I hope I didn’t leave you in too much suspense with my last blog post, where I talked about my plans to make a wall-mounted headboard. I was waiting on the upholstery foam to arrive, and just when it finally did, my little family got Covid-19. Thanks to vaccines, it wasn’t too bad for us, but everything did come to a screeching halt for several days. And then summer with a toddler on break from preschool was pretty busy for a while.
As you can see, I did finally get the DIY headboard made! I thought about making a version with channels or tufting, but I decided to keep the design simple, so it was relatively easy. That will also make it easier in case I ever want to change the fabric. It turned out pretty similar to my inspiration.
In my hurry to finally get it done, I didn’t take any process pictures. But here’s how I made my wall-mounted DIY headboard.
DIY Headboard Supplies
- Plywood – I used this 15/32 sheathing plywood.
- Fabric – I used this velvet curtain panel in cream. I removed the blackout lining. With the hem picked out, it was big enough for my King headboard.
- Batting – I used 2.5 yards of this batting.
- Upholstery foam – I used this 2-inch-thick upholstery foam.
- Stapler and staples – I used this stapler because I already had it, but almost got this electric stapler.
- Hangers – I used this French cleat, but would try these D-ring hangers instead.
- Jigsaw
- Serrated knife
- Buy and cut the plywood. – I had them cut it at Home Depot when I bought it. I wouldn’t have been able to fit it in my Prius hatchback uncut, and without a table saw it’s much easier to have them cut it. But don’t rely on them for exact measurements. I asked them to cut my piece 28 1/2 by 79 inches, and I think it ended up more like 28 by 78 inches. As it was it barely fit in my car, and it was totally fine for this project, so I guess it was good that it was a little smaller than I asked for.
- Trace and cut rounded corners with my jigsaw. – I traced around a lid from a plastic container for the rounded shape. Even though I could have just done two of the corners, I did all four because I was worried it would look weird otherwise.
- Cut the upholstery foam. – I laid the plywood on top of the foam, and traced around it with a marker, then cut it with a serrated knife. I did kind of a terrible job cutting the foam rounded corners. I hear an electric carving knife is much better for cutting foam, but I don’t have one.
- Cover with batting. – I put the batting on the bottom, the foam in the middle, and the plywood on top. Then I wrapped the batting around as tightly as I could and stapled it in place every inch or so.
- Cover with fabric. – Repeat the last step, but with the fabric on the bottom. The main challenges were getting the fabric wrapped with an even tension, and making the corners look good. I was glad I gave myself two possible sets of top corners, because one set was definitely better than the other.
- Hang on the wall. – I hung mine with a French cleat, but I actually wish I had hung it a different way. The French cleat allows it to slightly move side to side, so I regularly have to slide it back so that it’s centered between the sconces. If I were doing this again I would use D-ring hangers like these.
All total, I think the supplies cost a little less than $150. I’m really happy with how it looks, and how comfortable it is to sit up in bed and read now. So I’m calling this DIY headboard a big success!
