Inexpensive DIY Headboard

Your room always appreciates a little facelift! A portion of my bedroom makeover budget was reserved for a DIY headboard. Of course I procrastinated on this project, but once I got my ass to the store for the materials, there was no turning back. It was actually a great weekend project I completed with my generous boyfriend.


Materials List:

• Plywood sheet ($30): 23/32 inch x 4 ft. x 8 ft. from Home Depot
• 2x4 ($6): two from Home Depot
• Screws ($2): 2 1/2" tall from Home Depot
• Foam mattress pad ($10): twin size from Walmart
• Batting ($12): 3 yards from Jo-Ann Fabrics
• Fabric ($20ish): 2 separate sheets of 2 yards; price will vary depending on what you get, but make sure it's durable
• Hemming tape ($3): Ultra bond from Jo-Ann Fabrics
• Tacky spray ($5): I used Aleena's Crystal Clear Tacky Spray Adhesive from Jo-Ann Fabrics
• TOTAL: $78

Tools List:

• Electric hand saw
• Electric drill
• Staple gun
• Scissors 
• Iron

The first thing we did was outline and cut the plywood. My headboard measures 65 inches wide and 36 inches tall (for a queen size bed). We decided to make its shape with a slight curve at the top. To do this, we tied tied a piece of string around a pencil to make a compass and drew out the curved feature. My boyfriend then used an electric hand saw to cut the massive base, while I went wild with the tacky spray, attaching the mattress to the board. Afterwards, I trimmed off the excess padding.   

While the spray was drying, I used some hemming tape to iron my two sheets of fabric together into one sheet. Because the headboard is so large, the dimensions of the fabric aren't really tall enough, so your best bet is to just get two pieces of the same length so it's big enough to cover your board.

Now it's time to attach the legs of the headboard. We measured how high we needed it to stand, and used those measurements to decide where to place the 2x4's. Mine stands 18 inches from the ground. I cut some spots on the mattress pad so my boyfriend could drill the holes where the screws will go to attach the posts.

The rest is easy breezy from here! The batting will help create a smooth surface for the fabric. The store had a bunch of different thicknesses of batting, but I just stuck with an inexpensive one. I don't really think the heavy stuff is necessary, plus it's a budget project! The easiest way to apply the batting would be to lay it down on a flat surface, then place your headboard with the mattress pad side face down. Make sure you pull the batting tightly, before staple gunning it to the board. Your finished batting should look a little like this...

You can pretty much use the same process for your fabric like you do for the batting. I had a lot of excess fabric, which made it very easy to pull tightly, but it's also a good idea to have the extra fabric so you can staple it without touching or damaging the batting.. just in case you want to use a different fabric design somewhere down the road. Check out my amazing amateur upholster job.. the good thing is that the back won't show!

I am very proud of this headboard! And now that I know how great my boyfriend's handiwork really is, I'll have to line up a few more projects for us. He can't hide from my craft addiction anymore! I'm glad we did this together, and we really worked well as a team. It is the perfect weekend project that gets your artsy juices flowing while your man gets the green light to play with some power tools and guns!