Every day I look at our gorgeous headboard and I find myself thinking 1) I am so happy we made exactly what we couldn’t find shopping 2) I can’t believe how much money we saved 3) oops, I still have to write this blog post!
When Jerome and I finally were ready to pony up and purchase a whole new bed and mattress–after sleeping on a broken full size for over a year–we wanted to make our money go far and get exactly what we wanted. So we did our research. I shopped online for hours looking for the perfect upholstered headboard–but could never quite find the perfect combination. One was close but too scrolly, one at my store was the perfect shape but wasn’t grey, and everything else that came close didn’t go all the way below where the pillows would sit. Who wants to see wall where upholstered headboard is still supposed to be?
Frustrated, I started thinking we should just make our own. Online I found quite a bit of information on how to make your own headboard–so I pulled together all the info from different sites and decided it was something we could tackle, no problem. And I am so glad we did! Say hello to my beds lovely headboard:

Our first step was to cut the shape we wanted. We started with a piece of plywood (1/2 inch) and cut the ends to fit the width of our new queen size bed. Our next task was to make the shape we wanted. After making a mark at the top of the board indicating where the middle was, I used a sharpie to draw from the middle mark to the right edge, creating the shape I wanted. We then cut along that line with a jigsaw. The piece of wood that came off was then flipped over and placed on top of the left corner to use as a template–you can see that in the picture below. From there we repeated the same process and sanded all the cut edges.

Next up, the foam. We used a large roll of 1 inch foam which we cut to fit the board, like puzzle pieces. You may notice numbers on the foam in the picture below–we removed all the foam and sprayed the plywood with multiple layers of spray adhesive. Once the adhesive was tacky, we put the puzzle piece foam back on the board one at a time. Adding extra adhesive where need.

Step 3–apply the batting. We decided to purchase a piece of batting intended for a full size quilt, so that it would be large enough for the headboard. First we spread the batting on the floor inside and then put the headboard, foam side down, on top of the batting. Now it is time to bust out your stapler and staple around the edges, making sure to pull the batting tight and checking underneath for wrinkles.

Last step–the most exciting and nerve wracking–the fabric. We used fabric from the clothing section of Joann’s–not upholstery grade–and it seems to be doing just fine. You are going to apply the fabric in the same way you applied the batting although the corners are a little more important here. I started at the middle of the top of the headboard, so that the rounded parts would be smooth. Pulling tightly–even more than with the batting–work your way from the middle to the right, and then the middle to the left. Be sure to look at the front of the headboard when folding the corners, to guaranty that you like the look. Next up is the sides, and lastly the bottom. You will want to pull out any slack left when you staple the bottom, making sure the front of the headboard is wrinkle free. I ended up with extra fabric, so I applied it to the back of the headboard, covering the plywood and batting that would have been visible.

From there it is time to attach your headboard to your frame. There are many ways you can do this–hang it on the wall, attach with screws, etc. Jerome is still deciding how he wants to attach ours–which means it is just sitting on top of the frame, being held up by the mattress and the pillows. Safe, I know. But it works!
I am so happy with how our headboard turned out! It is exactly what we wanted, but couldn’t find. And the price is pretty unbelieveable considering all the ones I was looking at would have been anywhere from $400-$700.
Here’s a breakdown of the tools we used, and the deals we got!
Plywood (1/2 inch thick, large sheet)- $16
Jigsaw- had
Foam (2.5 yards)- $18.15 (60% off Joann coupon)
Spray adhesive (Loctite Spray adhesive)- $8
Scissors- had
Roll of batting- $6.41 (60% off Joann coupon)
Fabric (4 yards)-$15.98 (60% off Joann coupon)
$64.54
DIY headboard- $64.54
Ikea mattress- $266
West Elm platform tall wood bed frame- $405
$736

We are so happy with how everything turned out!
