Old Door to Nearly New Headboard

Inspired by the many images on Pinterest and the web for re-purposed doors, I started a transformation of my own this weekend in our master bedroom.  We have a shed full of wood, windows, and doors that we managed to salvage from a late 1800s house earlier this Spring.  Mixed in the pile was a gorgeous chippy blue beauty that was rescued with love during the plunder.  As soon as I saw the it that day, I knew if I got nothing else, I had to have THAT door.  It was one of those gently worn items that beckoned to me despite its battered appearance.  I loved the color and the character and knew I wanted to use it in my home.

  I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with it until this weekend.  I kept thinking that I needed to turn the door sideways to create a traditional headboard, but I didn't want the door to lose its charm by hiding it behind tons of pillows.  After seeing a picture of doors that were turned upright behind a bed, I fell in love!!!

I grabbed the sander and got to work.

I tried sanding the door down to its natural wood finish (like in the inspiration pictures) and it lost all of its appeal to me.  The doors in the inspiration pictures had elaborate moldings...this one, not so much.

Previously home-made headboard getting the boot.

So, I flipped it over and tried again.  I gave it a quick once over with the sander 

to remove the loose paint and grime and brought it inside.  

I hung a piece of ironwork on the door and centered it up between the windows.

I left the old hardware attached and just wiped the metal down to remove the dust.

Disclaimer (in case my mom is reading this):  The bed really was made.  I moved the pillows to shove the door in place:)

All of the pictures I saw had two doors placed side by side to run the width of the bed, in fact, that was what made the pictures so attractive, but my room is full of windows and two doors would be one too many.  I was so disappointed when I realized the single door looked too skinny for the wall!  It definitely needed something else to help fill the space out.

I decided on brushed nickel wall sconces.  They plug directly into the wall so, no special wiring was required...yay!  

While there is still more to do (isn't there always???), I am liking it so far.