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DIY Home Decorating Projects, Tutorials, & Shenanigans

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How To Make A DIY Upholstered Headboard, Part 2

Making a h homemade headboard with any fabric you want is a good time, and ours is done! Woot!  So let’s get right into it, shall we?

how-to-make-an-upholstered-headboard

Remember yesterday when we left off here?

Now we’re here. And we’re in love.

Little did we know that the first shot of this post might actually be the most “helpful” when it comes to seeing how our headboard fabric plays off the rug. In person, from the door it looks just as good together – but these far away pics just don’t capture it (maybe it’s time to take a photography class). At least the closer detail shots are a little more accurate than the wider ones. But you’ll just have to come over to see things in real life.

 I might even let you get under the duvet. If Burger’s not in there defending his turf…

John has actually been campaigning to repaint the walls a little darker for a while now, so who knows – we might end up with more headboard contrast someday. But for now we’re just enjoying things as they are. It’s so much cozier to read in bed now (we took the time to make our headboard extra h- more on that in a minute).

The room has definitely “come into its own” in a pretty awesome way for us over the last few weeks of rearranging and bed-post cutting (which were two blissfully free and less-than-an-hour projects, so thank goodness for those!). And as for how we finished our little DIY upholstered headboard project, after the frame was built, we laid out four yards of extra loft batting we bought at JoAnn Fabrics. Four yards was enough to do two thick layers to make it extra h), so I trimmed just two yards of it to go around the headboard frame as the first layer.

Then I pulled it taut and stapled it around the back perimeter of the headboard. Then John made me pose for this awkward photo. Winning.

Close ups are where it’s at. Just call me Staple Gun Sally:

Here’s how I did the corner. Just like wrapping a present. You just fold it back and staple it so it all looks smooth from the front. Bam, bam, bam – it’s done.

Eventually the whole thing was stapled nice and tightly.

We lifted it up to make sure it all looked taut and wrinkle free from the front. Then I rolled out more batting for a second layer (call it extra credit when it comes to a cushy result).

Again I trimmed around it and used the staple gun to secure it around the back perimeter of the frame, being sure to pull it tightly as I went.

Then John leaned it up so we could check it out again- just to make sure it was wrinkle free. I love this picture of Clara peeking up at John holding her bag of crackers. #crackersmakeeverythingbetter

Then I ironed our fabric to make sure it was nice and smooth. It’s by Braemore, called Gazebo Cloud that we got from a local fabric outlet called U-Fab (here’s an affiliate link to it for any non-locals). We actually bought this fabric for a book project that we completed in January (so you’ll see it as something entirely different than a headboard in the book, which is kind of fun) but it was awesome to be able to reuse it for this project. We liked how the occasional leafy splashes of turquoise in the headboard fabric picked up that color in the rug, but brought in a natural and organic sort of vibe (whereas the rug is very geometric and symmetrical, so a little more loose softness is nice for the room). It didn’t feel like an obvious choice like something that matched more directly or was more symmetrical/geometric, so maybe that’s what we love it so much?

But back to the bidness of upholstering the thing. As for adding our top layer of fabric over our batting, just like we laid out the batting under the headboard as it was facing down towards the floor, we did the same for the fabric, making sure it was pulled taut underneath the headboard to avoid any wrinkles. Then I trimmed the perimeter of the fabric around the headboard as a guide (leaving a few inches for it to be wrapped and stapled around the back, just as I had with the batting).

Next I got busy stapling each side of the headboard, being sure to pull it extra tight so it won’t end up all loose and baggy over time. I started with one side, pulling it all very tightly, then stapled along the opposite side, again pulling it nice and tight.

Once it was secured on those two sides, I did the same thing to keep it secured vertically, by pulling tightly and stapling the top side and pulling it tightly and stapling the bottom side as well.

Then we flipped the headboard up to see it in all of it’s h, tightly upholstered glory. Bing, bam, boom. The whole upholstery step took less than forty five minutes to complete. Is it weird to call it one of my favorite fabric projects to date? I just love love love the pattern.

Next we carried it into the bedroom to attach it to Ed’s original headboard (which was so short that you never even saw it behind our pillows). The new one is such an upgrade! See how h it is from this angle? It’s cushy, but tight – so we won’t worry about it getting baggy with everyday lounging against it.

