If you just happen to be short of salvaged fireplace mantels, fake one to create an impressive headboard for a very modest investment. A weekend of measuring, sawing, painting and sanding will save you hundreds of dollars and produce a custom, ornate-as-you-like, glossy headboard that resembles a fireplace surround without the bulk and the inaccurate retro-fitting. All it requires is a fundamental frame and a great deal of layered molding to deceive the eye and end off the bed how you need it.

Assemble the timber you need for the framework and plywood center panel. To get a queen-size bed, the fundamental frame requires two 2-by-6 planks cut to 59 1/4 inches and two more at 34 inches per. Screw the panels as crossbeams into the more boards to produce the frame — the top crossbeam 8 inches down from the top and the underside crossbeam around 19 1/2 inches upward from the bottom. The flat, 6-inch sides of every board will be facing upward when the frame is laid on the Landscaping design San Diego.

Start layering to fake the mantel. Use finishing nails and wood glue to attach an 8 1/2-inch bit of 2-by-2 to every outer edge of the top of the frame. Continue by nailing and gluing a 68-inch 2-by-2 into the front of the frame. Make it exactly flush with the top. Insert a 68-inch 2-by-6 board below that, flush with the bottom of the 8 1/2-inch side piece. The boards are building from the mantel shelf.

Insert a 3-inch end cap, cut from a two-by-four, to the leading outer ends of the framework. Attach a 71-inch two-by-four board flat on the end caps — the 4-inch facet of the board is facing upward when the frame is on the Landscaping design Miami. The top of the mantel is currently three levels deep. Nail and glue a 73-inch 1-by-6 header into the peak of the built-out frame so the 6-inch side of the board forms the mantel shelf when the frame is stood up against the wall. The shelf will extend just slightly past the rest of the frame on each side and the front, and will be flush with the back.

Attach a 1/4-inch plywood panel into the back of the frame to fill in the gap. Use wood screws and glue to secure the panel. A simple synthetic mantel center panel will be plain painted hardwood, but you may use an upholstered panel. Only add an upholstered panel after painting and sealing the rest of the frame.

Decorate every border of the greatest mantel section of the framework using molding — dentil, scalloped, picture frame, stepped, crown along with other moldings let you be as creative as you like when personalizing the mantel layout. Catch each finishing nail with wood filler as soon as you’ve added all the molding.

Paint the synthetic mantel, beginning with a coat of primer and then adding two coats of paint to get a smooth, opaque finish. Protect the finish with clean matte or glossy lacquer. When it dries, attach the mantel headboard to the wall at the wall studs, and then push the bed frame up against it.