Wanted: Queen Headboard…..Found: Old Door

I think it may have been last summer, or even possibly the summer before that, but whenever it was, I was lucky enough to a first responder on Craigslist (it’s very competitive around here!)  for three old doors.  And by old, I mean, old lead paint, no hardware, solid wood, weighs a ton doors.  And I love them.  JD, on the other hand, not so much.  I mean, he likes them and likes what they could be, but he does not love the fact they are taking up precious gym space in his (OUR) gym (garage).

Lucky for him, we needed a headboard for our queen bed in guest room #1.  I had seen a few Pinterest projects and decided to take my garage back (haha, yea right,  I need to do about 100 more Pinterest projects before that happens). 

Step 1 – door was nasty, mold, dirt, dead bugs, pretty much everything – I got out the wire brush and soap and water to scrub the ancient thing.

Step 2 – Once the door was clean, I used a lead paint test kit to see if there was any really lead paint on the door.  Test came back negative…..still questioning the accuracy of that test

Step 3 – SAND & SCRAPE.  There was tons of peeling paint that I needed to scrape off, then I sanded the door for a semi smooth surface to prep it for the sealer.

Step 4 – Sealing the door was quite possibly the smelliest job.  I put two layers on each side to seal the door from having paint chips falling in my guests’ hair at night.  The fumes were horrendous.   The first coat I applied to the door while it was in my garage (it was a bit rainy that week).  We could smell the fumes inside of the house and it gave me a splitting headache.   After the first coat dried, I moved the door to our outdoor gazeebo.  Much better for nostrils.

Step 5 - Once the door was dry and fume free, we brought it inside for measurements.  We had, what I call, a Hollywood frame for the mattress.  We were using 2x4s to support the headboard and to attach to the frame.  My mom and JD held up the door and I measured for the 2x4s.  Once we screwed the 2x4s onto the headboard, we measured again for the holes that needed to be drilled to attach the frame to the 2x4s.  Clear as mud? 

Finally it was all secure, or at least we hope so.  While I like the door as a headboard, I’m not in love with it.  The door is a little bit wider than the bed and sticks out on both sides.  I thought about cutting the door down and while this would have looked better, I just couldn’t bring myself cut the old door.

Why yes, that is CJ trying it out

Probably should've made the bed....but this is life, right?

I have a few finishing touches to do.  I want to use attach lights directly to the headboard instead of the lamps on the tables for night reading for our guests.  I have found a few that I like (here & here)....not LOVE...I like the accordion look, but not so much in the black, and the ones I've found in copper or brass are a bit too much $$ (here)....so the search continues.  If anyone knows where I can find one, I'll give you a shout out in my next post...might be next year...but still.....ok, not the greatest prize.....but hey, at least you'll be helping a friend out.

The room needs to be painted as well….and a few other things:

1.     Repair roof leak and plaster damage

2.     Paint

3.     Put up curtains

4.     Refinish hardwood floors

5.     Door for closet

6.     Headboard

7.     New light fixture
8.   Bed lights - 2 of those por favor

So as you can see we are only through a portion of our list of things that need to be done to guest room #1.

Has anyone else ever used an old door (or new) for any projects?  I would love to hear about them!  Plus I have a few more old doors I need to do something with before JD puts them on the curb {can we say NIGHTMARE??!!!}.

**JD is out working late tonight....so, if you see an error, blame him**