The Headboard

Ah my headboard…one of the hardest designs a budding interior decorator can make,woo, fabric, metal, the options are endless., I was at a loss until my hubs came to the rescue by turning me onto inhabit gorgeous no? And my man actually found it not me! Weird… but I was hooked! I was  immediately drawn towards Chryselis although they are all fabulous

Then, when I was unsure if if would make a usable headboard, I saw this fabulous interior by green your decor. Yes! I was committed! Let the process begin…Oh wait, $86 for a box of t10 and I need 16, soo 172 + plywood-$16 + paint-$20ish + tax, we’re talking upwards of $225, a little pricey for the Randall household.  Have I mentioned how cheap, ehem, I mean awesome at finding deals, we are? It’s not so much the cost as it is that I can rarely force myself to buy things at full price no matter how awesome they are, fast forward a year, ( I know! I’m so stubborn) when, drumroll…

they went on sale! Yes! Called “2nd quality” they were priced individually at $4.50 a tile, so not only are they less $ but I can buy exactly 16, Score! I was worried about the term “lesser quality” but the site said they install great so fingers crossed here goes! Result: $72 well spent and the process began…

First we cut 2 plywood sheets to the right size, (6′ x 6′) and bound them together with metal brackets. I realize they are called wall flats and are meant to be installed on the wall but we wanted a more portable headboard, but hey, what if we move?  I want to take this goodness with me!

then I used a foam brush to primer the front and backs of all tiles individually, Inhabit recommended primering the back so that the tiles wouldn’t warp while drying. For the rest of the process…

then I layed them all out, it turned out “2nd quality” tiles only meant they were cut slightly off the so the border on would would be 1/8 instead of 1/4 or so, thus they all needed to be layed out in advance so the thicker borders were next to the thinner, thus all averaging out!

Next I used Tile mastic to adhere the tiles, luckily had just enough from tiling the kitchen backsplash (note, very important to wipe off any excess, super easy to clean when wet, super not when dry)

then I went through and filled in all the cracks with putty (sorry no picture, putty is messy) primered over the whole thing again, and painted with Ace-bright white, semi-gloss paint, twice, so the steps are

1.primer front and back

2. install on surface with tile mastic

3. fill in cracks/gaps with putty-for the seamless look

4.primer again

5. paint  2x( I had to paint 2 coats  even though it was primered so it would have an even sheen)

and then get two boys to hang it up

If you are like me and have some free time while some guys do heavy lifting then you can do also like me and torture your dog by putting your sweaty bandanna on in an adorable fashion. And yes our walls are lime green, hence the decision to paint the tiles white

Don’t worry, this was only a small distraction, then I went right back to work!

I think lilu approves! whew, not bad for a weeks worth of work! I really like the dramatic flair it gives the room, now I need to get some new pillows and really spice things up!