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DIY Upholstered Headboard!

Tuesday, October 30

Ta da!!!
As I mentioned in this post, I decided to use Young House Love & Bower Power's Pinterest Challenge as a kick in the butt to finish my headboard. I had been floating the idea around for months and it was the last step in finishing off my current bedroom. I posted about selecting the fabric here, and thanks to help from a bunch of blog/twitter/facebook friends, I decided on the larger dark grey stripe. My friend K made the point that the smaller stripe might read as solid grey from far away. As it turns out, the wider stripe (which still wasn't all that wide) reads a bit grey in the photos but still definitely looks striped in person.

So, here's how I did it:

First, I decided how big I wanted the headboard to be. I taped it out on the wall to get a feel for what it would look like at different sizes.
Then, I purchased the supplies I would need (on top of the staple gun and hammer that I already owned).
Plywood from Home Depot. A large sheet that the lumber guy very kindly cut to size for me (32"x56").
via Instagram
Two metres of 1" thick cotton batting/watting and two metres of my striped fabric.
Next to the white batting, the fabric looks dingy - It doesn't look like that at all in real life!
Nailhead trim. I couldn't decide whether to do Nickel or Antique Gold,  so I decided Future Vanessa could make that decision and picked up both.
The first step was to wrap the plywood in the batting. Before getting started, I reviewed a few tutorials I found on Pinterest (here, here, here, here, and here). I followed their procedure of rotating one staple per side and pulling the batting tight as I went, in order to prevent wrinkles. Some tutorials suggested gluing foam to the plywood before wrapping it in batting, but I didn't need my headboard to be that plush, so I decided to use only batting. The one problem I encountered at this step was that my dinky little staple gun wasn't strong enough. Luckily, SuperDad came to the rescue and lent me his heavy-duty staple gun and his stapling arm.
After this photo was taken, I trimmed the excess batting on the back of the board.
Once the batting was in place, I ironed the fabric to remove any wrinkles. Then, I laid the batting-wrapped plywood out on the fabric, making sure the stripe was straight. This was probably the most anxiety-provoking part for me, because if any pattern has to be absolutely straight, it's stripes. It was actually much easier than I expected! Following the same procedure as the batting, we stapled the fabric all around, alternating between the four sides. To do the corners, I just wrapped them like you would wrap a present. I also flipped it over every few staples to ensure that the stripes were still straight and there was no bunching. This is how it looked at the end of Phase 1:
Next, I needed to decide which nailhead trim to use.
I was feeling crazy indecisive. I love the look of the Antique Gold, but I suspected that the Nickel would actually look better in my space. After pestering several friends and family members for their opinion, I decided to prop the headboard up in my bedroom to see if that made the decision any easier. It was immediately apparent that the nickel was best.
The bunching at the top disappeared once the nailheads were added.
Instead of hammering in individual nailheads, which is crazy time-consuming and really hard to space properly, I used nailhead trim.
This stuff is GREAT. I was a little concerned that it might look budget, or that the difference between the trim and the real nailheads might be too obvious - but that wasn't the case at all. Basically, it's a long strip of nailheads and every 5 or so nailheads, the nailhead is a little smaller and has a hole in the middle. You hammer the loose nailheads into those spots to secure the trim into place. I decided to do a two inch border all the way around, and used my measuring tape (locked at 2") as I went, to ensure I was staying in a straight line. There were a few spots where my line wavered a little but I don't think it's super noticeable. I applied the trim in 3 pieces (one for each side), breaking it apart by bending the trim back and forth until it snapped cleanly. The application process was a little time-consuming (although nowhere near what I imagine it would be like to apply single nailheads) but not particularly difficult.
I am SO happy with the way it turned out!
It looks almost exactly how I pictured it in my head. The only real difference is that I was hoping the stripes would be vertical, but due to the fabric width, I had to use the stripes horizontally. I still love the way it looks though, so no big deal. I also didn't measure the nailheads at the top exactly right, so in one corner, two nailheads overlap. Again, I don't think it's super noticeable, so no big deal. I like that it's fairly neutral, so although it goes with my colourful and girly bedroom now, it's versatile enough to coordinate with future design changes.
Here's the budget breakdown:
Plywood: $20
Fabric: $23
Batting: $18
Nailheads: $20
Staple Gun & Hammer: Already owned.
TOTAL: $81
The final step in this project is to hang it on the wall, which will happen in the next few days. I'm going to use three heavy duty picture hooks, following Renee's tutorial here. Once it's hung, it will be a few inches lower on the wall than it appears in the photos (as it's just propped up on the mattress right now). So that's my headboard project, finally tackled thanks to the Pinterest Challenge. I am SO happy I finally got the push I needed! Let me know what you think!

