Making a Padded Headboard For Your Natural Bedroom

Adding character to my bedroom has given it a completely new life. No matter what your bedroom looks like, whether it’s a great expansive suite or a small hideaway from the world, you still need all the basic elements - a nice comfy bed, some storage space for your clothes, and a bedside table. But there are also ways to achieve a luxurious atmosphere without ruining your wallet, like adding some D.I.Y for extra uniqueness and a little charm to your boudoir!

In this piece, we look at designing a personal own headboard from scratch. I have a bed in a box so building a headboard was the first thing that I looked into creating. In this design, we use a piece of plywood but you might opt for making one from a nice piece of tree plank if you can afford it as it's more solid and durable.

The first step is always to have a vision of what you want the headboard design to look like. A basic square shape is the easiest and most basic place to begin, but you can also go for an asymmetrical or wavy shape. Either way, we can make anything work with the following instructions.

Materials

For a basic design, you will need to acquire the following items: some 1 inch foam, some light battening, heavy duty scissors or a Stanley knife, a Staple gun, a household electric iron, sandpaper, a marker pen, some fabric to suit your tastes, nail head trim, small panel pins or screws, and a tin of spray-on glue for applying your backing fabric and foam.

Step 1: Cut the plywood

Take your plywood and then measure the size onto the wood. Cut it to size with a small electric jigsaw.

Step 2: Cut foam to length of wood

Gently sand around the edges to remove the arris (rough edges) and splinters. Then lie what’s left onto your foam. Draw around the shape you’ve cut and mark out the shape onto your foam sheet to make it ready for cutting with the heavy duty scissors or a sharp Stanley knife.

Step 3: Glue foam and plywood

Spray on the glue to both the back of the foam and the board. Stick them both together once the glue goes "tacky" as directed on the glue spray can. Apply the foam onto the board and secure with the battening to the edges of the foam (in small pieces if needed). Pin down securely while pushing the foam onto the board. Make sure to settle both glued sides together evenly. Then trim off excess foam if there’s any sticking over.

Step 4: Secure with batoning

Pin the batoning onto the foam and fix it to the board with the nails pinching the two together. Repeat this on all of the edges around the board.

Step 5: Staple fabric to the headboard

At this point, it’s a good idea to staple the surface area of the foam down onto the board so it stays in place and is ready for the next step while the glue is drying. Lay the fabric out on the floor or plastic sheet outside to protect it from dirt. Place the foam side of the board over the fabric to make it ready for the next step - affix the fabric over the foam. Fold over the excess fabric from the foam side to the rear. Face the board upward while kneeling or putting pressure on the rear of the board. Staple it to the back of the board.

Like wrapping a present, the "uneven nature" of the edges can be a challenge so make sure to firmly staple them into place (if you chose the curvy design to repeat the action all around the headboard until you get to the looser pieces which should then be folded over). When completed, cut away any excess fabric and apply your backing fabric to cover the stapling areas of the finishing fabric you chose. Flip the newly formed board over and if there are any wrinkles. Simply iron them out but make sure to use a low heat setting and possibly the steam setting if there is one.

Step 6: Add additional fabric wrap.

It’s a great idea to wrap additional fabric around for extra comfort.

Step 7: Hammer the nail head onto the backing trim

Fit the uprights to the base of the bed as they are in the correct position (if not, fit directly to the wall) and place the headboard into a position the centers to the mattress height and placement. Mark or drill through them into the back of the headboard and fix with screws. Remember that you will pull the bed base away from the wall to get to the back of the board.

Step 8: Secure your new headboard to the wall.

Firmly screw in the screws and the rest falls into place. Just reposition your bed into place after adding any extra fittings into the bed base as you see fit (you might like to use any old headboard uprights with the slots). It’s better not to position of the wooden bed base frames under the fabric, so rub your fingers over the base fabric to find the best fixing points before drilling and putting in the final screws. Always try to drill and affix the screws into the middle of your bed frame of course.

Now you have a brand new, bespoke, personal bed headboard to enjoy! A little bit of ingenuity and effort will always have a great pay off. You’ll have this great personal piece for years to come!