This pallet headboard is not only super easy, but it’s unique and not your typical pallet headboard. This organic design looks amazing in a bohemian style room.
Tools needed
- Six-foot pallet (I cut up a 10’ pallet – but a four foot could work)
- Jigsaw (if you need to cut your pallet)
- Hammer (to remove pallet boards from the front and even a few from the back to lighten it)
- Sandpaper (if necessary)
- Brad nail gun
- Measuring tape or ruler
- One 3” x 8’ select pine board – header board for a finished look
- Five 1.5” x 8’ select pine boards
- Eight 2.5” x 8’ select pine boards
My pallet was about 40” tall. Depending on the height of your pallet, may affect the number of horizontal boards you need. I started with the three-inch header board and then used a small – big – big pattern. Small meaning the 1.5” boards, and big meaning the 2.5” boards. You can use any pattern you like.
Instructions
- Prepare the back-side of your pallet – Cut the backside pallet boards to the desired width. I used a six-foot-wide base for a king-size pallet bed.
- Prepare the front-side of your pallet – Use a hammer to gently pull pallet boards off of the front side. These boards will be replaced with the select pine boards.
- If necessary, sand any rough spots on the pallet boards.
- Prepare the pine boards – remove the price tags and staples from the end. Lay your pine boards out in the order of your pattern. I made sure to pick the best side of each board before installation. Tip: When you’re purchasing your boards, try to avoid bowed or marked boards.
- Use the brad nail gun to attach the header board. I used eight-foot-long pine boards, so there was one foot of board extending past the pallet on each side. Measure both sides and line up the top header board before placing a brad nail in the center of the vertical pallet board.
- Use one of the small pine boards as a spacer board in between each pine board. This creates a .75” space between the boards. It’s the perfect amount of space visually and it’s convenient to use one of your existing boards.
- With your pine boards lined up in your desired pattern – place your spacer board against the top header board and line up your next pine board. Place one brad nail in the center of the board – you can glance at the header board to line up your nails. Then remove the spacer board and use it between the next two boards. Tip: Pine boards aren’t an exact eight feet long – they may be a hair off – so I used a ruler to line up the boards on the side of the headboard that would be seen the most.
- Once all your boards are attached – you’re done… almost!
- You can use sandpaper to touch any rough edges on the pine boards, but this isn’t necessary.
- DO NOT pick up the headboard by the pine boards – brad nails are not strong enough to leverage the weight. You must always handle the pallet boards to pick up, move, and install this headboard design.
- Installation is up to you. You may not want it attached to the wall – just pressed between your bed frame and wall. Or you may have a different way to attach it, but I used French cleats to hang the headboard onto the wall. I used small pieces of 2 x 4’ boards and cut one side at a 45-degree angle (after Jeremy showed me how to angle the miter saw – that was scary and fun).
- Then simply reach into your headboard to lift it from the pallet boards and hang on the cleats. Install the cleats at the height you desire. I opted for a low profile look and left the headboard an inch from the ground.