As for the attachment process, we pulled the bed out from the wall so we could scoot behind it and pre-drill some holes into the original headboard and then used screws that we were sure weren’t going to go through the fabric (the key is to go with something long enough to pass through the old headboard and half of the new one but not all the way through) to attach the new headboard to the old headboard in six different places.

Here’s the view from the back:

And from the front:

Once it was attached, we just pushed the bed back into place and beamed at it. Once again I’ll take a moment to moan that this picture does it no justice and in person the way the headboard sort of subtly plays off the rug is really cool. In these pics it sort of looks like “independent events” but in real life it relates without being too matchy, so we love it. You know what the answer is, right? Sleepover party at our house to see it in person. Who’s down?

The fabric is sort of like the bridge between the yellow ginko pillows (since there are greeny-yellow flowers in the headboard fabric) and the turquoise in the rug (thanks to those subtle leafy sprigs of turquoise in the headboard).

It’s hard to capture the feathery lightness of the chandelier on camera (in person it’s really soft, sort of like a lace-like dandelion) but this picture shows it pretty well. It just layers into the room, and the added pattern in the new headboard mixed with some colorful accent pillows feels like just the right mix of happy + calm.

I think Burger looks especially dapper in front of this new backdrop.

As for a budget breakdown here we go:

  • Wood frame (plywood and some bracing boards from Home Depot): $22
  • Two layers of extra loft batting (from JoAnn thanks to a 50% off coupon): $4
  • Discount designer fabric (from a local fabric outlet called U-Fab): already owned – but it was originally $20/yard ($40 total)
  • Total spent: $66 (if you add in the fabric we previously bought for a book project and reused for this)

Sixty six bucks isn’t pennies, but compared to upholstered headboards that are sold at places like Overstock, it’s at least $100-200 cheaper than even the most basic types. And considering places like Ballard Designs charge around $400-$700 for custom headboards (where you get to pick the fabric) it was awesome to get to choose the fabric and whip this up ourselves.

It definitely makes a difference to have something substantial behind the bed and the mirror hung higher. Of course we’re just using what we have on the walls (that’s an already-owned-it mirror leftover from the living room, art that used to hang in another corner, etc) but it works for now. I’m sure things will evolve over time, so we’ll just have to keep ya posted…

But we love how it has been shaping up in there lately. See how the mirror was sort of too-lined-up with the art in the nook next to it before? Everything felt too much on the same plane – and the bed looked a little bit lonely & bare.

Then look back at the picture above this one. Isn’t it funny how breaking up that perfectly-aligned-mirror-and-art-business somehow makes that back wall feel better? Maybe because the new height of the mirror ties more into the chandelier than the art next to it? And the art above the dresser is aligned with the top of the leaning mirror on the left?

Is anyone else making headboards with fabric? What about wood or something even more unusual, like tin? We have four different DIY headboard projects in our book (all of which we made and shot in various corners of our house) and only one of them is fabric – so there are definitely other ways to go! I think we just were craving the h softness of something padded to lean on. You know what they say (and by they I mean Al Green and Bill Withers): we all need somebody to lean on.

Yes, yes we do.

Update- We finally created this Shop Our House page to help you hunt down any furniture/accessories that you see in our house, along with all of our paint colors. 



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Comments

  2. I like the fabric you chose – it’s a nice flowy, soft pattern.

    Don’t stain that dresser; it looks great the way it is. I think different woods, stains are more interesting in a room and give it more a layered look.

    Reply

    • We promise to think long and hard before rushing into anything! In person the dresser needs some work (it has stains/scratches, etc) but we’re not rushing into anything!

      xo,
      s

    • ditto – the fabric is lovely and it works well.

      But don’t stain the dresser and floor darker. then it all starts to look generic, rather than fun. and it makes teh room much heavier and darker.(sure the dresser needs some work, but you can do the work without going dark)

    • We promise to take things one step at a time and just make our room fit for us! It’s probably not going to be the same exact series of choices that others would take if it were there room (everyone has to take their own path) but we try not to rush into anything, so who knows where we’ll end up! Will keep you posted for sure!

      xo,
      s

  3. It looks great! I love how the pattern is more muted than the yellow pillows and blue carpet but picks up all the colors within the room.

