Making a Headboard With Paint (And Without Wood)

Supplies needed:


An inspiration photo. 

Common blackboard chalk and pencil sharpener big enough to accommodate the chalk.

Measuring tape, level and straightedge.

Thanks Ballard Design

Drop cloth, paper towels and/or rags.

Paint:

  • Primer or gesso (I used gesso because I had a ton of it).
  • Background paint (hopefully leftover wall paint)
  • Acrylic or latex paint in desired headboard color
  • Optional: Acrylic paints for tinting your headboard color if you want to do any shading. In this project I used five colors in total: a soft white for the headboard itself; a second, slightly darker color for creating depth on the “headboard”; a third, even darker for little cracks where the “wood” would be joined; fourth, a shade darker than the background color for the shadow on the wall; and last, a highlight color (I used white acrylic paint straight from the tube).

     Disposable containers for water and mixing colors. 

    • I love liquid laundry detergent measuring cups for mixing paint. Use plastic wrap and rubber bands to keep paint from drying out. And mixing sticks (chopsticks work great).

    Floor protection:

    • In addition to the drop cloth, I used an old plastic tray that had a deep lip to hold my paint pots, water and brushes since I was working on a carpeted floor, and, because Murphy’s Law. 

    Brushes

    • Artists will tell you to use the biggest brush you can get away with. It’s a good rule. Think about the size of your design and select accordingly. I used flat, bright, filbert and lining brushes. You may only need one or two. You can find descriptions on the internet to give you an idea of what’s out there.
    • A good brush is worth its weight in gold and will save time and your mental health. Don’t go breaking the bank but don’t use old ratty brushes. They’ll kill your soul.

    Time, take your time. 

    • Or fans to help dry the paint! I used both. This project took me two days to complete.

    Step by Step Instructions:

    Getting the design right.
    Plan your design

    • Clear the decks! Move furniture, make sure you have good lighting, place your drop cloth.
    • Determine the location, height and width of your headboard. Mark the wall with chalk. Use a level! Measure again and again to be sure you’ve got it right. You can always paint over it but do you really want to? No. Measure again. 
    • Using your reference photo, sketch out your design with the chalk. If you don’t like what you see, dampen cloth with water, wipe the wall and start again. 

    Start painting

    When you’re happy with your drawing apply primer or gesso to your headboard design. You might need two or three coats, depending on the color of your background. A number of thin coats is always better than gooping on fewer thick coats.
    • Using the right brush really
      helped create the curved bits
      Make good use of the brush’s shape. It will make your life much easier. 
    • Use a clean wet brush to touch up little mistakes as you go. Both primer and gesso dry quickly and are hard to remove. 
    • If necessary, touch up raggedy edges with wall color. 
    • Keep a damp cloth close by for bigger mess ups. 
    • Once the primer is completely dry, use a damp cloth to remove all chalk guidelines. If necessary let primer dry overnight. 

    Create optional outside shadows to create the illusion of depth

    • Look at the shadows cast on your walls and try best to match that color. Since my walls were a medium gray I simply mixed in a little black acrylic paint which did the trick. BUT, don’t assume you can just add black to any color. For example, adding black to yellow will result in a yucky green. Experiment until you find the right shade or you could always purchase a sample size of a darker shade of your wall color just to be safe instead.
    • HELPFUL HINT: Don’t go too dark on the shadow, you just want to suggest depth. Also, acrylic and latex paint always dries darker than it was wet. 
    • Paint shadows where you think they would logically fall (see image below). I used the assumption that the shadow would be cast by a lamp next to the door. Whatever you do, be sure you use the same imaginary light source when placing all your shadows. 
    • Close up of shading. It's ok to not be perfect!
    • Go back and touch up the primer where you got a little too enthusiastic with the shadowing. 

    Apply desired headboard paint color.

    • In my example I simply tinted the gesso (primer) with a little of the background color to make a very soft, light grayish/white headboard. Reapply until you have the desired effect. You may need many coats. 
    • Note: Since my background was gray I allowed a teensy bit to show through. It helped with the shading effect along the edges.

    Create optional depth on the headboard

    • Slightly darken your headboard color and apply to the part of the headboard that wouldn’t get direct light, usually adjacent to the shadow behind it. Once again, correct any little messes as you go along. It’s MUCH easier to wash them up than to paint over them. 
    • Be sure to mix more than enough paint and keep your mixed paint in separate containers! You never know when you’ll need to go back and correct something. Matching latex/acrylic paint after its dried is best left to the professionals and even they have a hard time with it. 
    • If your design has places where there might be joined wood or deeper crevices, mix a little bit of even darker color to define those places. Apply with a thin brush.
    • To put a cherry on top, mix a very light version of your headboard color (I used white for mine) and apply highlights on the places where they would logically appear on your headboard.

    The finish

    • If desired, seal your work with a semi-gloss, paint-on varnish. I’m a crazy person so I sealed the “wall shadows” with a flat varnish and the headboard areas with semi-gloss.
    • Be sure to let your painting cure overnight to avoid messing up your work of art! Then replace furniture and enjoy.
    Three coats of gesso, no shadow or shaping yet.

    Final result with shadows and highlights.

    And now, with bedding, it's complete!



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