Recycled chic: headboard from an old door

A shabby door - cut down to size - can be hung sideways to create an inexpensive but stylish headboard. Finish it by adding a moulded edge along the top with a length of dado rail and transform with cheerful shades. Re-covered with a co-ordinating fabric, a kitchen chair doubles as a useful bedside table.

For the headboard

Cut a door (with equal-sized panels) to the size of your bed. We removed two smaller panels from the door, so it measured just a little wider than a double bed. If the surface is already painted, sanding it will give a key to which the paint can adhere. Wipe down with a soft cloth or kitchen roll moistened with white spirit to remove residual dust from the woodwork. Attach a length of dado rail to the top of the door using wood glue and panel pins, and mitre in two small sections at both ends. Paint with two coats of eggshell and highlight the panelled sections with toning colours. Secure to the wall with mirror plates and place a baton below, screwed to the wall, to support the weight of the bedhead.

Old door, £10, The Stoke Newington Second-Hand Shop; painted in Wimborne White and Hound Yellow oil eggshell, £13.50/0.75 litres: Melrose wallpaper, £52/roll: all Farrow & Ball. Sultan Florvag mattress, £59; Sultan Alsarp mattress base, £105; Alvine Band yellow striped pillowcases, £17; Alvine Brodyr white pillowcase and double duvet cover, £36 (both sets of 2 pillowcases with duvet cover): all Ikea. Vintage eiderdown, similar from Decorative Country Living. Vintage chair, £10 for set of four, Past Caring; painted in Wimborne White oil eggshell, £13.50/0.75 litres, Farrow & Ball; covered in Stripe & Dash linen union in Hay/Clay, £38/m, Vanessa Arbuthnott. Indian coloured notebooks with hand-painted covers, £1.95 each; light blue Forma side plate, £6: both Few & Far. Books and watch, charity shop finds. Glass, £16 (carafe and four glass set), The Conran Shop.

Styling and words: Caroline Reeves, assisted by Celia Stuart-Menteth. Photos: Simon Bevan  

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