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You are here: Home / Repurposing and Upcycling / DIY Headboard from an Old Gym Floor

DIY Headboard from an Old Gym Floor

August 29, 2013 By Karen Cooper 14 Comments

My son loves sports. His room is all sports, all the time – which is what he asked for when I redid my son’s room here. So when I found wood from an old gym floor at my favorite salvage store, I knew that it would be perfect for his room. It’s now his headboard!

DIY headboard from old gym floor - thediybungalow.com

Just as a reminder, before he had a plain wood headboard:

Before, my son's room with plain headboard - thediybungalow.com

That headboard actually belonged to my father-in-law when he was a bachelor! That was many moons ago.

Now my son has a headboard that fits with the sports theme of his room and, as a bonus, is just plain funky cool.

To be honest, I didn’t start the day with the headboard project. Oh, no. I started with a project involving some solid wood drawers that my neighbors threw out.

DIY headboard project happened because it was too humid to paint doors - thediybungalow.com

The problem was that it was so humid that the spray paint I was using on these drawers was not adhering well. It was just too damp outside. So, I packed up the drawers and began work on the headboard.

Materials for DIY Headboard from an Old Gym Floor

Here are the materials you’ll need (these links are affiliate links; for my full disclosure policy, please click here):

  • wood from a gym floor – check local salvage stores;
  • pliers to remove nails from wood – this link is for my favorite;
  • tape measure;
  • pencil;
  • nail gun
  • miter saw if you are going to cut the boards (mine were already cut);
  • level.

I got the gym floor wood at the Lifecycle Building Center, a great salvage warehouse. They had these maple planks that were once a gym floor in a school near our area of Atlanta. I loved how the floor was finished and still in pretty good shape, and how the boards had stripes on them – yellow, blue, and green – my son’s favorite colors.

First, I removed or cut the nails from the wood planks.

First, use the pliers to remove the nails from the old gym floor - thediybungalow.com

(Ignore the spray paint and wood filler – that was from the drawer project!)

Next, I planned in what order I would put the planks on the wall, so that the headboard would be tall enough and wide enough. For all this planning, I ended up not really following it because I wanted a variety of the stripes and colors in each row of wood.

Before starting, I marked the positions of the studs on the window trim above where I was putting the headboard. That way, I could nail into the studs.

Before nailing the old gym floor up for your DIY headboard, make sure to mark where the studs are - thediybungalow.com

Yes, I nailed the boards directly to the wall. Why? Well, I knew the wood planks would be staggered (a look I wanted, to resemble the pattern of a gym floor), and I didn’t want it to be perfect by framing it on a piece of plywood.

To start the top of the headboard, I was lucky and just started underneath the trim of the window above my son’s bed. If you want to do a project like this, and you aren’t lucky enough to have a window, make sure that the first board is level when you nail it to the wall.

Make sure that your first board is level before you start nailing up your old gym floor - thediybungalow.com

Because the floor boards were tongue and groove, I could just hook them together before nailing them to the wall. That ensured the boards fit together snugly.

Nailing up the old gym floor to create a DIY headboard - thediybungalow.com

As I went, I made sure that I liked where the stripes on the wood were. I wanted a random pattern.

What happens when your daughter grabs the camera - thediybungalow.com

As an aside, never let your six-year-old near your camera, or you end up with something dreadful like this. Anyhoo…

Here’s all the wood nailed up on the wall:

Old gym floor nailed up on the wall for DIY headboard - thediybungalow.com

I removed his old headboard/footboard combo, put the bed (on a regular frame) back in place, and here’s the finished bed:

DIY headboard from old gym floor - thediybungalow.com

Finished DIY Headboard from Old Gym Floor - thediybungalow.com

Now Mr. I-Love-Sports has a sports-themed headboard, too – straight out of a local gym!

You could also repurpose gym flooring for a table top or as the back for a set of hooks. The wood has character, and usually color and a thick finish!

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Filed Under: DIY, Readers' Favorite Posts, Repurposing and Upcycling Tagged With: Bedrooms, kids' bedrooms 14 Comments

About Karen Cooper

Hi! I'm Karen. I call myself a “recovering lawyer” - I traded in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY adventures. Join me for DIY, home decorating, repurposing and upcycling, and organizing projects and tips as I transform a 1929 Tudor bungalow into our home. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.

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Comments

  1. Sharon says

    August 29, 2013 at 6:18 pm

    Karen, what an awesome idea! I’ve been around Pinterest and have sprung upon dozens of sites where headboards are made from recycled wood, etc but this is really unique! Way to go!
    We are in the midst of re-decorating my son’s room (11 yo) and I showed him this post and the first thing he said was, “Is that the floor Michael Jordan played on?” haha!! I said, “No, someone better…..you never heard of the guy.” 🙂 lol!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      August 29, 2013 at 8:29 pm

      Ha! That’s awesome! I TOTALLY should have told my son that Michael Jordan played on that court!! Since it came from our town, I doubt he’d believe me, but what a great story! Thank you so much for your kind words.

      Reply
  2. Cheryl B. says

    August 29, 2013 at 6:31 pm

    So fun. The headboard’s cute and so is your picture!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      August 29, 2013 at 8:30 pm

      Thank you, Cheryl! I am never leaving my camera in my daughter’s reach again!! 😉

      Reply
  3. Geralin @ Metropolitan Organizing says

    August 30, 2013 at 6:08 am

    I love the photo of you! Adorable room. Cool project! I’m still looking forward to what you are going to do with those drawers . . . this is becoming a suspense blog for me!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      August 30, 2013 at 7:34 am

      Thanks, Geralin! I know – I’m ready to finish the drawer project, too! It’s kind of fun to keep everyone in suspense, though!! Have a great weekend!

      Reply
  4. Kathryn@Blessed Life Atop a Cake Stand says

    August 30, 2013 at 10:38 am

    So fun! I love it!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      August 30, 2013 at 12:29 pm

      Thank you!!!

      Reply
  5. Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl says

    September 2, 2013 at 3:17 pm

    Very cool headboard solution Karen!!!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      September 2, 2013 at 8:42 pm

      Thanks, Brittany! It was fun picking out the boards, finding the stripes and character in the wood.

      Reply
  6. Lindsey says

    September 3, 2013 at 10:04 am

    What a fantastic idea! I love how you used recycled materials to make the headboard. I bet your son loves it! The stripes add such a fun detail as well.

    toddlindsey.com

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      September 4, 2013 at 12:32 pm

      Thanks, Lindsey! Yes, he loves it. He liked the idea that no one else had a headboard like his, and he wondered who had played on that court. How cool is that? Thank you again!

      Reply
  7. Larissa ~ Prodigal Pieces says

    July 22, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    That’s a sweet new project! I’m sure you guy loves it and most of because it was made by you. Great job!

    Reply
    • Karen Cooper says

      July 23, 2015 at 8:28 am

      Thank you, Larissa! He LOVED it, for sure!

      Reply

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Hi! I’m Karen. I call myself a “recovering lawyer,” because I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. This blog is all about DIY, home decorating, repurposing and upcycling, and organization. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.




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About Karen

A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home. Read More…

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