pinteresting: i finally made a headboard!

My bed was completely shattered during the move [along with 75% of my stuff], so I've been sleeping on a broken, ugly bed. I've always wanted to make a headboard, but with so many possibilities, I didn't know which one to choose!

So, instead, I made one up/combined a couple ideas.

The inspiration for what I decided to do actually came from "wall artwork" which is foam insulation paneling wrapped in fabric. I figured it'd be super easy and simple!

While the entire process was really very easy, fitting a gigantic panel in my car was not. I bought six skinnier panels and placed them on top of each other. They're about 4x1.5 feet each, and $10 for a pack of six. I also got two 6 ft tall, skinny craft boards for about $2.50 each.

Then I got some black fabric that I wish I could describe to you, but I don't. It's got a little texture to it, but not too much.

First step, lay the boards on the fabric, and cut around it, leaving about an inch or so around the edges. [Enough to fold up over the edges of the board.]

My motto has always been "who cares what the back looks like, no one is going to see it," so don't worry about it being perfect. 

Then you're just going to take a staple gun all around the edges, pulling tight enough to get wrinkles out, but don't create them by pulling too tight. It was a bit trickier to master than I thought it would be.

I never figured out how to perfectly do the corners until the end, and I'm still not even sure how I really did it, but here are some up close shots. 

[Pretend like you're wrapping a present, maybe?]

Once they're all wrapped in fabric, break out the craft boards, measure to make sure they're straight/parallel, and nail the foam right to them! [If you want your headboard to be more sturdy, use three. I'm more about being cheap, though.]

This is where my perfect vision lost its perfection. I moved a little to quickly, and didn't make sure I was lining everything up perfectly and really pushing the panels close together so there were no gaps. The imperfections aren't terribly hard to see, but I may try to fix them later down the road.

I have a mirror next to my bed which I wanted to match with the height of the headboard, which happened to be exactly six feet! I simply stuck the headboard behind my bed with the legs on the floor and VOILA! I feel a couple points more official.

I purposely did white nails because of the colors in my room [which the furniture you see is ruining until I paint them], but it would have been neat if I found some cuter, decorative nails.

ALSO... BONUS! Someone pointed out that since it's foam, I can tack some pictures, "good morning" notes, or ANYTHING to it! Neat, right?!

I think I spent about $30 total for the insulation boards, craft boards, and fabric. Not bad!

What do you think? You can be honest! Let me know how you'd do it differently!

love,

elizabethany

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