Melanie Heinrich Artist
Melanie Heinrich, Artist
Furniture Designs

Head Boards

I designed both of these head boards for a Queen size mattresses. Both are in keeping with the rest of the rooms furniture. The on eon the left is Mission and craftsman in style. I used oak and panel construction. Instead of making the headboard 48 inches high and capping it off with a shelf I added an additional section of shelving and a box in the center of the shelf system. On each side of the shelf system the panels are covered with brindle cow hide. Dear antlers are at each end of the bottom shelf. The center box door I discuss below.

The headboard on the right was designed around two walking sticks that I bought in Botswana while on safari. The hand carved animals are the big five, the scene was a photograph of the delta in Botswana.

Details of Craftsmen style headboard are listed below. Additionally the top and bottom sections can be used as separate pieces.


Bottom section in the work shed.


Shelf system in the work shed.


Box with out the door installed on to top section.


Close up of the brindle cow hide panel.


Left side top section with cow hide and dear antler attached.


Close up of dear antler.

The door was a time consuming piece to make all on its own. Using a 10 inch by 2 inch piece of walnut I slice 4, 1/8 inch pieces of veneer. These pieces were book matched to create and interesting design that is landscape and mountainous in nature. On either side of the walnut veneers I added 1/8 veneers of Cheery that I sliced on a band saw the same way I created the walnut pieces. All of these slices where attached to a 1/2 inch piece of birch plywood.

The top and bottom pieces of the door are maple with a beautiful knot in them. Again veneers were made and attached to birch plywood. these two piece were then attached to a cedar section of plywood which I used as a backing.


Glue up sandwich of veneers.


Door before polyurethane finish and wax.


Door with polyurethane finish and wax


Door with polyurethane finish and wax and door handel knob.


Inside of box, cedar backing and cedar shelf.


Tigers eye stone used for the knob.

Top of Page

Copyright Melanie Heinrich. All rights reserved.