52 Week Project: WK5
We got started on painting our bedroom last week. Got the walls partially primed and ready for actual paint. We still have a ways to go with painting but we’ll get there. Since both my husband and I work freelance, our hours are often long (read crazy) and unpredictable and this really stifles our nesting progress. Luckily, we’re in no particular rush, other than the fact that we would love to move on to the next project. On a happy note, we received our Tempurpedic Cloud mattress yesterday and we’re super excited about that. I can’t wait to sleep on it and all of its memory foamy goodness. Now all we need is a bed! Which brings me to this post. About a week ago, we were pretty much set on purchasing this headboard and this bed frame from West Elm but then I saw this guy over on Grey Likes Nesting via House*Tweaking:
{photo credit: http://www.housetweaking.com/}
My mission was clear. And since hubby was onboard after one glance, I was all the more sure that this was the right headboard for us. So, to the reclaimed wood yard we went. Here are a few pictures I snapped. The owner told us stories about some of the wood being as old as 500 years! Their wood comes from all over the west coast and some surrounding states. They drive far and wide to tear down old wood buildings and to forest fire sites where they salvage whatever wood they can. I know it’s completely silly, but as he was talking to us, I welled up a bit thinking about the tree that our headboard might be coming from. It was quite moving to think about its journey from nature to barn to wood yard to headboard in suburban Los Angeles.
Somewhere in this pile of redwood is our headboard. This wood came from a torn down barn in Hollister, Ca. I’m so glad we’ll be repurposing it and giving it a new, loving home to retire in.
By making our own headboard from reclaimed wood, not only are we making the greener choice, we’re also saving about $250! We’re still in strategy mode about how exactly we’re going to construct said headboard so stay tuned, I’ll post after pictures as soon as we’re done. xoxo!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! I can’t wait to see pics once you’ve figured out how to do it and have done it. So great!!!
Wow…what a bold undertaking! Best of luck.
I’m in need of a new mattress as well. Let us know how the Memory Foam goodness works for ya… ;)
Fantastic idea. Time for me to start looking for a similar wood-reclamation place in the DC area. There’s almost no end to the projects you could do with wood that has that kind of character.
super cool photos cant wait to see the final product!!!
I really love this idea! And I love the grey and yellow in that photo. Currently my walls are yellow in my bedroom. I’m thinking now that I need to add some grey touches to my white bedding. Thanks for the inspiration!!
How fun!!! And I’m always about being frugal if it’s possible. LOVE the pics too! One more thing – congrats on being Freshly Pressed. My day was yesterday and my inbox hasn’t been the same since. :)
Found you on the WP landing page! congratulations on FP today. Great idea for a headboard – I had a similar idea about painting a Texas flag on a shipping pallet, but not for a bed, just for general use. I think this will be a great focal point!
yes! love the pallet idea. This wood yard we went to had tons and tons of pallets stacked high and I wanted so badly to take one home. I’m pretty sure we’ll be paying the wood yard another visit soon :)
This is a great idea! I’d be tempted to sand down the wood a bit to prevent snags on my pillowcases, but the rustic effect is wonderful. I, too, am a big fan of repurposing discarded objects and trying to conserve resources whenever I can…
http://pentopaperproject.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/the-simple-life/
I need a cushioned headboard, oh wait, never mind. That’s a topic of another sort! Congrats on FP!
Love the headboard! So chic! Such a simple and effective idea, I bet it’ll look fabulous!
I just stumbled across your blog via the WordPress homepage, and I’m so glad I did! This is a beautiful picture and I love the whole idea behind salvaged wood. It’s definitely giving me ideas : )
http://streetsandstripes.blogspot.com/
Thanks! Yes, I felt the same way when I stumbled upon it on Grey Likes and I would imagine that she felt the same way when she found it on House Tweaking (spreading the love)! We’re excited to see what comes of our little project. Thanks for reading!
Beautiful idea. I might have to use it! THanks for sharing.
That is beautiful!
I saw this “Love Bed” on House Tweeking a few weeks ago & am completely in love with it!! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! My blog was featured yesterday! So exciting.
xo
Mindy@FindingSilverLinings
Congrats on your new bed…sounds like fun trying the reclaimed wood, should be pretty!
I love this idea. So fun and fresh. I always love to find ways to use scrap materials.
“giving it a new, loving home to retire in” – what a beautiful way to put it!
I did this for my master bedroom and used it for a few years. But even with sanding and finishing, the wood still had a life of it’s own. There was always a different kind of smell(which I always claimed was forestlike but no one felt that way but me. Most asked what the smell was when they came into the room.) and it wasn’t comfortable to lean on. Thirdly,the theme got old as I grew up. I ended up covering it in foam and upholstering it in a neutral fabric. I attached it to the wall over the master bed. Much better.Congrats on being FP.
yeah, not surprising. Especially barn wood can have a certain aroma. My mom got an antique piece that had been repaired with wood from a barn and she could smell it as soon as the wood got warm in the house. She ended up returning it to the dealer. Luckily the dealer had said it was all original, so there was no question of him taking it back.
