Pick up any Martha Stewart Living Magazine and you will see decorating ideas for headboards. The plethora of headboards people come up with is unbelievable. People are using everything from fireplace mantels to picket fence to make headboards, and coming up with ideas for one can sometimes be daunting. Many times it is hard to determine what headboard will fit with your decor. Or, you might have a limited budget and need a fantastic idea that will be easy on the pocketbook. The materials for a headboard can cost anywhere from $500-$1,000, depending on what you have in mind. Or it can be as cheap as your imagination. Here, we will discuss various ways to build headboards that are both easy on the pocketbook and where to find them.
Places to Look
The days of finding that perfect brass bed frame in an old barn are long gone. Now it means you search flea markets, thrift shops and large home improvement stores like Lowe's for materials. Let's look at some ideas.
1. Create a garden themed headboard, perfect
for a child's room, out of picket fence. Pickets
can be bought at any home improvement store. Place
a garden bench at the end of the bed for a dressing
bench.
2. Try to find an old wedding canopy. Use the arch that the couple
enters through, and drape with a designer fabric
that matches your decor. To get really fancy, use an
entire gazebo, allowing for a canopy for the bed that
could be hung with mosquito netting.
3. Get a hockey goal back stop for a boy's
bedroom. It will satisfy any sports theme, and when
you're not looking, the boy can drag it into the street
for a game of roller blade hockey.
5. Bi-fold doors and three-piece standing screens make
ideal headboards. An old standing screen can be stripped
of material and replaced with the designer fabric that
best suits your theme. Attach to the wall with wood
screws.
6. Old doors work well for headboards. If you have a
king size bed, you can set two old doors on edge and
stack them one atop the other for a massive look.
7. Shutters are also a good choice for a headboard.
You can often find them in thrift shops, and refinish
them to suit your decor. You will need two shutters
for a twin size, and four for a king size.
8. A good choice for a teenager's bedroom is cork.
It can be bought in sheets or squares. Squares are
definitely easier to work with. Use your imagination
and your teenager's favorite hobbies to decorate with.
You can paint them, or use pictures and posters to decorate
the cork. Cork is easily cut, so design the headboard
well before installing. Fasten to the wall using the
manufacturer's instructions.
9. Use adhesive-backed mirror squares that attach to the wall. They come in different patterns,
such as a "marble" design or a distressed look. Simply attach to the wall
behind the bed according to manufacturer's instructions.
10. If you are lucky enough to have an old fireplace
mantle in your attic, then use this to make a massive
headboard for a king size bed. Some of these came built
with adjoining side panels, making it ideal to fill the
opening with anything you desire, from leather to a
floral design. Use your imagination for the insert.
The possibilities are endless for finding the ideal materials for a headboard. With all the available fabric and leather today, the design is only limited by your imagination. Let your creative spirit go, and design your own headboard. It will truly be one of a kind, and you will have the satisfaction of having done it yourself.
Tons of headboard how-tos!
*****************
Alden Smith is an award winning author and regular contributor to DoItYourself.com. He writes on a variety of subjects, and excels in research.
.
Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be submitted to our
"