How to Build a Bed Head

Measure out the width of the bed to determine how many closet doors you need. For a full-sized bed, 20-by-80-inch doors are acceptable, but for a queen-sized or king-sized bed, you need wider doors to accommodate the wider bed space.

Apply primer to the entire closet door with a roller brush and allow to dry thoroughly. Draw stripes onto the door at various widths to create an interesting headboard pattern. Draw the lines with a pencil; use a T-square straightedge to keep all the lines even.

Stick painter's tape to areas that border a specific color for one of your stripes. For example, if you have a neutral room and want to use shades of green for the headboard, mask off areas leaving only the areas clear where you plan to put your first shade of green. Allow the paint to dry completely. Remove the tape.

Repeat the process for each shade of color. Keep the shades varied and not too uniform. For a pop of color in a neutral room, use different shades of various complementary colors--you don't have to confine yourself to one color family for a headboard. Examples would be eggplant with two shades of gray or creams, blues and white. As an alternative, stain the wooden doors with one solid shade of wood stain, instead of painting them, for a chic and simple look. Choose a wood stain that complements existing furniture in the room.

Drill and attach door hinges and screws to the backside of the panels to connect them.

Attach an L-bracket to the wall where you want the tops of the closet doors to be when hung vertically. Drill small holes into the top of the closet doors, so you may easily attach them to the L-brackets. Push the bed close up to the headboard and finish off with desired bedding. For an different look, hang the doors horizontally instead of vertically.