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Upholstered Headboard & Bed Frame

Written by Justin

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Submitted By Orange Sugar

 

Since moving into the house we have had our mattress and box spring on the floor. We have a metal bed frame but because of the sloped ceilings it was too tall to use. I love upholstered beds but had no desire to pay retail and after stumbling upon Ana White’s website I no longer need to. She has given us the courage and skills to build a lot of our own furniture.
I used her chunky leg bed frame plan with a few modifications to make an upholstered bed frame inspired by West Elm’s Nailhead Bed Frame.

I wanted the bed to be easy to disassemble and move. For that reason I used corner supports from Home Depot and Bed Rail Fastenersto hold the sides together. I also upholstered each board separately instead of building the box and then upholstering like I have seen some other people do.

Bed

We did not use a center support and slats because we needed room for the box spring. Instead we screwed a 2×2 to the bottom of each side of the bed and used 2×4’s supported in the center to hold the weight of the box spring and mattress.

Bed

DIY Headboard

No bed frame is complete without a matching headboard so I had to say goodbye to the oldand create a new one.

1. Sanctuary Bed, High Fashion Home 2. Madison Bed, High Fashion Home 3. Woodhouse Bed, Jonathan Adler

I love all three of these beds and their arched headboards. Unfortunately none of these shapes would work with our slanted cape ceilings so I had to settle for a rectangle. This was my inspiration.

Source: Heller Furniture

I’m not going to create a tutorial because I can point you to other blogs for that, but I will include a few tips and progress pictures. I strongly recommend that you do not attempt this project without an air or electric powered stapler. There is just way too much stapling involved to use a manual one.


I used 2″ foam and two layers of batting, one high loft the other I just had laying around. You don’t want foam where your nailheads are going to be, so you need to round the foam over for a softer transition. Basically you just staple the edge down along the line of the shape you are making. See this video for a better idea of what I’m talking about.

This is a queen size headboard. The border is 4″ wide and my holes are 7 3/4″ apart. Initially we cut out holes that were pretty much the same size as the buttons. Later we had to go back and make them a little larger.
My fabric is a faux suede and on the thick side. Instead of trying to cover my own buttons I took my fabric to an upholstery shop and had 20 buttons made for only $10.

Tutorials used to complete headboard:
GACMKC on youtube – the headboard they end up making is dated, but I picked up a lot of good ideas
Diamond Tufted Headboard at Addicted to Decorating
Diamond Tufted Headboard Part Two and Three at Brick City Love

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Published: April 13, 2012Filed Under: Furniture Building Projects and Plans, Guest Bloggers Tagged: DIY, Headboards, How To, Upholstery

About Justin


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Comments

  1. Shirley Lupton says

    April 13, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    Our bed doesn’t have a headboard or footboard and it is driving me nuts. I really want to make a headboard but can’t figure how to attach it to the steel frame. It can’t be too high as the bed is in front of a window. Do you know where I can find discounted foam? Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Cassity says

      April 14, 2012 at 9:16 am

      Shirley, a lot of people go and buy the mattress pads and Walmart or some other box store. If you need it thicker, just layer a few of the pads! You can get a twin sized pad for about 10.00 bucks! Good luck!
      Cassity

      Reply
  2. Debra says

    April 13, 2012 at 8:29 pm

    Your tufted headboard is beautiful!! I totally agree that when making a headboard that an air powered staple gun is a must. I learned this the hard way!!! Wish someone had of told me!!

    Reply
  3. orangesugar says

    April 14, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    Check out rochford supply for foam. 2″ thick is what I use. You can make legs for your headboard with 2×4’s and bolt it onto the bed frame.

    Reply
  4. Lizzie says

    April 16, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! I love it!

    Reply
  5. Lauren says

    April 19, 2012 at 7:05 am

    Gorgeous!!! I LOVE the bedding too! Where did you find the bedding?

    Reply
    • orangesugar says

      April 20, 2012 at 8:46 pm

      HomeGoods

      Reply
  6. Elizabeth says

    May 21, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    Great job. We are thinking about doing something like this. Where did you get the legs? What are those? And that headboard is unbelievable!

    Reply
  7. Pauline says

    July 27, 2012 at 4:48 pm

    Where and what kind of fabric is the head board? Also what color? Absolutely love it!!

    Reply
  8. Meredith says

    July 30, 2012 at 1:22 pm

    How did you attach the headboard to the rest of the frame? I can’t tell by the pictures. Thanks!

    Reply
  9. Kodi says

    January 27, 2013 at 6:40 pm

    Sooo glad I found this :), we have the exact same slanted ceilings (funny because it really helps me visualize what ours will look like). I would love to do an upholstered frame but we don’t have alot of storage so we have 4 under the bed containers that are just too useful to get rid of. Great job, looks amazing!

    Reply
  10. amanda says

    March 2, 2013 at 5:12 pm

    Can you tell me how much it cost you to make this bed??

    Reply
  11. Denise says

    April 17, 2013 at 2:00 pm

    WOW, AWESOME JOB!! <3

    Reply
  12. chase your dreams says

    August 19, 2013 at 1:54 am

    Hi there, the whole thing is going fine here and ofcourse
    every one is sharing information, that’s in fact good, keep up writing.

    Reply
  13. Michelle says

    May 26, 2014 at 7:55 am

    This DIY is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Did you use individual nail head tacks or strips? If you did individual do you have any tips for keeping them so straight? How is the non mortise bed rail fastener holding up?

    Reply
    • Cass says

      September 12, 2014 at 11:51 am

      Hi Michelle! This was a guest post, so if you’ll head over to the guest’s blog (linked at the top of the post) then you can ask there and hopefully they have an answer for you. Thanks!

      Reply
  14. Erin Scott says

    August 18, 2014 at 10:13 am

    I love this! Exactly what I was looking for, but I was looking for fabric and was wondering if the fabric had any guidelines like stretch or not? I want to do velvet and there are apparently lots of types and I don’t know what is the best for this project. Please help me!

    Reply
    • Cass says

      September 12, 2014 at 10:26 am

      Hi Erin! Thanks for reading. This was a guest feature, so if you’ll head over to the original blog (linked at the top of the post), then she can help answer your questions. We’d love to see pictures when you’re done! Thanks!

      Reply
  15. Frodosdojo says

    May 18, 2016 at 10:02 am

    Beautiful !

    Reply
  16. Cathy Greeen says

    December 22, 2016 at 6:47 am

    This is sooo cute! I have twin girls also who almost old enough to switch out of their toddler beds and an older girl who would love a headboard lol. I am soo going to do this and the $$ that I will be saving will convince my husband that it is totally worth it. Thank you for the plans/instructions!!

    Reply

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