One Room Challenge Week 4 - DIY Plywood Headboard

I've had a thing for all things arched for a while now. I also have a plywood obsession - I think because I deem it as inexpensive and attainable and also minimal and fresh. So this summer when I happened to see this on Instagram, my wheels started spinning.

Source via Dreamers Welcome

So naturally I asked Andrew whether he'd be up to the challenge of designing and making a plywood arc headboard. Luckily he said yes (as he usually does).

Here are the steps we used to build our DIY Plywood Headboards:

First Andrew drew some plans up in auto-cad and then we headed to Rona to scope out the plywood options. We ended up purchasing two 4x8 sheets of maple plywood ($75 each) and had them cut into four 2 x 4 pieces at Rona.

Back at home Andrew traced out four perfect arcs using a simple set up of tape and a string. Check out the video of how he traced out the arc here. 

We needed two completed headboards and Andrew wanted them to look substantial and in no way DIY so he devised a plan to glue two sheets of plywood together for each completed plywood headboard.

Next Andrew rough cut the four arcs with a jigsaw. He included this step so that he could ensure that the wood glue he used to adhere them together would really hold when he did the final cuts and router work.

Next he used wood glue to stick the two sets of plywood layers together. He used a ton of clamps (and made sure to protect the plywood from clamp dents by adding layers of cardboard in between the plywood and the clamp. Note - if he were to do this again he would use small wood blocks to better protect the wood).

Here is a reminder of what our Ikea headboards looked like. They were metal and attached to a metal base. Andrew sawed off the part of the headboard that screwed into the base so that the base would still function without the headboard.

After the compound stuck the two pieces of plywood together, Andrew used a router saw to make the final cut. The next step was to use a router to ever so slightly soften the hard edge of the plywood.

Andrew purchased a 7/8" dowel and made sure it would be nice and tight to hold the headboard onto the existing Ikea bed frame.

Next he measured out where the dowels needed to go into the headboard to fit into the frame and used a drill to carve out a 5/8 inch deep hole to insert the dowel into.

He used a 2.5 inch dowel screw to attach the dowel to the headboard.

We are thrilled with how these DIY plywood headboards don't look at all like a DIY. The arc shape adds a playful touch to our twin daughters shared bedroom.

The Finished Plywood Arc Headboards

Go ahead and Pin this so that you can make your own!

So here is what happened this week in the one room challenge:

1. We finished making our DIY Plywood headboards
2. We mounted our Ikea nightstand
3. We ordered prints for Parabo Press (Which I am super excited for)
4. We bought two new houseplants for the space (see my full plant haul on this Instagram Post)

Okay so the room could pass for done right now but still isn't there.

Next up for our one room challenge shared girls bedroom:

• Add a table lamp (It arrives today so check my Instagram Stories for the preview)
• Build two custom plywood arc shelves,
• Hang art and style with accessories.

I can't wait to get this bedroom all styled up! Make sure you hop onto The One Room Challenge site and follow along to see all of the projects shared by the featured designers and guest participants! Next week check back here for some exciting bedroom updates!

P.S. In case you missed it, see Week 1 , Week 2 and Week 3 of my One Room Challenge posts.