Headboard And Bed Options For Our Bedroom
As I’m nearing the end of the walk-in closet project (which I hope to have finished by the end of this month), I’m starting to think more about our bedroom, which I’ll be tackling next. If you’re new around here, this is what our bedroom look like right now…
This room used to be our home gym, which is why it has colorful striped walls. But it will soon be our bedroom.
To turn this into a cozy, warm, welcoming bedroom, the goal will be something like this, with teal grasscloth walls, teal velvet curtains, an upholstered headboard in this exact fabric, this multi-colored rug with orange as the dominant color, etc.
To do that mockup, I used this headboard from Ballard Designs. In the mockup, I showed it without the nailhead trim, but since I love nailhead trim on just about everything I can put it on, I would prefer it to look like this…
But I’m not necessarily sold on that particular shape. I could also do something like this one, with a more subtle curved design.
But this weekend, I took some time to look at upholstered bed options to finalize my plan for our bedroom. I’ll be making the headboard myself, and I’d like to have the plan in place by the time I get to that project so that I don’t have any delays once I’m ready to begin. And that’s when I came across this bed. I sat and stared at this bed for quite a bit of time, studying all of the details and wondering if this is something I could actually make myself. If it had squared corners, I’d have no doubt that I could make it myself. But I’m not so sure about those curved areas on the headboard and footboard. And of course, it’s the curves and the finials that make it so special.
So that got me to thinking that maybe instead of doing a fully upholstered headboard, I might prefer to do something with a wood frame around the upholstered area. It could include an upholstered section on the footboard as well, like the one above or the one below…
Or I could just keep the upholstery to the headboard and make the rest of the bed wood like this one…
Of course, the easiest option would be to keep everything square, like this one…
I know for a fact that I could make that one fairly easily because I’ve already done it before. That’s very similar to the one I made for our original bedroom in this house. It’s the same headboard that I ended up using in the guest bedroom.
All of the examples I found of beds with upholstered headboards and footboards have solid colored fabric. And since I’m using a patterned fabric, I’m not quite sure how that would look on a footboard. So perhaps I should just keep the fabric to the headboard and make the rest of the bed wood. You can tell me your thoughts on that.
If I do a wood frame, that takes care of a big challenge that I’d run into with a fully-upholstered headboard that I haven’t been able to figure out. The fabric I bought is only 56 inches wide, and a I need a queen size headboard. The fabric has a very definite “up” and “down” pattern, and a queen size headboard is at least 60 inches wide, but probably more like 64 inches if it’s attached to side rails. And since the fabric can’t be railroaded because of the pattern, that means that a fully upholstered headboard will require seams to match the pattern to make it wide enough to span the width of the headboard.
I can’t figure out how Ballard Designs gets around that problem. Do their queen- and king-sized headboards have those seams, but they just don’t show them on the pictures? I’m not sure how I feel about having the fabric seamed on a fully-upholstered headboard. But if I were to do a wood frame, I could get away with not having to seam the 56-inch-wide fabric plus the width of the wood frame would be wide enough (I think).
I have no idea if that makes sense. To be honest, I’m exhausted from sanding the floors, and my brain feels quite fuzzy this morning. But if you’ve ever made a queen- or king-sized upholstered headboard using patterned fabric that couldn’t be railroaded, let me know how you did it. Did you add seams in the fabric? How did the finished headboard look? Did the seams disappear and blend in? Or were they visible?
And if you’ve ever made a wood frame upholstered headboard with curved corners, what tips do you have? After seeing that first bed, I kind of have my heart set on it now, but those curved corners baffle me.
Anyway, I hope to have an update on the floors for y’all tomorrow. I finished the sanding at 11:00pm on Friday night and then ended up having to take the weekend off because I injured myself after doing something really stupid. Ugh. I’m not quite back to 100% this morning, but I feel so much better, so I can get back to the floors today and hopefully finish them up.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
You center the whole width of fabric in the middle of the headboard and do the seams on either side. Match perfectly and you shouldn’t be bothered by the seams since it’s not down the middle.
I’ve never been able to understand why some people like a footboard. It would make me feel ‘locked in’, not to mention it’s more difficult to make the bed.
Ours would have to be low enough so that Matt could still hang his feet off the bed. He doesn’t like his feet to be completely on the bed, and he doesn’t like feeling closed in, either. I’ve seen plenty of beds with pretty footboards that are lower than the mattress, so there’s no rule that they have to extend above the mattress.
I agree with Matt
Our footboard is lower than the mattress.
If you only need to buy a few inches on either side, and you’re doing the nailheads, could you place the side nailheads directly on the seams so it hides most of them? Then only a little bit at the top would be a visible seam.
Oh, of course! That would absolutely work!
I reupholstered a headboard with a wood frame. The 54″ wide fabric wasn’t wide enough so I made two seams each about one quarter of the way in from the sides. I’m a perfectionist, like you, and painstakingly matched the print in the fabric. You can’t really see the seams if you’re more than 4 feet from the headboard. Most people wouldn’t even notice unless you told them there were seams. Your fabric has an overall design which helps hide seams.
