fashion. I simply removed the stripes and kept the background in tact.

Using a tape measure and a pencil, I marked the center of the door for the arrow points and placed a strip of painter's tape right down the middle.

I then measured and marked down opposite edges of the door where I wanted the stripes to start. I knew I wanted thinner painted stripes and wider stripes for the dropcloth. The gray painted stripes are about 2 1/2 inches wide, while the space between is 4 1/2 inches, or two strips of wide painter's tape.

Using the wide painter's tape (it's 2 1/4" wide) I taped off the design.

To paint the stripes, I used a wadded up paper towel, dabbed it in the paint, blotted on a paper plate to avoid any extra thick spots, and used a combination of blotting and rubbing the paint onto the canvas. A rag would have worked just as well, but I didn't have any. I was going for an uneven "aged" kind of look.

In some place, I rubbed it in close to the tape to give the lines more definition.

I intended to cut the tape at an angle in the center so the stripes were continuous, but got distracted and just started painting. Instead, I made a template for the center point and just blended the paint in and it worked out perfectly.

I pulled off all the tape, and had my perfectly imperfect arrows!

Now, this board is HEAVY. Since I was doing this all myself, I opted not to hang it on the wall. Instead it sits propped up on the box spring. It's a bit "wackadoodle" as my friend would say, but it works and it stays put, so that's good enough to me.

It's exactly as I envisioned and that makes it perfect!

Linking up:
House of Hepworths
Shabby Creek Cottage
French Country Cottage
Jennifer Rizzo
Frugal Girls
Crafty Scrappy Happy
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