Furniture Plans: Ana White Inspired Fancy Farmhouse King Size Headboard and Bed Frame

 Introduction

Our plans were inspired by Ana White’s Fancy Farmhouse Headboard found here:

http://ana-white.com/2013/04/plans/king-size-fancy-farmhouse-bed

Remember how we built a beautiful upholstered headboard and bed frame for our master bedroom a couple of weeks ago? Well, to make a long story short... someone we know wanted us to make them an upholstered headboard and bed frame. We agreed. I went with them and we purchased all the goods to build their headboard. They ended up picking out the exact same material as ours and they wanted the same shape of headboard as well. At the very last minute, I decided that it would be fun to make a different headboard for our room. I loved the upholstered headboard. I didn't love how it looked with my bedding. It all seemed a little too busy and a little too tufted. That probably doesn't make sense to anyone else, but I convinced TJ to play along with me and make a different bed for our room and then we could sell the upholstered headboard we made for our bed to the people who wanted one. I went and returned all the material that I bought to make the other headboard and then I went and bought all the lumber for our new headboard.

TJ ended up taking the day off a Tuesday (thanks to commuting half way to Salt Lake, realizing he didn't have his laptop, calling me to check if it was at home, my phone not working, coming all the way home to get his lap top, realizing it was in his car the whole time, then it turned into taking a personal day and not going in at all), so it ended up being the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time building in the basement.

Estimated Cost

$216.76

See detailed material list below.

Dimensions

Headboard = 81 inches wide by 61 inches tall

Bed Frame Dimensions = 86 inches deep by 79 inches wide by 15 inches tall.

Tools

• Table Saw or Circular Saw
• Miter Saw
• Kreg Jig
• Drill and Driver with drill Bits
• Nail Compressor
• 16 gauge and 18 gauge Nail Guns

Lumber and Materials List

See the detailed materials list below

Cut List

See the cutlist diagram shown below.

Instructions

Step 1

We cut the rails and stiles for the center panel. We used a Kreg Jig to fasten the rails and stiles together. We then filled in the back of it with the 1x6 pine pieces cut to fit. We cut the 1x6 pine pieces at 21 1/4-inch and then ripped the last piece to fit.

We nailed the 1x6 pine panels to the rails and stiles with a brad nailer and some 1 1/4" brad nails.

Step 2

We measured the inside dimensions of the center panel and then cut our "chair rail" molding to fit (at 45 degree miters). The clear dimension from one side to the other is what the long edge of the miter to the long edge of the miter should be.

We nailed it in with the brad nailer and 1-inch or 1 1/4-inch brad nails. The then filled in the nail holes with wood filler and filled in the miter joints with wood filler. We sanded the miter joints with sand paper after the wood filler dried. 

Step 3

We fastened the 2x6 bottom rail to the center panel with 2 1/2-inch Kreg screws . This was done about every 8 to 10 inches. Kristen sanded the joint to make sure it was seamless (or semi seamless). 

Step 4

I drilled pocket holes on the side so we could connect it to the 4x4 vertical posts. I laid it all face down on the floor to ensure the face was flush and then drilled in the 2 1/2-inch kreg jig screws. 

We sanded the seams throughout the process.

Step 5

I built the top piece by mitering the 2x6 and wrapping it around the 3 1/2 inches to go all the way back on the 4x4 posts. I put wood glue in the joint, nailed it with my 16 gauge nail gun (2 to 2 1/2-inch nails) and then clamped it with my crown clamps. We also drilled some pocket holes in the 2x6 so we could connect it to the main headboard piece. 

Step 6

After the glue had dried, we clamped the top piece place and drilled the 2 1/2-inch Kreg screws down into the headboard. We had to hold and push the pieces while we drilled to get them to line up. The top seam was not as tight as the bottom seam, but that's okay because the top seam is cover with a trim piece. 

Step 7

We cut the top piece to length and width. Then we held the top piece in place and nailed it down with the 16 gauge nail gun (2 to 2 1/2-inch nails). 

Step 8

We measured the top width for the crown molding-looking piece (this is just a chair rail, so it just requires a miter cut on the chop saw). The length was the inside lengths of the miter cuts, so the piece is actually poking out on the ends. We cut one miter cut on each side piece (3 1/2 inches from square end to the inside short end of the miter cut). It's easiest to hold up the piece on the headboard before you cut it and draw the direction of the cut. Then just set the saw to 45 degrees and figure out how you need to hold the wood to get it to match the line you drew. 

Step 9

Then we measured and cut the middle trim piece. We couldn't find the middle trim piece we were looking for at Lowe's or Home Depot. All the pieces we found were either not the shape I was looking for or not stain grade material. We ended up going to a cabinet shop and asking if they had what we wanted. They did and an 8-foot piece was only a couple of dollars. 

Front of Fancy Farmhouse King Size Headboard

Back of Fancy Farmhouse King Size Headboard

Step 10

After the headboard was sanded and wiped down, we started staining it. We used the same stain as we did on our upholstered headboard, we used a quart of ANT Wal Polyshade bombay mahogany. We put two coats on it. 

We already had the bed frame done from our other bed, but we built another bed frame for the upholstered bed we sold. Below are the step for the bed frame:

Step 11
After the headboard was completely finished, we got to work on the bed frame. We cut two 2x10 side rails at 79 inches and the footboard rail at 72 inches. We cut two 4x4 pieces at 15 inches tall. We also cut two 4x4 posts at 5 ¾ inches. We then marked the 15 inch 4x4 posts to cut a bevel. I set the Table Saw at a 45 degree angle and ran the 4x4 most of the way through and then turned off the saw. I finished the 45 degree angle with the band saw and a 45 degree home-made jig. 

Step 12
We sanded and then we stained and sealed those pieces. It takes awhile to finish this step, since we had to wait 6 hours between each coat. Finally, we finished all the staining and sealing. TJ used the Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes on both sides of the rails. 

Step 13
We cut out 2x4s for the inside box spring supports. For the side and bottom cleats, I ripped a 2x4 in half on the Table Saw . I cut them at the same length as the rails. 

Step 14

I assembled the headboard and bed frame by screwing 2 ½ inch screws into all the pre-drilled pocket holes.

Step 15

I field measured the center 2x4 supports and cut them to fit. I used pocket screws to fasten them to the bottom and side cleats and support them with the 5 ¾ inch 4x4 posts. 

Step 16
Finished! We also decided to buy some feet for the front two posts. Don't you love how it turned out. Thanks Ana White for the inspiration!