Pallet Headboard

This headboard for my storage bed was made from a pallet and some stud scraps that I scavenged from a trash pile on a construction site. The wood was perfectly fine, but had a number of nails that had been badly driven. It took more time to prise them out than it did to build the thing. Deconstructing the pallets took hours. Some of those nails are really stubborn. For the worst ones, I just cut them off flush with the support beams using my Dremel tool.

I didn't use a pattern for the headboard, but probably should have. I let the lengths of available wood dictate the dimensions. I knew how wide my bed was, and estimated how high it would need to be when I got a mattress. The height of my studs worked out pretty well for the uprights. The horizontal parts of the frame are the supports from my pallet. I just laid the whole thing out on the ground and made my cuts. The bottom of the headboard is hidden behind the bed, so I didn't bother tidying up the lengths of the pallet boards- I just used them as they were.

When I laid it all out, it seemed like a good idea, but the assembly fell apart when I stood it up. F@ck.

So, I had to reconfigure the construction of the whole thing. I eventually settled on making a frame using pocket holes, then attaching the pallet boards to the back using wood glue and finish nails. My pocket holes were constructed using one of the little $20 Kreg mini pocket jigs. The top shelf was attached to the frame with wood glue and some decking screws. I filled all the holes with wood filler before sanding and painting.

Like the mattress before it, there was some swearing as I hauled it up the stairs by myself. My kuckles were a little bloodied, but the walls remained intact. As for attaching it to the bed, I considered putting it on brackets attached to the back of the bed to make it higher. In the end, I decided not to mess with it, and just wedged the sucker in behind the bed and rammed the bed against the wall. It's sturdy and doesn't budge, no matter what happens. Win!

Since I scored the lamps (that miraculously match my throw and shams) at Goodwill for $8 apiece, I'm all good in the lighting department. However, the shelf on the headboard would make a nice place to mount some reading lamps.

Probably the prettiest pallet I've ever seen.

Awaiting paint.

One coat of paint to go.