My mom trusted me to makeover her guest bedroom. As a first step I took her old headboard and transformed it with a DIY upholstered headboard. The best part? This project doesn’t require any sewing skills at all, you won’t believe how simple it is!
My initial plan was to purchase a new bed for this makeover but it just got lost in the mail. So I took matters into my own hands and decided to DIY her existing headboard.I thought this project would be so fun since it would give this old headboard a second life instead of going straight to the landfill.
These are the supplies you need for your DIY upholstered headboard:
Materials
- 62″ x 32″ piece of 3/4″ plywood
- I repurposed the base of an old headboard
- 2 x 8″ spruce wood for wingback sides (I cut mine to 55″)
- 1/2 x 4″ MDF for back wing support (or other inexpensive wood)
- 2″ screws
- Upholstering fabric
- I used two curtain panels
- Batting
- 1/2″ staples
- 2″ thick foam mattress topper
- Spray adhesive
- Ironing spray starch (You may not need this depending on how stiff your fabric is)
Tools
- Measuring tape
- Hammer
- Pry bar
- Drill and Impact Driver
- Electric staple gun
- Really sharp scissors
Some parts of this project will be easier to understand when watching a video (like how to wrap the fabric on the wingbacks). Here’s a YouTube video to help!
Step 1: Create the Headboard Base
I wanted to reuse an old headboard since it was actually a good piece of wood, and the plan was to cover it anyway.
You want to start with a smooth surface. I took my pry bar and hammer and started removing any molding and extra pieces that would make it lumpy when I add the foam and batting. Since I am giving this headboard the wingback look I also took the legs off. They were just screwed in so this was an easy task.
If you are starting from scratch you could use a piece of plywood, MDF or any other wood product as a base. For reference, the old headboard I used was from a queen size bed 62″ x 32″.
Step 2: Create the Wingbacks
To create the headboard wingbacks, I used a 2×8″ piece of spruce and another piece of 1/2″ leftover MDF for each wing, each cut to 55″. I attached the MDF to the side of the 2″ wood by first making a pilot hole, and then driving a 2″ wood screw through.
You could use any type of wood material that you want. The ceiling in this room is 8 ft and I didn’t want anything too tall, but you could adjust the wings depending on the height of the headboard you want.
These three pieces are all you need for the DIY upholstered headboard. You can already see the shape start to form!
Step 3: Add Batting to the Wings
My original plan was to get the upholstering materials at my local fabric store but they were a lot more expensive than I anticipated. Instead, I got my supplies online and used a curtain for the fabric.
Prepare the batting
The batting that I got was much thinner than I thought, so I used a double layer to avoid any wood poking through. I cut the batting 4″ wider and longer than the size of the wings to have room to fold the batting over the edges, and stapling.
Cover the wings with batting
I covered the wings with the batting and secured it in place with ½” staples. I made sure to pull tightly so there are no wrinkles or creases in batting. I highly recommend that you get an electric staple gun for this process, your hand is going to be killing you if with a manual one!
Next, I stapled the batting to the back of the wing. Don’t worry too much about placing the staples in straight, since this part will be up against the wall. If you find that the staples don’t go in all the way, simply tap them in with a hammer.
Fold in the top of the wing
For the top end of the wing, I cut a slit on the side where there is no wood attached and folded in the excess batting. Feel free to cut any excess to avoid too much bulkiness. Then, I stapled the batting on the front, sides, and in the seam. Finally, I folded the batting over on the other side of the wing and stapled it too.
Now that all the batting is attached, trim off any excess so that when you put on the fabric, it is less bulky.
It’s so easy to make these!
Step 4: Add Foam to the Headboard Base
To upholster the headboard, I got a queen foam mattress topper. This was the most budget-friendly option that I could come up with as foam at the fabric store or by the yard were really expensive.
Cut the foam
To prepare for cutting the foam, I laid it out on top of the headboard base and aligned two of its edges to make it a lot easier to cut. After all, cutting two edges is a lot easier than cutting all four, right? I found that using really sharp scissors was the best option for this task. I also tried using a drywall knife but I just found the foam was too flimsy to cut with it. Even with very sharp scissors, cutting the foam was a workout!
Adhere the foam to the headboard base
I sprayed adhesive onto the base of my headboard. Make sure to protect the floor around your headboard because the adhesive can get all over. I used an ugly sheet.
Carefully place the foam directly on top of the headboard base, trying to align it directly into two straight corners. I messed up a little bit and didn’t get a perfect placement, so I had to do a bit of trimming after it adhered to the base.
Step 5: Add Batting to the Headboard Base
Next, I covered the headboard with a double layer of batting. Now go crazy with your staple gun! When pulling the batting to staple it, do it gently. You want to avoid pulling it too tight because it will separate. I used a lot of staples, first all around the flat sides and leaving the corners for last. Then I trimmed any excess batting from the edges.
Fold in the corners of the base
To cover the corners, I folded the batting over like a present, dividing it into three sections. First, I put down the middle section, then folded over the two sides and staple them over a few times. After one final check, I cut off any excess batting to avoid adding bulk.
