Rooney's big girl bed headboard

Me and this bed go waaay back. It was mine from probably the time I moved to a big girl bed myself, until I went to college. When I was in high school, my parents offered to buy me a bigger bed, but I said no way. This is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on! I'm so excited now to pass it on to Rooney.

A few months ago, we pulled it out of storage in anticipation of moving Rooney to a big girl bed. She is still sleeping in her crib, but she has both options in her room now. I decided I did not want to leave the headboard natural and went back and forth for several weeks trying to decide what color to paint it. Should I get to choose? Should Rooney get to choose? It is her room after all, and I want her to be excited about it. But, it is such a large decor item and a very special part of MY childhood that I felt like I should get a say, too. And it can always be repainted, right?

Orange is definitely Rooney's favorite color, but her second favorite color is pink. For some reason I kept picturing it hot pink, so that's what we ended up going with. I found the paint at Michael's and showed it to Rooney before I bought it to see if she liked it. She did! We were all set then.

First we looked it over closely and made a few small repairs. We cut off stray pieces and then, using wood glue, glued a few loose pieces to secure them. Then we took it outside and washed the headboard with soap and water and sponges. Rooney really got into this!

Then Eric sanded it and spray-painted it. It took a few coats of pink and then a clear coat.

What do you think? I love it! Next up: bedding!