    What a perfect choice!

    Reply

  4. I am sooo not good at all the DIY stuff, but I need to get with it! This headbord is the bees knees and you guys always make things look easy! I am uber jealous of all of your cuteness! Nice job. Can I sleep in your room? So pretty!! :)

    Reply

  6. Okay, I may have just laughed out loud at that picture of John creepily loving on the headboard in a conference room waiting for a meeting to start, hahaha!
    The headboard looks perfect, like it was made for that room! The room is coming together so nicely with your latest upgrades to it! I also love how it looks like Burger is trying to be part of the design in the pattern, hah.

    Reply

  7. A quiet vote here for not staining the dresser. The glowing reddish wood tones are perfect as is, and tho I know photoshop is a bit of a blunt instrument, a darker stain might really kill the charm of the piece. And–another argument–dark dresser, dark floor, dark mirror might verge on the dreaded matchy-matchy.

    Reply

    • We don’t mind a few things having the same finish as long as other things are different (ex: we have a white nightstand, a light mocha chair, and a dark mirror- so if we stained the floors dark and the one night stand stayed white, we don’t think a dark dresser is too matchy- it’s all part of the mix). But who knows where we’ll end up!

      xo,
      s

  8. I LOVE it! Beautiful! This is one of my favorite projects you’ve done, and I think it’s in part due to the fabric, which is great! I’m excited to see it with the refinished floor, although I have to say, I have a soft spot for the red/medium wood of your dresser. Anyway, it looks great!

    Reply

  9. Hi, I’m a daily reader but almost-never commenter.

    I love the headboard. You are so right about the combo of the geometric carpet + botanical-y print. Congratulations!

    Can you tell us about your staple gun? What brand, etc.? Lightweight, heavyweight, easy to find replacement staples? I bought what I thought was a “basic” one once, and had lots of problems.

    Reply

    • We got it for around $20 at Home Depot. Don’t even remember the brand and it’s just all silver (no brand name on it) but it seems to work well! Sorry I don’t have more info. Anyone else have a staple gun they love?

      xo,
      s

  10. Headboards are such an easy way to update a room. I’m totally a novice compared to you all, but I was able to make mine. I used an old quilted throw that I had bought that matched my summer and winter comforters as my fabric. Mine was a little more expensive because I used foam instead of batting material. Other than that, I did basically the same steps you did. Oh, and I used three small metal claw things (not sure what they are called) to mount it instead of a piece of wood. It just slides on and off.

    Reply

  12. Looks great! I love the Teal/Yellow combination and the new arrangement makes it seem cozy yet airy and relaxing at the same time. Not going to lie…. I’m kind of jealous of your newly improved space!

    Reply

  13. This turned out great! I’ve always wanted to try to make a headboard using this method. I love reading in bed too… So cozy.

    Reply

  14. Looks so beautiful! Any suggestions for how to incorporate a headboard when all you have is a bed frame? Is there a way to attach it to the bed, as opposed to hanging it on the wall behind it?

    Reply

    • I made a tufted headboard that attached directly to my metal frame (as opposed to hanging on the wall). It worked out really well! Here – – if you want to see it.

    • I made a fabric covered headboard with a base of particle board. I used 2×4’s as “legs” – they are attached to the back of the base, inset from the sides and the same width apart as the brackets on my metal bed frame, so I just used framing screws to attach the pieces. Warning – the headboard is heavy!!!

  15. “John has actually been campaigning to repaint the walls…” That is so funny to me. I cannot imagine my husband requesting to repaint anything. Go John!

    Reply

  16. love the headboard! my husband and i made one a few years ago with a rounded top. just wondering – why did you guys decide to go with just batting and no foam under the batting layer?

    Reply

    • We have had luck with batting in the past so we just went with what we knew (and it was $4, while foam is usually substantially more- maybe around $30+ for that size).

      xo,
      s

  17. Wow! That looks great! It’s amazing how just moving the furniture, cutting some bed hair and a new headboard can completely transform a room! Also Sherry, your ring is GORGEOUS! I am not sure we have seen it that up close before, so I wanted to let you know!

    Reply

  18. I love the headboard, and I love the idea of darkening up the walls (since the headboard and comforter are a lot of white).

