September 6, 2011by Kristin Jackson63 CommentsBuild, Decor, DIY, Upholstery

Hello Gorgeous! The Story of our DIY Headboard

I have been on the hunt for the perfect upholstered headboard to DIY for our master bedroom for months now.  If we were going to go to the trouble of making our own, I wanted it to look custom.  Finally, I ran across this image on Centsational Girl:

{ Image via here }

Done! Now to build it… “Honey!?!?”

I was nice enough to draw it out for him πŸ™‚

I scoured the blogosphere for the best DIY headboard tutorials & we took bits & pieces of each one to make our own.  { These were the tutorials we found most helpful: Southern Exposure & Addicted 2 Decorating }All I want to know is… where are y’all getting your wood?  Every post I found was cut out of one sheet of plywood or mdf.  We got the largest they had at the Depot & had to attach another one.  Apparently we are making the largest headboard ever!
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After gluing & attaching brackets to make our base SOLID, we added a second layer of wood around the perimeter.  This added thickness to the headboard, as well as a place for our nailheads to eventually sit pretty.

The hubs cut out my design with a jigsaw… No Problem right?!?
Side 2… He got a little too jiggy on this side.  Clipping a corner & cutting another piece too narrow.  Liquid Nails to the rescue.  Seriously, no one will ever see this.  Structural Integrity is intact!
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Hello Tropical Storm Lee & your Tornado Warnings!  This moved everything inside.  Bare with the photos…space was limited at this point!

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Foam is expensive!  I wanted our headboard to be plush so I added an egg crate mattress pad as the first layer.  This filled in the wood perimeter. 

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I then added a layer of 1″ thick foam with a few staples.  If you are adding nailhead trim be sure to leave a border!  Your nailheads will NOT go through the foam.
Cover the entire board in batting.  I used a Extra Loft Queen Size Quilt batting…. I told you I wanted this thing thick!
Next, FABRIC!  Center your pattern (if you have one) and just staple away.  If you have a curve, this is the way “Real” upholsters do it.  The tabs allow for more movement.
Everything was going so well until I hit the inside corner at the top… (Yes, I cursed!) there was no way I could figure out how to make this work.  So not pretty.  Think. Think. Think.

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Stay with me… I pulled out my trustee StichWich & created a long band to cover the entire edge of the headboard.
Hallelujah!  This is the point where I fell in love.  This band created a really finished “factory” look.  To attach it I literally added StitchWich to the front edge of the headboard & ironed it around the edges.  The rest I pulled & stapled in the back. 
Now it was time for the nailheads.  I was lucky enough to score 1000 for $10 on e Bay! To start this process I created a line to follow.  My scale (ruler) was the perfect thickness I needed. 
{FUZZY} To create the curve, just measure your thickness around and make dots to connect.

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Hammer, Hammer, Hammer, repeat…. Make sure you use Needle Nose Pliers & a Rubber Mallet.
Break for a snack your hubby makes you!  (I’m so lucky!)
Continue to hammer & then TADA!

Here is a detail of the nailhead trim.  
It was time consuming, but I am so happy I went with the individual nails vs. the strip.  
(Doesn’t that “mistake” look good?!?)

We attached our headboard to a standard metal bed frame by screwing bolts through the headboard.  When drilling your holes be sure to cut small holes through your fabric & batting first.  No one will ever see this. 
I called a local upholsterer to get a quote on the inspiration headboard… $1200!  For less than $200 we are beyond thrilled with our first attempt!  I’m still working on the pillows, dust skirt & artwork… but our bedroom redo is well on it’s way!
Thanks for stopping by & be sure to follow me using the links on the sidebar!
Cheers- K

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