We started by reading online tutorials from other bloggers who took care to document every step and measurement. Rather than make this a tutorial, I'll just point you here and here. N made us a basic queen size headboard from a sheet of plywood that was already in our garage, but if you'd like to skip that step you could just start with a $49.99 Ikea bed frame like Jen at Organized Design. (We were going to do this, and then realized that Ikea does not design their bed frames for ultra thick pillow top mattresses and the headboard would not come up high enough.)
From there, I took advantage of a big sale at JoAnn's Fabric and bought two sheets of 2" high density foam and some thick, organic cotton batting that wouldn't stretch out when stapled over the foam. I also picked up four yards of a dove gray suede-ish fabric and washed it to remove all the wrinkles.
Then, I just went nuts with our staple gun. I covered the legs and the back of the headboard since I had plenty of fabric left over and am pretty happy with the end result. (You'll notice I abandoned the nail head trim when I realized the potential for mistakes)
The whole project ran about $65 if you don't count what I spent on extra foam that is going to be made into a bench. I realize it looks odd to have curtains behind a corner of the headboard, but if we move the bed to the left, there won't be room for N to get out on his side. I want to find who designed this house back in '64 and punch him... except he's probably dead by now.
I think the curtains will get replaced eventually, but I have yet to find any I like better. I also need to find a bed skirt and hang some art over the bed and on the other empty walls. What are your ideas for this space? I spend a lot of time giving advice on the internet and now I need some of my own. Help!!
P.S. If you want a upholstered headboard like mine and want to skip the DIY part altogether, you can score some similar styles at a comparable price point here.