    Reply

  19. LOVE it! It definitely ties in the yellow pillows and I also like that it kind of reminds me of the art you had over the bed in the old arrangement.

    Reply

  21. OMG I cannot say how in love with this I am. This may be my favorite room in the house now!

    I’m curious, we have a wood headboard we got from someone else that is boring. The very top is a little wider than the rest so I have small candles on it. Is it hard to cover a headboard like that? I’m wondering if I should just make one like you did from scratch and sell our current one.

    Reply

    • No, it should be just as easy and you already have it on hand! Just pull the fabric around back and staple it (after doing the batting layers of course!). Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  22. Thanks for the headboard tutorial. I’m with John on painting the room a little darker to make the room look even better.

    I used another headboard tutorial of yours to make a headboard for my guestroom using Ikea tables: .

    Reply

  23. LOVE it!!! Love the pics of John and Clara with the headboard. Too cute!!!

    Oh…..and I went home last week and re-arranged my bedroom. HA!! And I love it. =)

    Reply

  24. i love this!

    a question…

    if you didn’t have a bed frame like you do (i.e., just a mattress and box spring on a plain old metal frame), how would you hang/adjust the headboard to attach to the wall or to fit the height of the bed?

    Reply

    • Check our projects page where we have a tutorial for making a headboard that attaches to the wall (which works well with a boxspring/mattress combo).

      xo,
      s

    • We turned a door into a headboard and attached it to the metal frame by attached two 2x4s to the frame where the headboard would attach an then attached the door to the 2x4s. The 2×4 also run all the way to the floor for a little extra stability since the door was much heavier than a traditional headboard! it worked out quite nicely.

      unfortunately, however, i don’t have a lovely and detailed post about it with pictures like john and sherry do. :( maybe that will help though?

  25. Y’all just never cease to amaze me! Soooo fun and neat to see the steps and layers and what a difference they make! Any chance for the horses to make a return to this room? Also, would you consider doing a “bedroom wall color fashion show (like the rug show)? Just wondering how a deeper charcoal would look on the walls.

    Reply

    • Yes, I was thinking about them on the wall that’s bare (one is still hanging over the chair across from the bed, but the other one has been living in the playroom- poor guy!).

      xo,
      s

  27. Great! Now I want to do my headboard – I hope you are happy! ;-)

    Seriously though, that is beyond gorgeous!!! I love it.

    Reply

  28. Holy Crap your room is turning out amazing! See, like I said you two surprise me every time!! Beautiful for sure, and the photo shopped paint change makes it look so much warmer/welcoming… I hope you go for the darker color! Sunning so far, really, I secretly wish I could live in that room :)

    Reply

  30. Wow. I love every change you recently made to your bedroom and the headboard seems to bring it all together. nice work! This inspires me to get started on our bedroom.

    Reply

  31. OMG – I love it!! The colors are amazing. Everything is really coming together. The only thing I’m not in love with is the lamps on either side of your bed. They are great lamps but not sure they are working there. Might be better with unmatching but coordinating lamps (more along the lines of your office).

    I also did a bed makeover in my house where I upholstered part of the existing headboard and footboard.

    Reply

    • We like the matching-lamps-with-mismatched-side-table thing (and when we have matching tables or one long desk, like in the office, we like mismatched lamps to break things up). I think it’s that we like having one thing to help tie not-even-close-to-the-same objects together (like a small white nightstand and a bigger wood one), so the lamps connect those two pieces for us in our bedroom. But it’s definitely a personal preference thing! Oh and I love your bed makeover!

      xo,
      s

    • I see your point and I like the symmetry as well. Definitely a preference! I do love those lamps :)

  33. Your bedroom looks stunning! It was nice before but these few changes have just taken it to the next level of perfection. The fabric is beautiful and all the pops of color on the bed look so nice together. Love it!

    Reply

  34. Looks wonderful! Thanks for the tutorial because I’ve been wanting an upholstered headboard for quite some time, and your way is easier than what I was thinking of.

    Since you didn’t mention it, I’m guessing you suffered no crashing trees from the storm yesterday?

    Reply

    • Thankfully we returned from Atlanta to find our house unscathed, but a tree fell on our neighbor (and friend’s) house! Thankfully they’re ok!

      xo,
      s

    • That’s two times you’ve nearly missed trees falling!

