3 Creative Girls: Rustic Barnwood Headboard

I've always wanted to build something with a pile of wood I was given, and I finally got the chance. My friend has a guest room that a barnwood headboard would look perfect in and she was very excited to be my guinea pig. Here's how I made it:

First, we selected the pieces of wood that would fit together best with size and color in mind. I placed them down on the ground to get the layout idea. I used our miter saw to piece everything together just right; after having measured her bed. Fyi: Queen sized beds are generally 60" wide.

Then, I used our new Kreg Jig (very fun tool that we bought in order to make a farmhouse table). There are 3 holes, but I only used the 2 outside holes. Because I was limited on screws, I tried to get away with using one screw per board connection but that was a bad idea!

Here's what the pocket holes look like after using the jig.

Then, I connected each board together with the appropriate Kreg screws. I used 1 1/2" screws.

I used the a straight board on the side to help line the boards up (left of picture below). Once the boards were all connected, then I measured out my two side boards/legs to appropriate length to be the right height for her bed. Once those were cut, I carefully slid them under each side of the clamped boards. She wanted to the side boards/legs to be in top. I slid the legs under so that I could screw from the back side so the screws wouldn't show from the front. (If you look carefully, you'll see the board that is the leg just to the left of the clamp.)

I just used some shorter decking screws that we had around to connect the legs from the back. I had to predrill a pilot hole before putting in the screws, otherwise my wood was splitting. I used 2 screws per board.

Once it was all together, I lightly sanded it to clean it up and smooth it out a bit. I had to be careful not to sand too hard, otherwise it would take away the aged look.