Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Repurposing a Headboard into a Bench?

I am so hungry to do something creative.  This is dangerous territory for me.  I become inspired and move forward at warp speed.  No concern have I for details.  I want results.  No time to research or make a plan--I dive right in.

Then the project bombs.

I throw a pity party after I re-read DIY blogs and lament "Why?" "Why, oh why can't I DIY, dammit!"

So I'll throw my inspiration out there for you my friends. Come along for the ride in fantasy Linda-Land.

I stumbled upon this bench on J.Waddell Interiors blog.
Joan Waddell- J.Waddell Interiors
This is in the dining room she designed for the Bellarmine Show house.

Here is another angle of the bench in the foyer before the room is loaded.

I'm not in love with the white upholstered seat. It's a great concept for design.  For staging, it would be better to have a wooden seat and add pillows.

OK folks, this is all I've got.  This headboard is what started my old, rusty wheels turning,"Ohhhhh, I could make that headboard into a bench!"  I took this picture for Craigslist many moons ago and then didn't post it.  (ADD? Correct-o.)


(Disregard the funny feet on the posts.  This headboard was used in a staged house and it needed a lift. Of course, the funny feet were hidden).

I am open for suggestions:

"bail", "you are cra-cra", "take it to a professional", "easy-peasy", "go to Home Depot and buy furniture legs and get a board cut for the seat", "get an old interesting piece of furniture and break it down for parts", "you DO have special saws, a workbench, tools, and a professional paint gun, right?"

Thanks for your input!

 









10 comments:

  1. it will be so darn cute when you get it done and totally worth it! I have a few of these projects in my garage waiting on someone else's creativity!!!

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  2. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to make it work- usually my husband is the one who figures out how to make my ideas actually able to happen. But I think your idea is brilliant and I'm SURE there's a way to make it happen! Maybe if you buy a plain wooden bench as your seat, then cut the top off the headboard so it's just the part that's suppose to be visible and not the "base" part (the legs and that extra board) and then attach it to the bench? Maybe by leaving the little posts that make the space between the part of the headboard that's visible and that extra board that would be hidden by the mattress, set them on the seat of the bench and then screw them on from the underside of the bench. That's all I've got. I have no idea if that would actually work. Or if my rambling explanation even made sense. But anyways I love your idea!! :)

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  3. Brooke has a great idea. To make it simple I would just add the fancy part of the headboard to the back of the bench. Leaving the bench as is. Would that work?

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    1. My headboard is not straight. It 'leans' back--which I thought would make the bench comfortable. BUT, it might make the construction tricky. Please send MC to help me!

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  4. Love it but... Do you have a foot board you can use for front legs? If not, how are you going to stain new ones to match? It will be a carpentry project. You will have to build a platform for the seat and then pad and upholster. You know I would love to help you with it, but can't right now. I can if you hold it until later.

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    1. I don't have a foot board to use for the front leg. (Habitat? Craigslist. I was not planning on padding and upholstering the seat.
      I'll take you up on your help later. Maybe I could paint it black--or is that the cart before the house? Thanks for any help you can lend when the time is right.

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  5. Darn, when I saw the top part of the posting I thought there was a tutorial. Because that's exactly I want to do with some "found" headboards. Just got to figure it out. I know that there are tutorials on the web, so maybe that's your solution. I definitely think it involves a footboard though!

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    1. I laughed when thought I would do a tutorial! I can't even manage to get pictures of my stagings. No footboard--so it may be an abandoned project. Although, my neighbor Connie (above) is a wizard at all things DIY and she may be able to figure it out.

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  6. OK, I'd bang the bottom of the solid part away from the legs so you could swivel the board up to make the seat. I'm guessing they are just connected with dowels. Add legs to the front corners. Spray paint the whole thing. Put a pretty patterned cushion on it, and there you go. Of course, I'm sure that sounds a lot easier than it would turn out to be, but it looks as if the main components of a bench are already there. And the wicker part tilting back is just an added bonus.

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    1. Slam, bam, thank you Mame! If I can figure out how to get the board repositioned to use as a seat without destroying will be a miracle. Thanks for the advice, dear!

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