Attaching a Headboard to an Adjustable Bed: A How-to Guide (2024)

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A long time ago, headboards were used for head protection from drafts. This was back when houses weren’t so warm and comfy as they are now. Even though we don’t need them in the old sense anymore, you can attach a headboard to make your room look more stylish or to match other bedroom furniture. Your adjustable bed frame may already come with headboard brackets – if so, it’ll be super easy for you to attach a headboard. If not, you’ll have to take some extra steps.

Attach a Headboard to an Adjustable Bed Frame in a Few Easy Steps

Check if You Have Headboard Brackets or Buy New Ones

Some bed frames already have headboard brackets. If yours does, all you have to do is get a matching headboard and make sure you have all the screws to attach brackets to the new headboard. If your bed didn’t come with brackets, you’ll have to buy some – preferably from your bed frame manufacturer.

Here’s an example of a headboard bracket set. It includes bracket tracks (ones with square tops), headboard flanges (the T-shaped ones), bolts, and nuts. You may get differently shaped flanges.

Instead of a pair of square bracket tracks that go into the bed frame, you may get two pairs of items – one mounting bracket pair and one flat mounting track pair, like this:

Either way, you need pieces on the left and right sides of the bed that serve to provide an attachment to the bed frame and pieces that are attached to the headboard itself.

Bed frames are likely to come with headboard attachments, but headboards aren’t. That’s why you shouldn’t expect to receive a headboard bracket if you’ve ordered a headboard. Also, bear in mind that a lot of kits don’t even come with a set of bolts that should attach the headboard bracket flanges to the actual headboard. The size of those bolts depends on the thickness and type of your headboard.

Types of Attachment

Most brackets are the bolt-on type. This means that there are drilled holes in places where you need to insert bolts.

The other type is a hook-on bracket that you can see below.

Bolt-on attachments are more secure but may take a bit more time to set up. The hook-on brackets are easy to attach as well as detach, so they may come in handy for people who move their bed a lot or need frequent changes. You have to decide which headboard mount style you prefer.

Prepare Yourself and Make Room for Work

Declutter your bedroom and move all pieces of furniture away from the bed. Raise the head of your adjustable bed to make the headboard bracket easily accessible.

Check if your headboard bracket kit has the bolts that attach flanges to the headboard. Some kits only have bolts that attach bracket channels to the bed and flanges to the bracket channels but lack the large bolts that you need to attach the headboard to the flanges.

Put the headboard against the wall and have the bed frame nearby so that it’s easy to connect them. The headboard width should be anywhere from the width of your bed frame to up to four inches wider.

Finally, ask someone for help – it’s likely that you’ll need someone to hold the headboard while you’re putting the screws in and tightening them.

Attach the Brackets and the Headboard

How exactly you’ll attach the brackets depends on the bracket type, but most follow a similar (or the same) way of attachment.

• Use the 3-inch carriage bolts to attach the headboard bracket channels to the bed frame.
• Slide a washer onto the bolt and put a nut over it. Hand-tighten but allow room for movement. Do this on both sides.
• Now attach the headboard bracket flanges to both bracket channels using the half-inch bolts and hand-tighten them. Now you’ll have two loosely attached assemblies.
• Lower the bed base to the flat position for the next step.
• Take a measuring tape and make sure that the flanges are about 1 1/2 or 2 inches away from the edge of the mattress. Slide the assembly in or out until you reach this measurement. This is because you don’t want the mattress and/or adjustable bed base to hit the headboard when moving up or down.
• Return the bed to the raised position.
• Firmly tighten the long carriage bolts once both assemblies are at the right distance. Don’t tighten the flanges yet.

• Measure the distance on the headboard mounting holes.

• Measure the distance between the flanges. Flange holes should match the headboard’s holes. If they don’t match, adjust the flanges to the inside or outside until they do.

• Tighten the headboard bracket flange bolts.
• Attach the headboard to the flanges.

Mind the Gap!

Once you’ve finished, check the gap between the adjustable frame and the headboard once again. People with small children should be mindful of this space because kids can get stuck in it when playing.

You should hit the sweet spot – leave enough space so that the headboard doesn’t stand in the way of bed adjustment, but also once the bed is in the lowered position, it shouldn’t be too far from the headboard.

Headboards That You Don’t Attach Directly onto the Adjustable Bed

Many adjustable beds have a traditional headboard, but you can also use a wall-mounted, “floating” headboard or a freestanding headboard.

Floating Headboards

When you wall-mount your headboard, you’ll get more stability and an easily movable bed.

People usually decide to mount tall and extra-wide headboards onto a wall. In general, all super-heavy headboards need additional stability, so it’s much better to mount them onto a wall.

You also don’t have to worry about size compatibility because extra-wide headboards look good with queen and king-sized beds.

You’ll need someone to help you hold the board.

Here’s how to install a floating headboard:

• Put the headboard against the wall to see where you want to put it. Hold it up to decide how high you want it. Ideally, the headboard’s bottom edge will be a couple of inches below the mattress top, so the wall doesn’t show through.
• Use a pencil to mark the upper and lower edges. Also, mark the headboard’s center on the wall by drawing a straight line.
• Now put the headboard on the bed or floor face down and draw a line along the center of the board. If the material is dark, paste a light-colored tape and draw a line on it.
• Examine the back of the board for solid wood or other solid backing parts where you can put the fasteners.
• Use a stud finder (a device that locates studs in your walls) to be sure where it’s safe to attach mounting fasteners.
• It would be perfect if the solid points on your headboard corresponded perfectly to the studs in your walls. If not, you can first attach a plank on the wall across two adjacent studs to give you support.
• Lighter headboards may need about two mounts and heavier ones may need three or four mounts.
• Make even spacing between mounts and be sure to take careful measurements so that the mounts on the wall perfectly match the ones on the headboard.
• Mount the headboard fasteners so that they face down and wall fasteners so that they face up. This way they will interlock when you hang the headboard.
• If you added a plank on the wall for support, you’ll probably find the headboard rocking side to side. To fix this, use another plank of the same thickness but this time attach it on the back of the headboard.
• Finally, if you’re not quite happy with the placement of the mounts and you want to move your headboard up or down a bit, don’t relocate the ones on the wall – rather, move the ones on the headboard.

Freestanding Headboards

These headboards are thick and stand on their own like shelves (sometimes they actually do have upper parts that serve as bookshelves) or they are U-shaped, and they “hug” a part of the bed.

Either way, these headboards come in a variety of options, from wooden shelf types to upholstered ones.

They are also easy to install – just slide the headboard behind the bed and slide the bed back into its place. You can always drill holes and secure even a freestanding headboard, but there’s no real need for this.

Bottom Line

If you’re trying to figure out how to attach a headboard to an adjustable bed, you should first check if you already have the brackets or you need to buy new ones. Also, make sure you have the big screws that’ll attach the brackets to the headboard.

First, attach the brackets loosely, and once you’ve reached the correct measures, tighten them. Then attach the headboard to the brackets.

If you want a big, heavy headboard for your adjustable bed, you should think about attaching it to the wall. Finally, you can also use one of the freestanding headboards. They are the heaviest, but also the easiest to install – that is, just push against the wall.

Once you’ve finished, take a break and enjoy a good night’s sleep!

Related product reviews:

• Amerisleep Adjustable Bed Base
• Best box springs
• Zinus box spring

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