Making Your Own Custom Headboard

One of my favorite do it yourself projects was making a headboard for our bedroom.  I found fabric that I loved at Hobby Lobby.  If you haven't been there, you must go.  Their fabric selection is wonderful and so reasonably priced.  To make a king headboard, you will need 3 yards of fabric.  Decorator fabric usually comes in widths between 54" to 60".  I purchased 2 packages of queen size batting from Walmart, and purchased an 8'x4' piece of particle board from Lowes had them cut it down to size (roughly 77" x 48").

 Place the right side of the fabric face down.  Place both layers of batting on top of fabric.  Place particle board on top.

 Beginning in the middle of the top of the board, pull the batting and fabric down and secure with staple gun.  Continue doing this moving out towards the corner, securing with staples every few inches.

When you get to the corner, you need to tuck the fabric in while folding the fabric over.  Watch the corner tutorial below to see what I mean.



Continue working along the sides of the headboard.  Do the top and side first so that you can then pull tight for the bottom and the other edge.  Pulling snugly will ensure that you won't have gaps.

Once all the sides are completed, your headboard is finished and simply needs to be propped between the bed and the wall.  If you have an extra tall bed, screw 12" lengths of 2"x1" every 8" along the bottom to raise the height of the headboard.

To make fabric frames, purchase 1"x2"x4".  One piece will give you enough wood to do an 18" frame.  Cut the wood in 18" lengths, put your frame together and secure sides with picture frame fasteners.  I purchased the fasteners from Lowes.  They just hammer in to secure the pieces together.  You will need 4 per frame.

Choose your fabric and cut it into a 20" square.  Lay it right side down, and begin stapling in the center of the top.  Work towards the corner and do the corner fold as shown above.

 Do the top and side first so you can pull the bottom and other side tight before stapling.  Then you are ready to hang on the wall.  Again, I found my fabric at Hobby Lobby.  I found two fabrics that coordinated well with my headboard and alternated them on the wall.  I found the frame at Osmond Designs.  I layered it on top of the fabric squares using long screws.

I love my wall treatments!  It is a great feature that is easy to customize and inexpensive to make!