Step 5: Prepare the Upholstering Fabric
Upholstery fabric was so out of my budget, but I found that curtains were a more affordable option. So, I picked up a pair of curtains from IKEA and used one panel for the headboard base and the other to cover both wings.
Iron the fabric
After removing the curtains from the package, I made sure the curtains were wrinkle-free because you don’t want any creases on your headboard. I sprayed the curtain with starch. Honestly, who uses starch anymore? I was lucky my mom had some. Then, I did one of the world’s worst chores: ironing the curtain. I ironed it really well to make sure that I got all those wrinkles out.
Step 6: Cover the Headboard base with Fabric
I laid the curtain on the floor with the correct side facing down. You want to make sure to smooth the curtain really well before putting the padded headboard on top because once the base is in place, it will be harder to remove any wrinkles.
To start attaching the fabric to the base, I folded the curtain along one of the longer sides of the base, pulling it tightly, and began stapling it to the back. Continue to pull the fabric taut as you staple, but be careful not to pull it too tight to prevent wrinkles. I started stapling along the longer side, and then moved on to a shorter side.
Work your way around the headboard. Then, cut off the excess fabric. When attaching the corners, I folded them in the same way I did with the batting. Remember to trim off any excess fabric before this step.
Here’s a view of the back of the headboard. It doesn’t have to be perfect since it will be pushed up against the wall. No one will see it!
Step 7: Wrap the Wingbacks with Fabric
There’s no way to wrap the wingback with one piece of fabric because there will always be a visible seam. I even got my mom to take a look at this because she can actually sew. You need to do it in two pieces: first, wrapping the top edge of the wing with a piece of small fabric, and then covering the longer arm.
It might be easier for you to see how I covered the wingbacks in video. Here’s a link to my YouTube video for this project
Cover the top edge of the wing
To cover the top of the wing, I cut a rectangle piece of fabric large enough to cover the edge. Attaching this part took me some time to figure out, but a lot of this project is similar to how you wrap a present. I made two creases at the top and stapled it down. To be honest, I was just winging it as I went. Get it? Because I’m upholstering the wingback! I know, it’s a terrible joke.
When wrapping this area of the wing, you want a nice and smooth seam at the top, because the rest of the wing is going to get covered. Also consider where the staples will be visible and put them anywhere that will be covered by fabric. Be sure to trim off any excess fabric, as there will be a lot of it. This step was more painful than I anticipated!
Wrap the rest of the wingback
For this step, I took one edge of the curtain that already had a seam and wrapped it around the top of the wingback. You want to make sure it’s pretty tight so it looks like the seam has been sewn in.
Then, I stapled it into the joint where the two pieces of wood meet along the wing, this will ensure they will be hidden when I attach the headboard together.
Next, I continued attaching the fabric to the other side of the wing. Since this part of the wingback will be against the wall, I added the staples without worrying too much about their placement. I had my mom help me with this step because I was getting a little nervous about getting wrinkles in it, and she helped me pull it tight while I stapled it.
Once both wingbacks are done, your headboard is almost complete.
Step 7: Assemble the Upholstered Headboard
The best way to assemble the wingbacks to the headboard base is by doing it upside down. I asked my mom again to help me for this step.
I positioned the wingbacks and base together where I wanted them to be and asked my mom to hold them in place. Then, I drilled two pilot holes on the back and screwed the pieces together at the top and the bottom of each side of the frame. I used 2″ screws because of all of the batting and fabric added. You want to make sure the screws you use don’t go through the front of the headboard, that will be really sad after you’ve gotten this far!
Assemble the bedframe
This is really exciting! We’re almost at the finish line.
The sides of the bed frame came from another bed that I had initially ordered, which arrived right at the last minute. I was so lucky that the fabric of the curtain I used for the headboard perfectly matched this bed. I decided to use my wingback headboard because it was taller and much nicer than the headboard that came with the bed frame. This is it, this was the moment that I had been waiting for!
Step 8: DIY Upholstered Headboard Reveal
Remember how I started out with this dated headboard that had no character?
Now we’ve transformed it into this beautiful piece that really helps to bring the room together.
I created this headboard! It’s beautiful and I think you could do it too!
Check out how the whole guest room makeover.
I’m really happy with the way this headboard turned out. One thing I would advise if you are making your own headboard, is to use a stiffer fabric because I got some pulling at the top. I think if I had a stiffer fabric, I wouldn’t have that issue. Otherwise, it looks really good.
When you’re finished with your project, take a minute to celebrate because it’s a lot of hard work. I’m so excited how this headboard came together. I love this project because you can transform an old headboard that you don’t really love into something modern and beautiful on a really tight budget.
This headboard cost me about $200, but in comparison, they usually cost upwards of $800 if you buy them.I hope you like this DIY upholstered headboard. I am floored with how good it turned out.
If you try this project make sure you let me know in the comments, and follow along on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok because I got tons more budget DIYs.
