video test

One of the goals for this bedroom was to make it feel less cludder-free and more like a vacation stay. What says that other than an all white bed with crisp sheets and a white linen headboard? Psshhhttt, nothingggg. We took on the challenge to create our very first headboard + recruited someone who knows what their doing with the sewing machine so that we could have just that. Read on to see just how easy it is to make your very own headboard, plus watch the quick video tutorial of the entire process! Out of the entire thing, the figuring out how to hang it was the most difficult since the backside of the headboard was in linen fabric also, like a pillow cover. Most tutorials you’ll come across, the backside is attached to the wall without the need to ever needing it to come off. Ours, on the other hand, needed to come off so that I can slip the headboard cover right off for a quick wash (I mean, it is white). Can your headboard do that? Haha but seriously it’s not as hard as one might think. It sounds intimidating but in all honesty, I’d do it again…and possibly another time!

PRESS PLAY:

• 4 ft. x 8 ft. sheet of plywood (for queen size bed)
• fabric/headboard cover
• heavy duty stapler
• circular saw
• level
• pencil
• roll of foam
• wood glue
• clamps (optional)

• cotton batting
• adhesive spray
• i 1/4 inch and 2 inch screws
• drill
• 64 inch 2 x 4 wood piece (for extra height to headboard if plywood isn’t enough)
• 3, 6 inch screws to attach 2 x 4
• 3 by 15 inch plywood to hang headboard
• miter saw

1. Measure & Cut Plywood

• cut a sheet of plywood (4 ft. x 8 ft.) in half with a circular saw
• have a 2×4 at 64 inches to add height to plywood later – unless you’re aiming for a thinner headboard then the plywood cut at height you need will be enough

2. Attach & Add & Attach

• place one half of the  plywood down to place wood glue onto it
• place second half of plywood on top of the glue
• use 1 1/4 inch screws to secure the pieces of plywood together, using a drill
• screw them in about 12-16 inches away from each other, evenly
• to make the headboard to size needed, use 3, 6 inch screws to secure the 2×4 to the edge of plywood to make it 28 inches tall

3. Add Foam

• use spray adhesive onto the plywood
• unroll the foam and lay it on the plywood where you sprayed the adhesive
• stretch out the foam, if needed
• cut excess foam, if there is any

4. Cover with Cotton Batting

• on a work table, or floor, spread out the cotton batting to full length
• lay the headboard, foam side down and in the middle, onto the batting
• fold over the batting to cover the headboard (if it doesn’t wrap all the way around, cut another piece of batting and place where needed)
• take the overhang of the batting and fold it over
• staple it every few inches
• this is optional but we used another layer of batting to cover the headboard again for extra cushion and because it turned out that I grabbed the wrong batting the first time – (I recommend using unbleached cotton batting from the beginning, not polyester)

*If not covering the backside of the headboard with fabric like we did, then covering the backside with cotton batting isn’t needed

5. Add Fabric/Headboard Fabric

• our headboard cover was sewed to be like a slip on pillow cover (can read why, here) so all we had to do was place it on, over the cotton batting, and snap it in place at the bottom (velcro strips were sewed on for this reason)
• if you don’t need your cover to be removable, all you have to do is lay your fabric down, place the headboard on it face down, so that you can wrap your fabric around to the back and secure it by using a heavy duty stapler

*Headboard cover was sewed by my great MIL but I did purchase the linen from here, if you want to do something similar 

6. Create a Way to Secure Headboard

• for mounting the headboard, we decided to hang the headboard to the wall (if you have another way or have a bed frame to attach it to, that’s another option you can do – if you don’t have fabric on the backside of your headboard, it’s easier to attach to the wall)
• use the locking miter method: take two pieces of plywood about 15 in. long and miter one edge at a 45 degree angle
• take the other piece and miter it the opposite way so that the two pieces can be interlocked
• take the mitered piece that will go on the headboard (angled down) and add another layer of wood underneath with some wood glue so that when you go to hang the actual headboard, it makes it easier as the wood sticks out more; shown above
• screw one mitered piece onto the back of the headboard (more towards top and centered) with a 2 in. screw and drill – try to only make the two holes that you need so that the fabric won’t tear elsewhere
• place the other mitered piece and onto the wall, in the center of where you will be placing the headboard, using the same size screw (use a level to make sure the plywood is even on the wall)
• miter lock the two pieces of plywood into each in order to mount the headboard
• if your headboard fabric is removable, all you would have to do is take the headboard off, take the plywood off of just the headboard so that you can take the headboard cover off

*For more pictures of the One Room Challenge bedroom, click here.