Padded Headboard

In an effort to spruce up a basement apartment bedroom, we constructed our own version of a padded headboard.

This room has no windows.  The cheery pale yellow on the walls and warm flooring helps cozy up the room, but the plain wall behind the bed needed help. 

Here’s an abbreviated version of what we did.

Start a with 5/8 sheet of finished plywood cut to fit a double size bed.  Select some trim for the edges. This makes up the main part of the headboard.

We cut another piece of finished plywood in this design to mount on top of the main square piece.

With a homemade paint mixture of a dark taupe and white, we came up with this’ taupey-greyish-greige’ color, (that I’d never be able to duplicate).   With thin coats of this paint we left a semi-transparent color on all the wood to show wood grain.

Appliques were painted with the same color, but solid/opaque.

Because we wanted something simple that would go with any patterned bedding and because I love the look of a drop cloth,  we used that for fabric and some awesome large brown buttons.

For the padded insert we cut a sheet of 3/8 plywood to center on the backboard.

Foam was cut to the exact same size and affixed to the plywood with spray adhesive. Batting was cut  to the same size plus the width of the edges.  You just want the batting to cover the sides but not wrap around to the back.

The pencil line you see down the center of the plywood marks the center where pilot holes were drilled to allow for the needle and thread for the tufting.

Cut your fabric large enough to allow some good stretching room, you can trim it up later.

Now this part I learned the hard way…

With very strong thread (used in 4 ply) and a large needle, I tied a small thin button to the end of the strings, and threaded the needle through from back to front.  Weave the needle and thread through the button holes of the large front button several times and then tie a knot.  Trim the excess thread and pull the small button from the back until you get the desired tension.

Staple the thread to the board in several spots.

Attach the padded board to the back board with long screws.

I found this beautiful thick piping to soften the transition from backboard to padded board. The piping was hot glued around the edges.

As for the top piece, the appliques were glued on with wood glue and it was attached to the main headboard with wood from behind.  Again we used the brown piping to tie it in with the padded board below.

The headboard will be attached to the wall with French Cleats.

The headboard has an elegant yet rustic charm about it.

The nightstand in this room will be a future project.

Thanks for reading

Linked Up To:

Made By You Mondays Market Yourself Monday DIY Project Parade Metamorphosis Monday  Get Your Craft On  Nifty Thrifty Tuesday Talent Tuesday Show Me What Ya Got Tutorial Tuesday  Tip Me Tuesday   Power of Paint Party Create and Share Penny Pinching Party Savvy Southern Style Hookin Up with HOH Transformation Thursday Somewhat Simple Time Travel Thursday  Friday Fun Party Remodelaholic Hodge Podge Friday I'm Lovin It Show & Tell Friday Frugal Friday  Flaunt It Friday Feathered Nest Friday Saturday Nite Special Daunting into Doable