How to Make a Country Garden, Picket Fence Headboard

If you want to bring a bit of garden and country charm into a bedroom, consider creating your own country garden picket fence headboard. It is a very simple and inexpensive project. You don't need to be a master handyman to make this headboard.

This particular bed is for a twin sized mattress. With simple measurements, the same look can be achieved with larger beds.

The country and garden picket fence headboard can add a dramatic and unique touch to a bedroom.

Supplies needed:

Picket fencing purchased from a hardware store or lumber yard (For a twin bed I used a precut piece that was 41 7/8" wide. It had two squared side posts on the outside that are 48"tall, with 5 center slats, which are 42" tall. See Photo.)

Paint

Brush

Measuring Tape

Sandpaper

Decorating items like dried or silk flowers. (Garlands really work well.)

Instructions and Ideas:

Measure the width of the bed. You want enough to go the width of the bed plus a few extra inches on each side. If the piece is not wide enough for the bed, it will look odd and undersized. Don't make it too large so it looks unwieldy. You are making a decorating statement with the country garden pocket fence headboard, so make it dramatic. The bed is often the first thing people notice when they come in the room.

There are different styles of fencing available to choose from. Some stores have pieces already pre-painted or prepped for painting. Most lumber yards and large hardware stores will cut larger pieces if they don't have the exact size you need in stock, Make sure you look around at what styles they have. Some precut gate pieces are wide enough for the headboard. You also want to choose one that is tall enough to clear the mattress and give a nice height behind the bed.

If the wood is really rough, give it a sanding to get rid of pieces that may fall off or poke someone. This will also help the paint adhere better. Make sure you brush off the sawdust from the wood surface before you paint.

If you are doing the painting yourself, do one coat of paint and let it dry thoroughly. Then do one or two more coats of paint, allowing each coat to dry completely. Remember pillows, bedding and heads will be rubbing against the wood surface. You want a fairly smooth and non-abrasive surface.

Pick something sturdy, especially if it is for a child's room. If the piece is heavy enough, you don't even have to bolt it to the bed or the wall. It will stay in place easily with the bed pushed up against it. The nice part about that is, it can easily be removed for different décor or painted another colour if you change the room.

After the headboard is painted, pull the bed out and put it in place. Then push the bed up against the country garden picket fence headboard.

Choose dried or silk flowers that will fit with the theme of the room. Garlands of flowers, ivy and so forth work very well for the country garden headboard. There are many types of flower and plant garlands available at craft stores. They are very simple to use. You simply weave them around the posts of the picket fence headboard, to look like flowers are growing on the fence. They stay in place easily.