For a girl that doesn’t know much about woodworking, I sure do have a lot of confidence in my abilities 😂

I’ve been looking for a headboard for the past few months and haven’t found anything great (with a great price). So I set out to build what I had imagined and IT WORKED. And it HAS LIGHTS. Best part? Cost me a whole $100.

I have a queen bed that is about 5 feet across. Before starting I measured the width of my bed and the height on the wall of where I wanted my headboard to reach (high enough so I wasn’t hitting my head on the added lights). Ironically, my numbers left me with a 5x5 frame. Keep this in mind when I am referencing my cuts. You’ll want to make yours to the dimensions of your bed!

Supplies

**When choosing boards, find ones that are unmarked and straight. If you buy cupped, crooked, or bowed boards it will make this project difficult.

3 – 1x2-8' pine boards (Furring Strip Boards are cheapest option as these won’t be seen)

1 – 1x6-6’ pine board (Top board that will hold the lights)

4 – 1x3-6’ pine boards

4 – 1x2-10’ pine boards

1.25” Brad Nails

Wood Screws

Brad Nailer

Miter Saw (any type of saw would work)

Drill

Step 1: Let's Get Started!!

Once you have all of the materials, make all cuts that are needed. Be aware that the 10’ boards are likely a few cm’s longer than 10’ so you’ll want to measure and cut off the excess.

Cuts:

3 – 1x2-8’ pine boards

Cut each of these to 5’

1 – 1x6-6’ pine board

Cut to 5’

4 – 1x3-6’ pine boards

Cut to 5’

4 – 1x2-10’ pine boards

Cut to 5’ so you will have two 5’ pieces from one board

Step 2: Lay Out the 3 1x2 Furring Strips

Now that you have all of your materials cut, use a large table to lay out the form. You’ll want to start this process by laying the 3 1x2 furring strips out like pictured.

Step 3: Add Top Board

Take your 1x6-5’ top board and lay it across the furring strips. Mark the TOP of the 1x6-5 at 10 inches, 30 inches, and 50 inches in order to help lay out the furring strips evenly (you won't see the marks if you mark it on top). To get the furring strips straight, the best thing I found was to level the tops of the furring strips with the top of the 1x6-5 as shown.

Once level, add two brad nails in locations shown (above each furring strip). This will be the only board that has two nails (technically 6), but for safety, make sure to have them both.

Step 4: Continue Adding Boards

Now that your vertical boards are straight, the process should flow well.

Use a scrap piece of wood from one of the cuts of the 1x3-6' boards, on its side, to space the next board out. This will create a .75" gap in between each horizontal board.

The pattern I followed for placement I had found online and it was:

small-small-big-small-big-small-small-big-small-big-small-small

But you could do them in whichever order you please.

One brad nail will go in each board, above each furring strip. So, each board will have three nails total.

Step 5: Done!

Once all of your boards are added, the headboard is complete! If there are marks on or writing on it, you can do a gently sand with an orbital sander or sanding paper, whichever you have available.

I attached my headboard to the back of my wooden bed frame using 2" wood screws.

If you don't move your room around a lot (like I do) you could also find the studs on the wall and screw the furring strips into the wall directly and push your bed up against it. If you happen to want to do it this way, message me before you start and I will give you more detail on how you would do this!

If you want to add the lights, go to the next step...

Step 6: Adding the Lights

First, watch this video. It will tell you how I put them together without doing ANY electrical work.

Secondly, to put it onto the headboard, measure the distance between the edge of the furring strip and the edge of the top board and divide in two to find center. You'll also want to find center going vertically, which will be around 2.5 inches and mark where those two points intersect.

I used 3/4 inch wood screws to screw the metal plate into the headboard like above.

Put the light over that and add the screw covers.

Step 7: Your Headboard Is Lighted!

Done! Nice job. You now have lights on your headboard and it couldn't have been easier. The puck lights linked have a remote, dimmer, and timer... spend the extra few dollars ;)