Upholstered Headboard

Monday, April 19, 2010

First, I wanted to let you know that you are formally invited to participate in a linky party I’ll be hosting this Thursday, April 22nd where we each share the story of how we met our house. You don’t have to own your house, you can live in an apartment, and you don’t even have to like your house. I thought it would be kind of fun and interesting to hear everyone’s stories, though, so get ready to participate this Thursday!

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So, remember a little while back when I shared my bed woes with you? The bed frame was horribly squeaky, and my $30 Craigslist headboard banged against the wall every time I moved. Not exactly the recipe for a relaxing night’s sleep.

You all gave me some fantastic ideas, and after some thought (and a hard look at the budget) I decided to buy a new metal bed frame and make an upholstered headboard.

There are approximately a zillion tutorials out in Internet-land on how to make an upholstered headboard, but I’ll go ahead and show you what I did.

I invested $9.99 of cold hard cash in a drop cloth from Home Depot to use as the fabric. Oh yeah, I’m a BIG spender. It was the perfect color, though, and very durable (and the right price) – so I went with it.

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I then had a piece of 3/4 inch plywood cut to the width of my bed and a height of 33 inches.

When I got the plywood home, I pulled out my trusty jigsaw and cut a gentle curve into the top of the plywood (This step is totally optional).

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I then cut 1 inch thick foam to the shape of the plywood and then covered it with a layer of batting (which I stapled to the back with a staple gun). And then laid everything over the drop cloth fabric (which I’d already ironed smooth).

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I then (um, I realize “I then” is the phrase of the day here) pulled the fabric taught (but not overly tight) and stapled it in two places on each of the 4 sides, before stapling the fabric all the way around. I made sure I checked the front side of the headboard as I went, to be sure the fabric was smooth. (Probably should have taken a picture of this part, huh?)

Once I was finished attaching the fabric, I turned the headboard over and nailed a strip of silver upholstery tacks along each side. I couldn’t find upholstery tacks in strips in silver anywhere in my fair city, so I ordered them from this shop on Ebay. I HIGHLY recommend working with the strips instead of individual tacks. I’ll explain more in my “blooper reel” tomorrow, but in a nutshell, the strips are fantastic because you only have to nail a tack in once every third “tack” (a big time saver), and since it’s a strip it’s really hard NOT to create a straight line.

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Once the headboard was finished, I screwed two large D ring hanger’s to the back of the headboard and hung the headboard from two screws I had screwed directly into studs.

I can’t tell you what a relief it is to finally have a bed that is sturdy and relaxing. And the best part is that it was CHEAP! I paid $65 for the new metal bed frame, and about to make $50 the headboard. Not to shabby…

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37 Suburbanites Said:

Amy said...

Very nice! I like it. That looks like such a calm, soothing bedroom. Inspires me to get my rear in gear and get my room done!

Anonymous said...

i have been trying to find time to make my headboard too but i am so happy you posted where you got the nail trim bc at my local store its pricey. this is so much cheaper! thanks!

Unknown said...

Annicole-

It turned out fabulous. I'm preparing to tackle a similar project, so thanks for the details!
And the room looks gorgeous!

~Rachel~

~ Regan said...

Great job! I have been thinking of making a headboard too, but I can't seem to snag the right upholstery. I thought of the drip cloth, but it's acutally the same color as my walls! I would hate to have it blend right in! I'm trying to think of a color taht could blend in with any comforter set, as i like to change those once or twice a year!

amylouwhosews said...

This is so great! I really want to do this. We are moving soon, maybe I'll put this down as part of the new house decorating to-do list. Thanks for sharing!

Joy said...

Great job on the headboard.
The room looks dreamy and soothing.
So pretty.
♥ Joy

Pine Tree Home said...

So pretty. I just invested in drop cloths to recover a chair and ottoman. Wish me luck. I am in awe of your transformation.

Anonymous said...

i LOVE the headboard! I have been wanting to do this for a while! you have inspired me to go for it! thanks!

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

ABSOLUTELY beautiful!!! I love it!

