DIY upholstered headboard
I’ve been focusing a lot of design energy on my guest bedroom lately. Beyond the obligatory coat of clean white paint, I wanted to refresh the furniture in the space because it was a mish-mash of old pieces my husband and I brought from our previous condo lives (isn’t that how we all decorate spare bedrooms? Haha). Our spare bed was just a sad mattress on a basic frame and so I knew I wanted to add a headboard to make it feel less like a college dorm.
I was inspired by a DIY that @Kristenforgione of the Lifestyledco did in her guest room (checks hers out), as well as a similar one done by Jessica of @the.orange.home (here’s hers). The concept seemed simple enough so I felt confident to give it a go myself.
Supplies for a DIY upholstered headboard
After deciding on my colour palette, I began sourcing all the supplies I’d need. Here’s a list of what I used.
Plywood (from Lowes and they even helped me cut it down to 62”x28” to fit the queen-sized bed)
Cotton batting (I got a roll big enough to get 4 layers of padding from Walmart)
Upholstery fabric (I used a greige linen I found at Fabricland, but you can use whatever material/colour you like)
1” leather straps (mine were 60” long to give enough length to wrap around, from Etsy)
1/2” Curtain rod (needs to extend to at least 62”, full length of the headboard - mine’s from Jysk)
Loop rod brackets (the ones I used were from Home Depot but I couldn’t find a link)
Picture hanging hardware (got clips from Lowes and used screws I already had)
Staple gun and staples (I didn’t have one so I grabbed one from Walmart)
Total cost was about $150 (would have been less if I’d had a staple gun already).
How to upholster your headboard
This may seem daunting but it’s really not. It actually only took me about 15 minutes! To prep for assembly I cut the batting and fabric to size (leaving plenty extra on each of the four sides) and made sure to also steam my fabric, avoiding any unsightly wrinkles. Here’s a step-by-step of the assembly:
Lay the batting down and place the plywood on top, directly in the centre.
Begin stapling the batting starting with one staple in the centre-point of each side. Once you have a centre staple in all four sides, repeat mirroring your staples as you work your way around. This helps make sure the fabric is taught and avoids weird folds or wrinkles.
Once the batting is securely fasten, repeat the process with the fabric stapling the centre-points first.
Now that the fabric is attached, go ahead and fasten the picture hanging hardware to the back of the headboard (spoiler alert: this is how you’ll attach it to the wall). I measured mine to be 5” in from each end because I knew I wanted the leather straps to be 7” in from each end.
Voila - your headboard is ready!
Hanging your headboard with the leather straps and rod
Full disclosure: this requires a lot of math (eww). But if you can stomach that (or find a helper) this part is also incredibly easy. Here’s how to assemble all the pieces of this finished look:
Hang your headboard on the wall, centred behind your bed. The height is a matter of preference, but keep in mind the rod and leather strap details will add about an extra 3-4” of visual height. Make sure it’s level (this is crucial).
Next, measure and hang the curtain rod 1-1 1/2” above the headboard and so it’s exactly the same width (mine is 62”). I chose to hand mine using these clever hoop brackets because I wanted it as low profile (close to the wall) as possible because my headboard isn’t very deep (I wanted a minimalist vibe, so I kept it thin). This way the rod didn’t stick out farther than the headboard itself. (I repeat, make sure it’s level before you move on).
Now it’s time for the leather straps (my FAVE part). Take your straps and feed them down behind the rod and headboard, pick up the bottom end and wrap it back over the front so it meets the other end at the top, above the rod. You can trim the leather to the length you prefer, and then simply screw in place (I liked the look of the basic black screw, so I didn’t use anything fancy here).
And that’s it! Now you have a beautiful, modern headboard!
The finished product
I couldn’t be more pleased with how this turned out! I love how it creates a focal point on the wall and really elevates the basic bed frame, making it feel more luxurious. Too bad we likely won’t be hosting any overnight guests any time soon, but nonetheless, I’m proud of how our guest room has come together. If you give this project a try, I’d love to hear how it went - leave me a message and/or photo in the comments!
xo