If you have tools and a flair for making magic with wood, nails and paint, you can turn a youngster's bedroom from boring to extravagant. Here you will find basic directions for a barn-door headboard plus stable-shaped storage units to hold everything from books to toys to clothing.
Let your child help with the work and the finished room will be fun, unique and a parent/child labor of love--just the kind of place your children will want to show off to their friends.
Instructions
1. Construct a headboard to set the room's theme. Measure the width of your child's mattress and plan to make the headboard a few inches wider and about the same height as the width for balance. Begin by trimming plywood to the dimensions of the headboard.
2. Nail and glue horizontal 2-by-4 inch lumber planks to the headboard, leaving enough room on either side for vertical planks. Nail additional planks atop the planks to create a giant "X" so it resembles a barn door. Take the headboard design a step further by nailing and gluing heavy roping in a random pattern that resembles Wild West lariats. Use giant foam letters to spell out "[Your child's name]'s Ranch" across the top of the headboard.
3. Attach the headboard to the frame of the bed by feeding carriage bolts through the headboard and frame of the bed. Tighten securely and situate the bed against the wall.
4. Make a storage stable by cutting a house-shaped backboard of 1/4-inch plywood to these specifications: 24 inches (horizontal measurement for the base) by 25.5 inches (vertical height at both sides marking the walls) and 37.5 inches tall at the center of the roof peak.
5. From two 1-inch by 10-foot boards, cut three shelves (22.5 inches each), two side walls (26 inches each) and two roof sections (21 inches and 20 1/4 inches each--the difference allows for overlap). Frame up the outline of the stable with nails and glue. Attach the interior shelves by driving nails through the sidewalls to hold the shelves in place.
6. Assemble the roof by overlapping the long section over the short one (makes an "L" shape), then attach the roof to the skeleton of the shelving unit with glue and nails.
7. Place the shelving unit on the floor and line up with the plywood backing. Attach the shelving to the plywood with nails. Paint the shelving stables a suitable color like farm brown. For authenticity, cut and nail down some real shingles. If room permits, make several and line them up to create a wall of storage to hold toys, clothing, games and more.
8. Find or draw an outline/pattern of a horse's head. Transfer the outline to 1-by-1 foot wood squares and cut the head(s) out with a jigsaw. Paint an eye on each side of the horse's head. Nail a string mop to the crown of the head to make the mane. Attach the head to one end of a sawhorse. Nail another string mop head to the back of the sawhorse to create a tail. Paint the horses to give them character. You may wish to add a bridle made of extra roping to the horse.
Tags: 2-by-4 inch, each side, , horse head, inches each, shelving unit