      I love that fabric. And the gray, blue, and green are so perfect for the room. What an easy, game-changing upgrade! The room looks so so different now, it’s funny that it all started with an unexpected bed shift!
      The darker walls, etc are definitely moodier. I like both, lighter (how everything is now) or darker. :)

  35. I vote for keeping the dresser lighter than any future dark floor, too. Refinish if you must but don’t go too matchy-matchy. Love the whole re-arrange + headboard redo!

    Reply

  36. Love it! I actually really like the different sides of the bed, it’s very “His and Hers” and I am excited for the day you stain your floors!

    I loved Katie Bower’s post this morning, Will and Clara are too cute together!

    Reply

  37. Ooo love it! I made my own headboard with diamond tufting, and I totally pet it every night before I go to bed. Truely one of the most satsifying things I’ve made.

    I’m interested to know if you had thought about puting a board across the top, so that it wouldn’t be open on the top. My headboard leans against the wall, and it helped to have that added stability across the top.

    Reply

    • We did think about that, but since there’s baseboard and the bed stands out from the wall a few inches it would never be able to rest against the wall, so this freestanding look works for us.

      xo,
      s

  38. Oh fun! I have always wanted to make a ruched headboard but maybe I should try this kind first! Now if only I had a bed that needed one! Shoot! Just out of curiosity, why does the wall in your bedroom jut out like that behind the bed?

    Reply

    • That’s an exterior thing (from the back, out house has a pretty little bumped out peak with a giant picture window in the living room, so it’s part of that).

      xo,
      s

  39. Looks so good! I especially love it with the future dark floors and darker walls.
    The pics of Will and Clara were so cute! It’d be the best story ever if they wound up together some day.

    Reply

  40. Love it! And I think I’m on John’s side for darkening the paint just a tad. I think it would make things look more layered overall. But it all looks great as-is too!

    Reply

  42. I’m in love too! I pinned a DIY tufted head board a while ago but keep putting it off because it seems like so much work. This seems so easy and G0RGEOUS.

    Reply

  43. Love the furniture rearrangement. Love the headboard fabric. Love the photoshop look! Hope john wins on the darker wall color. :)

    I think entering the bedroom at the foot of the bed is an awesome look especially with your color scheme. Great job!

    Reply

  44. I think it may be even weirder that I am in love with your bedroom. I may need to clone it to the extent possible. I’m also insanely jealous of that mirror. I think I’d give up my left pinky for it. I so need to work on my bedroom…

    Reply

  46. Love it… love how bright and flowery and springy it is in there!

    And there’s nothing wrong with your photography… it’s just that from farther away that gorgeous turquoise in the fabric doesn’t show up well. But oh so easy to imagine that it looks FABULOUS with that carpet!

    And I like the thought of both the darker stained floor and the darker painted walls..they just up the ante. Beautiful as is… just even more dramatic. :)

    Reply

  47. Looks like a totally different bedroom. So much more personalized, comfortable and inviting after your tweaks. Nice work!

    Reply

  48. Just wondering how easy it will be to switch out the fabric in future if it gets dirty/you fancy a change?

    Reply

  49. The fabric on the headboard is so pretty! It really makes the room feel like a spring day. Definitely will keep you feeling optimistic on those cold winter days that Virginia is famously known for…hehe! I really like John’s idea of going a few shades darker with the walls, it really makes the headboard and the bed stand out. I love that darker shade of blue and have been considering it for my master bedroom/bathroom.

    Reply

  50. Oh. My. Gosh. I’ve missed so much!? You move the door? You built out the wall? New nightstands?! Where have I been! Must spend the next hour looking through everything! Wow! This looks a billion times better! Great job!

    Oh, and I LURVE that fabric. Do you happen to know the name of it??? :D It’d be PERFECT in my bedrooms color scheme!

    Reply

    • Aw thanks! The fabric is by Braemore, called Gazebo in colourway “Cloud” – which was $20 a yard from a local fabric outlet called U-Fab. We actually just moved the bed to another wall (instead of moving the door and building out the wall – and we reused furniture we had as night stands!). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

    • Thanks!!! I was so baffled by the changes! What a difference moving the bed makes! (I did that recently myself and it opened up my room a lot)

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