XOOX
Jen

Robin hill farm said...

Very nice! It looks perfect in your beautiful bedroom. LOVE! :)

Kate Riley said...

Incredible ! Love love love that touch of silver, so perfect !

TheVirginiaHouse said...

Great job! I love how it turned out.

Marianne said...

Lovely headboard! And thanks for the tip on those upholstery tags, I have never seen them in my neck of the woods either.

Sandy said...

Just stopping by as I saw your post from another blog. I LOVE this. Great Job. I have been looking into making a headboard. Yours is one of the best that I have seen. thank you!!

Missy in Texas said...

Wow, that totally rocks and so cheap too! Love it!

Sylvia (at) Lily's Pad and Petals said...

Fabulous Job - well done.

Anonymous said...

Looks oh so relaxing! I've been wanting to use upholstrey tacks on something, but dreaded the idea of hammer each one into place. Thanks for the info on the strips!

Anonymous said...

Looks oh so relaxing! I've been wanting to use upholstery tacks on something, but dreaded the idea of hammer each one into place. Thanks for the info on the strips!

Amber Polk said...

It looks really good. I'm trying to talk my husband into letting me upholster ours. I'll win eventually.

Mary said...

Wonderful! Love the silver strips and drop cloth.

Petie@inspirednesting.com said...

Great job on the headboard. I love the idea of the drop cloth fabric. Looking forward to Thursdays "how I met my home"...another great idea!

Skye McLain said...

It's beautiful! I love it - I may try to do an upholstered headboard for my guest room once we get settled in the new house

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Totally cute headboard!! I wish I had another bedroom with no bed, so I could try one of these.

cotedetexas said...

whoa! that's adorable!! love that bedroom, plus the plates. too cute.
Joni

Amber said...

OH my gosh! I love that! I was thinking of doing an upholstered headboard with a drop cloth, and now that I see it, you've totally inspired me to do it! I loved the curve line, aAnd I especially love the nailhead trim detail which finishes it off beautifully! I hope you don't mind if I completely steal your idea for my bedroom. I love everything about it! Gorgeous! :)

I'm on my second (purchased) headboard already and it's still not what I want. This is a must do project for me!

Amber @ It's Greener Over Here

Lacey said...

Looks great. I might just steal your idea about using a drop cloth as my fabric...

Kristine at The Painted Hive said...

Beautiful headboard. Thanks for inviting everyone to your linky party this Thursday. I'll be stopping by - what a perfect excuse for me, as a new blogger, to do a little post about how I came to own my home.
xx

Anonymous said...

Making an upholstered headboard is definitely on my to do list. Using a drop cloth as the fabric is such a good idea! Looks fantastic!

Jess @ Frugal with a Flourish said...

Beautiful and what a great idea for the fabric! Love it! The room is gorgeous!

Carrie said...

I knew you could do it! It looks beautiful!

Melanie said...

It looks beautiful! The room is so calm and soothing. Great job.

Sarah said...

it looks great!

Beth@The Stories of A to Z said...

It looks fantastic! But how on earth does everyone have studs magically appear in their walls exactly where they ought to be? I never seem to have a stud placed where I want it and end up using all types of ugly anchors to support my stuff. Guess you could say I have stud envy :). (Don't tell my husband! :)

Kelly said...

So Clever! Great idea and easy to do! Thanks for sharing.

Amber said...

I really like it...very soothing! Where did you get your lamps? We're looking for something similar with an acrylic base.

AnNicole@Our Suburban Cottage said...

R&A - I bought the lamps a few years ago at TJ Maxx. The lampshades are from Target.

Nicole-Lynn said...

You did great, I love it! I am in the process of trying to choose a fabric for my headboard. I have seen a lot of tutorials using canvas drop cloth like yours, but my only concern is the colorful fibers/imperfections in the drop cloth. Was yours like that? I have some dark, blue, red marks ever so often in the fabric that I'm not too fond of. I have heard of bleaching it but I am not sure I want to do that. Please let me know if your canvas had these minor imperfections and if you think that it still looks OK.

Seasidesmitten@aol.com