The Ultimate Guide to Headboard Shapes
One of the most difficult parts to making your own headboard is deciding what style you want — what fits the look and mood of the room, what fits your budget, etc. And headboard shapes can be SO overwhelming — and what do you even CALL that shape that you’ve really been dreaming of?
As we were looking for features and inspiration for Headboard Week, the same couple of graphics of headboard shape names kept popping up in our searches. But, upon further research, it appears that those names are proprietary, determined by the business or upholsterer selling the headboard. So what’s a Remodelaholic to do? Well, we decided to create our own basic headboard names to give us a common vocabulary to use when we talk about headboards! 🙂
The Remodelaholic Guide to Headboard Shapes
Most of the headboards that we’ve included in this post as shape examples are upholstered headboards because they tend to come in the largest variety of shapes — plus they are an easy DIY candidate! And the beauty of making your own headboard means that you can take any of these shapes and make it whatever you want — from an upholstered headboard to a a simple flat wood cutout that’s been decorated like this (tutorial coming Saturday!)
a plank wood cutout like this (tutorial here)
or even a painted or vinyl headboard like these!
Combine those options with other decorative options like tufting (great tutorial here)
and then add nailhead trim — either in a straight outline
or in a fun decorative pattern
or get even more creative and put larger studs around the sides of your headboard!
If studded nailheads aren’t your style, you can still add a border trim:
or give your headboard a whole lotta class by adding arms to make a wingback headboard!
And then when you start to think about things like height and width and realize that your headboard can extend nearly to the ceiling:
and from wall to wall…
…it’s then that you realize that the sky is the limit, and that having a completely awesome headboard to be the focal point of your bedroom doesn’t have to break the bank, because we here at Remodelaholic have got your back with plenty of tutorials to show you how to DIY it.
So, now that I’ve blown your mind with the whole smorgasbord of options (sorry!), let’s get down to business and give you the things you really came here for — some explanations of headboard shapes. Ready? Let’s go!
See more headboard shapes and styles on the next page –>
IN THIS POST | Guide to Headboard Shapes
page 1: introduction to sizes and styles
page 2: basic flat (rectangle) headboards
page 3: circle, arched, and camelback headboards
page 4: scooped, inset, and beveled headboards
page 5: keystone, stepped, ogee, and peaked headboards
page 6: combination ornate headboards
Hi Cassity and Justin my name is Rick and I am recently retired and I want to hold a head board and I want it to have a scalloped head board but I would like for it not to be upholstery but to have a wooden panel with a wooden molding to go across the top of the head board I also do not want this the molding to have any end grain showing at all I have some experience at
cabinet making an I did it for all living over 44 years ago I also have I fairly well stocked woodshop to work at So U would also build this piece of furinture with the use of all the different types of major pieces of equipment available to me So I will also look at building this out of 3/4 – inch Walnut plywood plywood and the molding would be made out of solid walnut So any ideas u would have about this would be greatly appreciated Oh I will also try to download a pic of a head board that I like the shape of but where the upholstering is I would have the walnut plywood there Thank you Rick
I am redecorating a bed room and have found your information on heights and widths of headboards most helpful. I am hoping you can help with some ideas with using a footboard for the headboard… My daughter has given me the footboard to her queen bed that she is no longer using. I am struggling to attach pictures, but I can share that the back edges are flat just the legs are too short. Also my email address is all lower case.