DIY headboards for any size bed
An old fireplace mantel can be pressed into service as a headboard. Credit: DIY Network
If you don’t have a headboard on your bed, you’re just starting out with your first apartment or you want to furnish a little-used guest room, you might not want or be able to make a major investment in furniture. The following ideas will help you create a great look that’s easy, fast and inexpensive. (Note: No matter how you create your headboard, always be sure it’s secured to the bed frame or wall.)
PAINT
Outline in pencil on a wall exactly where you want your faux headboard to go. Be sure to use a straight edge to create straight lines. Tape off the lines with painter’s tape and fill in the headboard area with the color of your choice. In just a few minutes, and for less than $10, you can have both a headboard and a colorful focal point for your bedroom.
CURTAINS
Hang curtain panels or fabric panels at the top of the ceiling behind the bed. Or create a canopy with the curtains. With a few hooks, some cheap fabric panels and a step ladder, you’ll have a soft, luxurious headboard in a snap.
DIVIDERS
Room dividers can make instant headboards. A plant trellis is another headboard option. Put two or three wooden ones together and paint. For a canopy-style headboard, look for an inexpensive plant arbor. Many garden centers and discount home stores carry these, and they can be quickly converted into a headboard.
View of a guest bedroom featuring oar headboard and colorful accent pillows. A headboard made from salvaged materials can add tons of charm and unique style to a bedroom. Credit: DIY Network
DOORS
Old doors create beautiful headboards for beds. Hinge two antique doors together and stand them behind a bed. Or, turn them on their side to create a headboard. Screw the door directly to the wall or mount it to some scrap lumber legs and bolt into the bed frame. Or, take two dirt-cheap hollow core doors and hinge together. Then paint, wallpaper or upholster for an inexpensive custom headboard.
SHUTTERS
Pick up three or four shutters and hinge them together. Be sure to anchor these to the wall so that you have a firm headboard to lean against. Paint them to match your bed linens and you have a smart, beachy-casual headboard.
Tin ceiling tiles give the appearance of a quilt in a decorative framed headboard made from salvaged materials can add tons of charm and unique style to a bedroom. Credit: HGTV
ARTWORK
Try placing four square prints into a diamond and hang over the bed. Or, look for metal wall hangings to go behind the bed for a faux headboard. These can be found in home décor stores and in some garden centers. Fabric wall hangings and tapestries can also be employed as makeshift headboards.
FOOTBOARD
Many times a footboard is the perfect headboard option, especially for beds that need to fit beneath a window. They make a great headboard stand-in.
