Headboard Made of Two Hollow Core Doors

Dimensions

• Most hollow-core doors are between 28 and 36 inches in width. Most queen-size mattresses are between 58 and 60 inches wide. If you plan on purchasing the doors and have a choice for width, choose two doors of equal width that exceed the width of the mattress when the doors are placed side-by-side. The height of most hollow-core doors is about 80 inches. The height is not that important, but both doors should be the same height. One other consideration is the wood species. A majority of hollow-core doors are birch or oak plywood. Either one works fine, but the doors should match. Purchase secondhand doors, or buy slab doors from any home supply store.

Finish

• If your doors have holes where the doorknobs were removed, don't worry about it. The holes will only add more character to the headboard. When building your headboard, place the holes on opposite sides so that they match. If the finish is rough, sand it off if desired and refinish the doors. You only need to do one side since the back faces the wall. Use an orbital sander with 100-grit sandpaper to remove the lacquer. Then add stain if desired. Wipe it on, and immediately wipe it off. When the stain is dry, spray the doors with a light coat of aerosol lacquer. This type of finish dries faster than any other finish, it's easy to use and it seals nicely. When the first coat is dry, sand the doors by hand using 180-grit sandpaper. Spray another coat of lacquer to finish. Allow the lacquer to dry overnight.

Assemble

• Place the doors side by side on a flat surface, with the back of the doors facing up. Place four tie brackets, evenly spaced, so they span the gap between the two doors. Tie brackets can be found in the building department of a home supply store. They are flat, thin metal brackets about 3 inches wide and 6 inches long with holes drilled on both sides. Center the brackets between the two doors, so that one half of the bracket is on each door. Attach the brackets to both doors using 1-inch screws to join the two doors together. Measure and cut a piece of 3/4-by-3/4-inch lumber to fit across both doors at the top and bottom. Screw on one piece flush to the top, and the other flush to the bottom. This is to provide a small space between the headboard and the wall for accent lighting. Measure and purchase a length of rope lighting to fit vertically along both sides of the headboard between the two pieces of lumber. Use hook-and-loop or sticky adhesive fasteners to attach the rope lighting 3/4 inch from the edge, on both sides of the back of the headboard.

Attach

• There are two simple ways to attach the headboard to the wall. The headboard is lightweight, and a single piece of wire secured with a screw on both sides across the top is enough to hold it against the wall. The headboard sits on the floor and supports its own weight, so the wire simply holds it against the wall like a picture. If you want a more permanent solution, run a stud finder along the wall, locate one stud that passes behind each door and screw one 3 1/2-inch screw through the top of the doors, into the studs. Color the screw head or use a putty crayon to hide it. Slide the bed up against the headboard. There's a solid 1 1/2-inch-thick frame on the inside of both doors. If the steel mounts on the bottom of the bed frame are within 1 1/2 inches of each edge, you can screw the bed frame to the headboard if desired. If the mounts don't match the wood frame inside the door, it won't work. The thin plywood won't support the bed frame screws.