P.S. Here are the links to the super creative projects done by Pinterest Challenge hosts: Sherry & John, Katie, Carmel, & Sarah.

P.P.S. This project was also shared over on homemade ginger for Megan's Ginger Jamboree Link Party.

Update: Headboard has now been hung on the wall, using a slightly different technique than initially planned. Read about it here.

27 comments

  1. It is FABULOUS! I made a headboard recently too and the trim was a little tricky to get straight for me. But I was really happy with this project. Pretty easy for HUGE satisfaction. LOVE yours! Great job.

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    1. Thanks Jae! I agree, super tricky - but the sense of satisfaction when it was finished was well worth it!

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  2. yaay! looks amazing! those nail heads are genius... slow clap to whomever invented them. I'm not sure if its just the lighting but from far away you can maybe see the real nail heads but it looks so pretty! I was like "how did she make a pattern with the nails?!?!"
    go you crafty lady :)

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    1. Thanks TB! In person, you can only notice it from certain angles. I think it's because I didn't hammer all the nailheads in totally straight haha :P

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  3. Looks great! I'm working on a bedroom redo of my own, so eyeing up others' headboards is the cream in my coffee right now! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks Kelli! Your bookshelves look great :)

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  4. Nice job! This is on my project "to-do" list also. The fabric you chose will be so versatile!

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    1. Thanks Jennifer! Love the personal touch on your silhouettes. They turned out great!

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  5. Yay, looks awesome! We have a padded headboard, and I'm never going back!

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  6. Turned out great! And I love those pillows! I would LOVE for you to link this up at my Ginger Jamboree Link Party!!

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    1. Thanks Megan! The pillows are Ikea & Home Outfitters. And thanks for the invite; I'll link up this morning :)

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  7. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Well done Sparkles. It looks so great I might cry a little, you know how I do. Can't wait to see what DIY is next.

    K xoxo

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  8. I really like it! We have been looking for headboard ideas for the spare bedroom and this is a contender for sure!

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    1. Thanks Amy! It was actually pretty fun to do - I totally recommend it :)

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  9. Christina @ Floridays MomOctober 31, 2012 10:56 am

    Saw your post on The Ugly Duckling House and had to check it out. I am half way done with my guest room makeover and my plan is to do a headboard but other sites have made is seem more difficult. Yours seemed so easy..makes me want to do it this weekend. :) I'm also planning to use the cheat nail-heads since yours turned out so chic. I noticed you said you were going to hang yours on the wall, are you worried about the weight? That is the only thing my husband and I have been back and forth on. Either way I love what you did. Great job!

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    1. Hi Christina - I think as long as you have quality walls (i.e., not old crumbling plaster) and use heavy duty picture hooks/wall anchors, it should be fine. I was originally going to use MDF instead of plywood but was worried about the weight. The guy at Home Depot said that plywood is lighter, and therefore it would be easier to hang. Thanks for the visit/comment!

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  10. Love the swanky step by step photos. You have a good eye when it's not blinded by all the sparkly bling blitz.

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  11. Your headboard looks so great!! And the idea of taping it out on the wall first is genius, I never would have though of that :)

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  12. LOVE this! You did a wonderful job. I have been wanting to make a headboard for a while now for my bedroom...this may have just been the inspiration that I needed!

    MyersMaison.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Lauren! I LOVE your gold leaf project! I'm definitely going to have to add that to my 'to do' list!

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  13. I was just going through some of your posts and came across this one- I couldn't find nailhead trim anywhere when I was looking- where did you find yours? :) P.S. I love this! It looks great and so professional!

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    1. Thanks Melanie! (I have a feeling we're going to become blog friends, haha ;) I found the trim at the Fabricville in Bayers Road Shopping Centre. I think those are in NB too? They had a few different options for finishes!

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    2. I think so too! ;) I looked at a Fabricville in Freddy when I lived there and they had no idea what I was talking about! I will have to try the one here in Moncton! *Fingers crossed!*

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    3. They were in the drapery section, if that helps!

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