Converting An Antique Bed Into A Bench
You know how you see all those antique and vintage headboards and footboards on marketplace and think “wow that’s really ugly”… well with a little product, patience and some basic woodworking skills, you can repurpose those babies into a beautiful and trendy bench. Luckily, there are numerous styles out there to choose from. They range from chunky and farmhousey (Is that even a word? I’m pretty sure it is in the day and time of Joanna Gaines.) to elegant and dainty to functional and industrial. Whether you’re diy’er wanting to make one of these for yourself or if you’re in the business of refinishing furniture to sell for a profit, this is definitely an upcycle you’ll want to try!
We started with an antique headboard and footboard that we picked up with a whole bedroom suit. Each piece was refinished and sold separately. Since most antique and vintage bedroom suits consist of a full size bed, short of using it for a child, they really aren’t useful for anything other than a bench for repurposing. Luckily, my hubby is very handy with woodworking. Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t however, he is self-taught and you can be too.
Using a circular saw, the footboard was cut in half to be used as the sides of the new bench. Since this bed came with the rails and slats, we were able to use them to build the new frame for the bench seat. These were attached by drilling pocket holes into the footboard and framing pieces. They were then screwed together and to the headboard.
Because this particular design had a curved footboard, it created an empty area between the edge of where the seat would be and the end of the new sides. Not sure how else to explain that so you’ll have to look at the photos. You know I couldn’t live with that so I used a piece of cardboard to lie in the open area and trace the shape so Vicente could cut a piece wood to fill this empty space.
He used a 1″ thick board (purchased in sheets from Home Depot) to trace the shape from the cardboard. Using a jig saw, he cut the wood to fit perfectly in it’s new home.
To support the new seat we were going to build, he had to add two additional legs to the bench. 2×6’s were cut in a taper for this and attached using 3″ screws.
The new bench was primed using Bin Zinsser Oil Based Primer.
The seat was built using 1×6 boards that were cut to fit vertically. They were stained using Varathane Wood Stain in Dark Walnut. (Once the piece was completely painted, these were secured to the frame using our Ryobi Airstrike Nailer.)
The bench was painted in Antique Villa and Gustavian Chalk Synthesis Paint By Wise Owl. Gustavian was used for the stripes and blended in an ombré effect. You can find a video on how I did this on our YouTube channel (link listed below).
The hand painted design on the headboard was designed by me and cut out in vinyl using my commercial vinyl cutter. If you have a vinyl cutter… it’s a great way to make your own designs in any size you want to make your pieces truly one of a kind. There are lots of stencils available for purchase on the market but lots of people buy those. If you design and cut your own… nobody else will have it. 
Be individually you!
** Be sure and check out our YouTube channel for videos on how we created this paint finish! Link to my channel below. ☺️
Thanks for reading and Happy Painting!
Xoxo Tyler
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