While on my quest for furniture for my loft, I had taken a special interest on the new look of using old doors as pieces of furniture in your house. I came across a few tips online and fell in love with the idea of finding an old door to use a headboard. Here are a few sites:
I quickly learned that finding an old door was going to be an adventure. Not only are they hard to find, but when you actually do find them, they are EXPENSIVE! I obviously did not want to go to Home Depot and get a new door as it would not have the character that I was looking for. So I hit the road and started looking at consignment shops. I GOT LUCKY! The first store I went to, The Blue Building, had my headboard. As soon as I pulled up, I knew it was destined to be mine. Price was a reasonable $35. That was the best price I had seen yet, so I jumped on it and loaded it up. I recruited my handy brother, Zeke to help me with getting the look I wanted for the door. This is what the door looked like before the refinish.
The door already had a worn look, which is what I wanted, but there were obvious signs of multiple layers of paint. The paint was also chipping which is something I wouldn't want falling on my head every time I slumber. Zeke and I immediately started sanding it hoping to get the chipping paint off of the door...
We had a cheap hand sander and it ended up not working out so great. We eventually decided to go to Home Depot and purchased some paint thinner to start really stripping it down. TIPS AND TRICKS #3: When dealing with old doors, or any piece of furniture that is older, make sure you wear masks as you could potentially be exposed to lead paint. :\ (For Tips and Tricks #2 click here.) SO, after purchasing some paint thinner, masks, gloves, a paint scraper and polyurethane... back to work on the door.
Gloves are a MUST because paint thinner is something serious! I wanted to get down to the natural color with only a little of the paint still showing.
After one round of sanding and three rounds of thinner, I got what I was looking for! This door was once sea foam green, light blue, AND antique white. After washing the door with wet rags to get rid of any extra paint thinner, we added two coats of polyurethane. This gave it a little shine and protects it from chipping off anymore color.
As you'll notice in some of the links I posted, you can add wood trim and/or postings to spruce up a door as a headboard. They are all great ideas... I just wanted something a little more natural. The entire project was less than $75.00! How exciting is that?!?! I can't wait to get it in my new room and do a Room Reveal for you! Does anyone have any good tips on how I should hang this monster? *Remember, it is an old door and weighs A LOT, so I need to hang it as securely as possible.
My next post will be a DIY on refinishing my two "new" bedside tables. Yay!
LoveMyLoft,
Casey
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