My husband and I took two plans, the Mantel Moulding Headboard, and the Chestwick Platform Bed. We made some slight modifications which are as follows.
For the Mantel Moulding Headboard I wanted it to be a tall. The original plans called for the headboard to be 61 1/2 inches. We made ours so that it sat at 74 inches. We also made the width of the headboard 60 inches so that it was a perfect fit for the base.
For the Chestwick Platform bed we used 2X12's. Since we decided to make the headboard taller, I felt that the 2X8s wouldn't have been aesthetically pleasing. We used heavy duty top corner plates to screw in the bun feet.
Mounting the headboard: Due to the size of this headboard, it is recommended that you attach to a stud in the wall behind headboard to prevent forward tipping. We used french fleat picture hanger with wall dog mounting screws (200 lbs), read instructions. We attached two vertical 1X2's to the back of the headboard for added support, since the headboard rests on the platform bed. After the headboard was properly secured to the wall, and resting on the platform bed, we then installed four mounting brackets. 2 heavy duty corner brackets, and 2 mounting brackets. The heavy duty corner brackets are long enough to screw into the mattress supports, the platform bed, and the headboard (see pics).
This was our second project, and we couldn't have done it without Ana's help.