How to Create an Upholstery Headboard
Headboards covered with upholstery bring a comforting sense of luxury to your bedroom. You can create a padded headboard with upholstery fabric and a few other supplies from your local fabric store. Select from elegant silk, warm chenille or rich leather to create a designer style headboard for a fraction of the retail price. This simple project will help you quickly transform your bedroom from drab to dramatic. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- 3/4-inch thick plywood panel
- Saw
- Medium grade sandpaper
- Spray adhesive
- Upholstery foam
- Marker
- Electric knife
- Batting
- Fabric
- Staple gun
- Decorative trim
- Glue gun
Instructions
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Cut a three-fourths-inch sheet of plywood to fit behind your bed. You can create a straight line square or rectangle, or you can create a design across the top with a scroll saw. To make a design, draw the outline onto the wood before you cut it.
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2
Sand the edges and the face of the wood board to remove any splinters and rough spots.
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3
Lay the cut wood board on top of the upholstery foam. Trace the outline onto the foam with a marker. Remove the wood and cut out the shape in the foam with an electric knife.
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4
Lay the wood flat and spray one side with adhesive. Lay the upholstery foam on top of the adhesive on the wood and press down. Let the adhesive dry.
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5
Measure and cut fabric and batting to cover the face, edges and at least four inches along the back perimeter of the plywood headboard. Make sure to use upholstery fabric for this project--it's thicker and often wider than other fabrics.
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Lay the fabric face-down on the floor with the batting on top. Center the padded plywood headboard on top of the batting. Wrap the fabric and the batting over the sides of the plywood and staple them in place onto the back of the wood. Begin in the center of any side and work your way out to the corners. For sculpted or intricately cut areas, pull the fabric in small amounts at a time to keep the integrity of the shape. Place staples every one-half inch or less along the headboard.
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7
Cut a piece of decorative trim to fit around the perimeter of the headboard. Glue the trim in place with a glue gun. This step is not necessary, but it will give your headboard a finished appearance.
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