Create your own headboard to dress up a plain bed.
Nearly everyone has owned a plain mattress set and bed frame at one time or another, but that leaves the task of dressing it up. Instead of investing in a factory-made headboard, try your hand at making a custom-designed piece on your own. It may seem like a job for a professional, but there are many ways to customize your bed inexpensively with a style that mass-produced furniture cannot match. Does this Spark an idea?
Padded Leather or Vinyl
Make a plain padded headboard, or tuft it with buttons.
Give yourself a place to relax and read in bed with a comfortable, padded headboard. Cut a piece of medium-density fiberboard, also called MDF, to the size and shape you like. Lightly spray one side of the board with adhesive and attach a layer of roll-type foam, purchased at a fabric or foam retailer. Cover the foam padded board with a large piece of leather or supple vinyl. Wrap the edges of the covering around the sides of the board and staple them to the back. Consider a tufted look by adding covered buttons. To hang the headboard, choose from many styles of metal hanging brackets at a home improvement store. Alternatively, attach a strip of lumber across the top of the back side and hang it as you would a heavy painting.
Faux Headboard
Frame a headboard-shaped area behind your bed with molding.
Create an artistic headboard look without a headboard by framing an area on the wall behind your bed with decorative molding. Purchase molding pieces from a home improvement store. Choose narrow, delicate molding or heavy pieces that make a bold statement. Plan the faux headboard's position and dimensions on your wall, then cut the pieces to size. Tack them to the wall with finishing nails, using glue for additional support if necessary. Once the frame is complete, paint it to match or complement the room and add other decorative touches like plant shelves inside the frame.
Fencing
Use wrought iron fence panels to make a dramatic headboard.
Make a dramatic headboard from old-fashioned picket or wrought iron fence panels, recommends Creative Homemaking. Use as many or as few panels as you like to make the headboard wide enough to suit your taste. Either attach the panels directly to the wall with U-brackets and screws hidden by the bed, or secure the fence posts to the back side of the bed frame with screws or bolts. Most bed frames are designed with holes for attaching a headboard.
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