DIY headboard and runner

January 11, 2012: Where you sleep. 

Oooo this is a good one. Turns out I actually made an upholstered headboard this summer that I never shared with y'all! Weird, right? AND, just this week I made a runner for it to spice things up a bit. 

First things first, if you're thinking about making/redoing an upholstered headboard, Nate says to do a neutral/solid color and add a runner on top to give it some sass (could be DIY, just a throw folded in half, etc.). I love bold geometric patterns on upholstered headboards, but this allows for a cheap and easy change up when you get bored or change your decorative mood.

Without further ado, here is my finished product (aka, where I sleep).

The headboard was fairly easy. My dad helped/did most of the parts which involved power tools. The entire thing cost me around $100.

First pick out a piece of plywood that's flat (not warped like a lot of them are). I got two pieces because I wanted my headboard pretty tall and I wanted wings. I used the rest of the second piece to make the top of my covered ottoman. Draw the shape of the top and the wings (if you choose to have wings) on the plywood. Tip: the more intricate your wings are, the harder they are to cover.

I used tissue paper to get the top curve equal on both sides. [I apologize for the photo quality. It was a particularly humid day].

Cut out your shape (or get someone who is more savvy with power tools to cut it for you). Use wood glue to attach more plywood to the bottom. We also reinforced with some straight brackets. Let the glue dry over night. 

I used two layers full size mattress pads from Wal-Mart because they were cheaper than buying foam from a fabric store. My bed is a queen, but the full size was enough to cover the headboard. For the wings, I used an egg-carton style mattress pad we had at home.

For the wings, cut, pull tight, and staple!

For the back, I cut the shape out and used spray adhesive to stick the two layers together and to the board. They don't have to be super stuck, just enough to keep them in place when you flip it over.

After you have your foam cut out and glued on, flip your headboard face down onto batting. The batting helps to smooth out the edges since I didn't do foam around them. Pull the batting tight, but not too tight as it rips easily (same as the steps for the ottoman). After your batting is stapled down, do the same thing with your fabric! If you have a pattern, make sure your lined up straight. Pull pretty tight on the fabric. It shouldn't rip and over time it will stretch out a little so you want to start as tight as possible.

For the wings: We sewed the top to make a semi-slipcover because the top is curved. Slip over the wing and staple on the inside (side touching the headboard). Attach both wings to the headboard using L-brackets with one side of the L on the back of the headboard and the other side on the outer edge of the wing INSIDE the foam. You may have to remove a few staples in your foam to get the drill far enough in. That's fine, just staple it back after you're done. Then, staple the outside edge of your fabric to the back and you're done! 

Go ahead and take a nap. That was a lot of work :)

Okay, wake up. You're sleeping way too hard. It's just a nap.

Awake? Good. Now for the runner. This is seriously easy and cost under $20. If you have a headboard that is straight across, you can even cover more area if you'd like.

Measure how tall your headboard is. Mine was about a 1 1/4 yards. I bought 1 1/2 yards of a geometric print at Hobby Lobby for 30% off (gotta love Hobby Lobby constant sales). Even up your edges (they're never quite right when you bring them home). Fold it in half long ways and pin the right sides together. Sew a straight stitch down your open side.

You don't have to sew the top and bottom if you don't want to. They'll be tucked in anyway. Turn your tube right-side-out and iron the edges and any other wrinkles.

Center it on your headboard and tuck it behind the top and also behind the mattress.

Make your bed and take a pic cause you are d-o-n-e!

Easy, right? Feel like changing it? Go ahead! Nate uses all sorts of things, blankets, throws, interesting textures and fabrics. The possibilities are amazing.