WOW wow wow!! what a fantastic idea! I gasped in awe when I saw the first picture (how sad!) :) me and my partner have a rented place and it came with a horrible headboard on the bed, now I’m inspired to change some things ;)
You are brave! The end product should be great! Are you going to give rustic touches to rest of your house?
We haven’t given too much thought to the rest of the house but we do tend to lean towards more modern+organic colors and styles. We’re trying to be adventurous with our home decor this time around. We figure, as long as we’re not investing too much time or money, it’s okay to experiment. If we like it great, otherwise we’ll chalk it up to experience. Thanks for reading!
Anxious to see the results of this one. Hope it works out for you just the way you want!
nice..i like this post
I love what you are doing for your headboard! I also love the idea of picking out an interesting fabric and putting it over a frame for a headboard. I also found this really cool idea on DIY Ideas:
http://www.diyideas.com/roombyroom/Bedrooms/headboards_ss2.html
ambro, actually one of our first ideas was to purchase a goodwill headboard and reupholster, then we decided to take the easy route and purchase the West Elms headboard….now we’re back at taking on a DIY project. We’re never married to anything we do so if it doesn’t work out, we’ll just modify. I do love me a good fabric headboard so we may have to make that a project down the road. Thanks for your comment!
Great idea!!!!
It’s great you are able to recycle wood that way. We need more people to use natural resources similarly.
I was majorly jealous of your cupcake making skills, until I read that you bake cupcakes professionally (now, as an amateur, I’m just semi jealous, lol) :) Congrats on being FP and what great pictures of your headboard project- who knew a pile of wood could be so pretty!
Wonderful idea for bed! By the way, alot of cyclists who choose to be car-free completely tend to fall into the dyi category of making parts of their lives self-sufficient.
Except I don’t garden at all nor make furniture! Not where my natural talents are focused.
Keep up your blog and keep it artistic too!
WOW!
I especially love the picture of the different layers of wood, if that’s what they are. And if they are different TYPES, then I never knew that there were so many different types of wood!
I do agree with you on getting emotional over the environment. When I paid a visit to the shop for my new bed, I’d been sleeping on an air mattress for 3 months. And when I actually saw the bed, I ended up feeling sad over how many trees must have been cut to actually make a place for me to sleep. I don’t think I’m worth that many trees. In fact, to be really honest, I don’t think any of us are worth those many trees.
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed, and can I ask you something? Did you use Instagram to take the pics, by any chance?
Ashley, aka TheEverydayMuser
http://www.theeverydaymuser.wordpress.com
Hi Ashley,
I used the hipstamatic app on my iphone to take the wood pile pictures. I’m kind of obsessed with hipstamatic photos…. I always take pictures twice on my phone, once with the regular camera and once with the hipstamatic, it’s borderline crazy!
That’s a great idea! I have one word of caution however. If your mattress, sheets and pillows will come in regular contact with the headboard, you’ll want it to be sanded smooth. Otherwise, the rough wood will pick at the fabric and fray it quickly. I sleep with my pillow mashed right into our headboard, so the rough wood snagging hair is also a concern. Just a thought.
I love the idea though! I got out headboard off craigslist, so it’s reclaimed in a way. It’s an old 1940′s frame. Had to modify it a little, but it works. I love using old stuff!
The whole rubbing/snagging thing is definitely a concern of ours. My husband is quite the handyman, so I’m pretty sure he’ll come up with a plan that works best for us but I appreciate your comment, it’s something we should definitely consider when constructing our headboard :)
What an adorable idea. I love it! And how fun that you and hubby are doing this project together…have fun!
Love the idea of making it yourself. Saving money is great and you will treasure it much more knowing you made it. I look forward to seeing the finished project. -great site
I think it is great that you are doing this project. Every time I mention home-improvement or “painting” or…anything that requires a nail, a brush or a rake strikes fear in my husband. I must say though, the thought of stripping my dresser (and it needs it badly!) gives me hives and cold sweats so I can’t blame him I guess. So…hats off to you my friend!!!
You have me curious to see how it turns out.
Thank you for posting this! Your adventure reminds me of the beginning days of marriage, motivates me to get moving on a project, and provokes creative ideas. The headboard wiil be beautidul I’m sure. : )
Beautiful photos. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
I really love this idea! And I love the grey and yellow in that photo. Currently my walls are yellow in my bedroom. I’m thinking now that I need to add some grey touches to my white bedding. Thanks for the inspiration!!