Serena and Lily Cane Headboard Dupe

I have been eyeing the Harbour Cane bed from Serena and Lily for a while. I love the natural feel found in the caning detail accented with the white frame. However, at almost $4000, I decided to go for something less expensive. There are several options with similar looks from various retailers. (Click on the photos to be taken to the retailers’ sites for further details.)

If you know me, you know that I love a good DIY. So, after a few weeks of thrifting, I found the perfect king sized headboard to modify for only $30 at our local Habitat Restore.

*Want to see the video of how I completed this project? Click here!*

The 70’s/80’s faux distressed look is not really what I was going for but I could see big things in this guy’s future!

The first step in prepping the headboard was to clean with TSP (Trisodium Phosphate). This helps remove the sheen and any grime that may have accumulated. After cleaning, I sanded with 120 grit sand paper. Once the entire piece was lightly sanded, I removed all the dust with tack cloth to ensure that nothing got stuck in the paint.

I wanted the end result to have some depth behind where the caning would go. Therefore, I decided to leave the center of each section dark rather than painting it. In order to achieve this, I masked the center of each section.

I primed with a coat of Zinsser Shellac based primer. This particular primer is shellac based and is quite effective in blocking tannins from bleeding through the paint. Because I was planning on painting the piece white, it was especially important to keep the original dark finish from bleeding through. Once the primer was dry and cured, I sanded with 220 grit sand paper to ensure the paint was smooth and adhered well.

Please disregard the chaos. When it’s 90+ degrees outside and constantly on the verge of a thunderstorm, you work where you can!

I wanted to paint the piece white but didn’t want anything too stark or too yellow. I decided to create my own color using General Finishes Snow White and Alabaster. This particular milk paint is said to be self-leveling and doesn’t require sanding between coats, however I gave a light sand to any area that seemed uneven. After 4 coats I had achieved the desired look and then sealed the piece with 2 coats of Minwax Polycrylic in a matte finish.

It was then time to apply the caning. The particular type of caning I used was Radio Weave Caning. It has a more rectangular pattern than the caning seen on the Harbour bed. I wanted a more casual Bahamian look rather than a more traditional look.

After looking at several different tutorials online, I decided I would soak the caning in order for it to be more taught, giving it the appearance that it was an original piece of the furniture rather than something added later.

I tried a few different ways of applying the caning. The first method was using a pneumatic stapler. Regardless of the PSI, the pressure was too great and split the caning rather than attaching it. The second method was hot glue. The hot glue gun I have is not a high temperature one so the glue dried too quickly for the caning to adhere properly. Ultimately I used wood glue to adhere each piece. This required 24 hrs for the glue to dry. I had to make a frame out of strips of staples to distribute the pressure when weighing it down to properly adhere it.

Is this the perfect method for pressure distribution? Or a slightly ghetto attempt at making this work? I’ll let you decide.

Once each section had caning, I attached cane banding to the perimeter of each section for a more finished look. Just like with the webbing, I soaked the banding prior to gluing it. This time I was able to use hot glue to adhere the banding and it actually worked well.

After the banding was attached, the headboard was finished! Just a quick dusting, the removal of a few stray hot glue strings, and attaching it to the bedframe and here she is in all of her dreamy island bed glory!

What do you think? Would you spend $4000 on a bed? Or would you rather put forth some time and energy into duping one you liked? Have you completed any caning projects? Let us know in the comments!

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