Upholstered Headboard & Bed Frame

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Submitted By Orange Sugar

Since moving into the house we have had our mattress and box spring on the floor. We have a metal bed frame but because of the sloped ceilings it was too tall to use. I love upholstered beds but had no desire to pay retail and after stumbling upon Ana White’s website I no longer need to. She has given us the courage and skills to build a lot of our own furniture.
I used her chunky leg bed frame plan with a few modifications to make an upholstered bed frame inspired by West Elm’s Nailhead Bed Frame.

I wanted the bed to be easy to disassemble and move. For that reason I used corner supports from Home Depot and Bed Rail Fastenersto hold the sides together. I also upholstered each board separately instead of building the box and then upholstering like I have seen some other people do.

We did not use a center support and slats because we needed room for the box spring. Instead we screwed a 2×2 to the bottom of each side of the bed and used 2×4′s supported in the center to hold the weight of the box spring and mattress.

No bed frame is complete without a matching headboard so I had to say goodbye to the oldand create a new one.

1. Sanctuary Bed, High Fashion Home 2. Madison Bed, High Fashion Home 3. Woodhouse Bed, Jonathan Adler

I love all three of these beds and their arched headboards. Unfortunately none of these shapes would work with our slanted cape ceilings so I had to settle for a rectangle. This was my inspiration.

Source: Heller Furniture

I’m not going to create a tutorial because I can point you to other blogs for that, but I will include a few tips and progress pictures. I strongly recommend that you do not attempt this project without an air or electric powered stapler. There is just way too much stapling involved to use a manual one.

I used 2″ foam and two layers of batting, one high loft the other I just had laying around. You don’t want foam where your nailheads are going to be, so you need to round the foam over for a softer transition. Basically you just staple the edge down along the line of the shape you are making. See this video for a better idea of what I’m talking about.

This is a queen size headboard. The border is 4″ wide and my holes are 7 3/4″ apart. Initially we cut out holes that were pretty much the same size as the buttons. Later we had to go back and make them a little larger.
My fabric is a faux suede and on the thick side. Instead of trying to cover my own buttons I took my fabric to an upholstery shop and had 20 buttons made for only $10.

Tutorials used to complete headboard:
GACMKC on youtube – the headboard they end up making is dated, but I picked up a lot of good ideas
Diamond Tufted Headboard at Addicted to Decorating
Diamond Tufted Headboard Part Two and Three at Brick City Love

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