In June of 2025, a couple came into my booth at a local art fair, and after looking at several of my pieces, asked if I would be willing to build one or more pieces for them using walnut lumber from “the family farm.” Because I had earlier designed and built other pieces in this format (that is, using exisiting “family” lumber), I said that I was interested. Over the ensuing several months, we designed a head board for a bed, plus two side tables, and a decorative art piece, which was to be placed above the head board on the wall.

After delivering about 200 board feet of walnut from the family farm to my studio, and allowing it to acclimate for more than two weeks, I chose these planks to begin the headboard project.

I rip cut the wider pieces into twelve narrower pieces, and then chose a more decorative piece for the top edge of the headboard.

When using pre-exisiting “family farm” lumber, the grade of the lumber will vary considerably. While two of the headboard planks seemed to be a good compliment for the project, they did, nevertheless, need a bit of repair before moving forward with the project.

Once the plank surfaces had been planed to consistent thickness, and each edge had been straight-line cut and planed smooth, I glued-up the entire headboard. Then – it was time to hand plane the entire surface and sand: #60, #80, #100, #150, #220,

This is a photo of the top piece for the headboard. I chose it because of its excellent character. It did require a bit of repair, using CR glue, and epoxy (dyed black).

This photo shows the back side of the headboard, with a frame for the wall-mounting design: a French cleat.

This image shows the “thumbnail” profile that I milled at the edges, and four coats of Osmo Polyx hard wax oil.

And finally, the headboard in its new home, along with a decorative art piece above it. (More on that in a separate North Light Art Furniture Journal post.)

Note also the “center of attention” at the top edge. It really is not at the “center” at all, but rather at the point of artistic balance: “The Golden Proportion” – 61.8%.