For YEARS I have been looking at headboards. Honestly.. YEARS! Adding them to my online cart, only to never be seen again. I don't know why, but it always seemed like such a splurge item to me. There were always more important things we needed in the house, things people will actually see.
There was one time I finally bit the bullet and ordered one. We were having a house sitter stay at our house and I remember thinking, I needed to have a headboard for her. (Yes, I needed a headboard for my house sitter, I am who I am.) Well, it got lost in the mail. It never came! The company refunded me and I chose not to order it again, because it wasn't going to be here before we left town anyways. I always wonder if someone is out there enjoying a free headboard and also wonder sometimes if my house sitter judged me for not having a headboard. Ha, just kidding!
After all these years, one day I just decided I was going to make my own. Have I ever upholstered anything before? Of course, not. But I was feeling confident and nothing was going to stop me. I’m SO glad I did, because it is one of my favorite projects to date! I was SHOCKED how good it turned out. Literally, shocked.
My inspiration headboard was $1600. My budget for the project was $150 and I came in under budget at $136. For a nice, king sized, upholstered headboard, you can’t beat that price!
What you’ll need for a KING size headboard:
(10) 1-in x 4-in W 6-ft H Pine Dog Ear Fence Picket ($12)
(5) Yards of Fabric ($54)
(3) Packs 1-in Foam ($50)
(5) Yards Quilt Backing ($20)
Tools needed:
Saw
Drill + screws
Staple gun + staples
Scissors
DISCLAIMER: I used a handheld staple gun, but I HIGHLY recommend investing in an electric staple gun for this project. It would have taken me a fraction of the time and let me tell you, my hand HURT after this! This project does require a lot of stapling, so just please trust me on this one!
I will list all of the steps in order so you can screenshot them, then I will put photos below to help give you a visual!
For step-by-step videos go follow my Instagram happyharrishome_ and watch the highlight reel labeled ‘headboard.’
STEP ONE: you want to cut the dog ears off of each fence board and make a straight line. dog ears are those angled pieces at the top.
STEP TWO: measure each board and cut 8 of them right down the middle to make 16 half boards. SAVE TWO LONG BOARDS FOR THE END. You’ll need them to connect all of the scallops.
STEP THREE: cut your foam, backing and fabric around one of the half sized picket boards. leave a few inches of access fabric around the board so there is enough room to pull to the back of the board.
STEP FOUR: Staple the foam on first. Like you’re wrapping a present! I cut squares out of each corner of my foam so the top and bottom weren’t as bulky once they were folded over. You don’t need to do this, but I recommend it as it helped a lot.
STEP FIVE: Add the quilt backing over the foam and staple. I didn’t pull super tight with this, because it seemed having it lay naturally helped make the sides more smooth/straight.
STEP SIX: Add the fabric over the backing and staple. Adjust the top and bottom as needed before stapling, to make sure they’re perfectly round. I peaked at the front of my scallop to make sure I had a nice smooth corner before stapling.
STEP SEVEN: Repeat this on the other 15 half boards. (I promise it will be worth it!)
STEP EIGHT: Lay the scallops out on the floor pretty face down. Grab the two full size fence posts we were saving, lay them horizontally across the scallops. Get a level and square everything up. Screw the horizontal boards into each vertical scallop.
(To hang it up, add 4 screws behind your bed (do not screw them in all of the way.) Space them out from left to right for even support. Make sure you find the studs (or use anchors) and make sure they are all level. The top horizontal board on the back of the headboard will rest on top of the screws.)
There you have it! You’ve got yourself a beautiful upholstered headboard. What do you think? It only took me a weekend to complete this and it’s my favorite thing about my bedroom! I’m also not sure how we went this long without a headboard. It is so much more comfortable at night when we are watching our shows + enjoying a glass of wine in bed after the kiddos go to bed!
If you recreate this yourself please make sure to tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see it!