A set of garage sale headboards gets a totally new look--and purpose

Twin Headboards Makeover

 

When editors Larry Bilotti and Robin Long Mayer spotted these twin headboards at a garage sale en route to scouting a location, they snatched them up for $5 each. 

Paint or stain would remedy the worn finish, but it was the indented panel design that gave this find added value. Fitted with easy-to-make fabric panel insets, the headboards could achieve a dressy, custom look.

Rather than use the headboards as they were intended, the editors imagined them as end supports for a custom-made daybed--perfect for a guest room or den. Propped up against a garage door, the twin headboards were begging to be saved. Larry and Robin knew that a fresh coat of paint would make them well worth the $10 investment. But why stop there? The fun of any makeover is giving something a brand-new look--and new life!

  From the pages of the September 2008 Country Living Magazine. Here is how we did it:

 

Step One:

We used the Bayberry Distressing Kit on the whole bed but we applied the Bayberry Textured Basecoat in different ways. Around the bed frame we plopped on the Bayberry Textured Basecoat but on the outside panels we brushed the Bayberry Textured Basecoat in a vertical direction for a Strie effect.

  

 

Step Two: 

We sanded the bed to reveal our distressing story and cleaned it up to get ready for toning.

Step Three:

We toned the bed frame and wiped it back with a dry rag, but on the outside panels we did something a little different. We used Coffee Stain Wall Glaze, again in a Strie by applying the wall glaze and then dragging a dry 4" wide brush through the glaze.

  

 

Step Four:

After everything was dry we sealed it with Liberon Neutral wax.