Would an upholstered footboard be a temptation for kitty claws? I love the upholstered headboard/footboard look, but it’s those darn claws that have held me back.
Oh, that’s a good point I hadn’t even considered. Felicity would definitely think an upholstered footboard is her new scratching pad. 😒
If your pillows were in front of the headboard like they usually are when the bed is made then she may not view the headboard as a scratching post. Because they would cover a part of the headboard.
Can you cut out the curved pieces on your bandsaw?
Just buy the bed you really like and use the fabric some place else. I know you can build it cheaper, but you will be looking at it a long time so buy what you want.
Could the fabric be used as a bed skirt?
I can’t just buy a bed. I have to make one that fits our adjustable bed. There are no store-bought beds that are the perfect size fit around our adjustable bed.
Is it possible to purchase the headboard only and then make the rest of it?
We have an adjustable split king size bed. I bought a bed frame and it surrounds the adjustable platforms and mattresses. It is a padded leather headboard with leather wrapped side rails and footboard.
Is your adjustable bed some special size or something? Our son has an adjustable bed, too. He just bought a frame that works at Nebraska Furniture Mart. It fits perfectly and doesn’t affect the functionality of the bed. They had a lot of different ones to fit around adjustable beds, some of which were upholstered. You could also buy it and then cover with your fabric. Just something to think about.
All these headboard/footboard options are gorgeous. I’m curious if the new natural finished floors may affect your fabric/rug/wall color selections?
Nope. I’m moving forward with all of my original selections. Everything is purchased, so there’s no going back. 😊
Kerf cuts will help you curve/bend the wood. You would most likely need to stack several to make the depth of trim like the picture.
What about doing three panels of fabric with two seams. The middle section would be larger with two narrower (but not too narrow) panels on each side? Then apply a grosgrain ribbon on top of seams in a coordinating color or one similar to the background so it’s more subtle. Then it becomes a design feature instead of seams where you don’t want them.
Kristi – Definitely an upholstered headboard with a wooden frame. But I would not upholster the footboard, just the headboard. Personally, I think you can do the curves because you always seem to figure things out. But if not, you can definitely pull off the one in the second picture. I hope you feel better and get those floors done. Then it will be on the the fun stuff … at least mostly fun stuff.
Serendipity – I was recently on a YouTube blog by a UK upholsterer who specializes in fabric covered headboards. She does indeed do two seams, one on either side of the main panel and matching the fabric perfectly so the seams are virtually invisible.
Oh Kristi, I think you are just tired, lol. I know you could make that bed with the curves easily! It’s the same thing you did with the trim in the closet and the pergola on your shed! As far as upholstery, it would be similar to curves on the chairs you have made, but simpler. Anyway, I think when you get some rest you can see things clearly. You can do it!! One of the ways I’ve seen the fabric layout done is to put the seams on each side instead of down the center, making the center panel cover most of the headboard. Although, you could adjust the seams so the side panels aren’t small strips and more balanced. Hope that makes sense. I’m sure with how meticulous you are, you can make those seams almost invisible :-). Good luck!
What about three wooden arches with the fabric inset into each arch? Something like this but with your bird fabric instead of the rattan: https://www.kathykuohome.com/Product/Detail/69583-Allie-Coastal-Light-Brown-Oak-Wood-Natural-Woven-Cane-Classic-Bed-Queen
When I zoom in on the Warwick frame, it really looks like you can get the effect by taking a block of wood with decent grain cutting it into a curve on a band saw and routing groves into the sides of (now curved) block. Match those routed grooves to the top flat piece and you’ve got your curvy headboard base. The picture may be lying to me, but it really seems doable?
I once made a duvet cover for my queen size bed, and while it wasn’t a headboard, I still had to contend with the fabric width not being wide enough. I simply used one length as the center and split the next length down the middle and matched the pattern on each side. Note that in doing this, you would first find the match on the second length to be sure they will match at the top and bottom, or else you may find if you cut the pieces the same length, THEN try to match, one or the other could be too short! It ended up a real headache for me, but luckily, I had bought more fabric than needed because I wasn’t sure how I planned on using it. I had anticipated I might make piping to use at the seams, to hide any minor mismatching, which you could also do if you want. I have seen it done both ways, and seeing the piping is not that obvious from a distance. I think it also looks more custom with piping. Having said that, why not just remake the bed you used before?
Hope whatever stupid thing you did wasn’t serious! Sounds like you did a stupid thing subconsciously so you could have a weekend off, and you aren’t out of commission too long!
So started think how to build that dream headboard. The challenge is the rou ded inside corner pieces. You could manually cut and route the moulding yourself but that seemed a bit labor intensive. So to find milled parts. And I found panel moulding corners you can purchase! Unfortunately it looks like these are mostly intended to be painted.
Hope this helps.
Pretty much everyone has covered the way to do the curved bits on the headboard. The bandsaw is the way to go but also using a router to give the finished detail on it like molding. We have a split king, and we are making the new headboard, or headboards look like two antique twin beds put together. This time with no real footboard, my husband is 6’8″ tall, and those feet when they are not on my side of the bed, hang off quite a bit, so the bench is always there to keep his feet from falling asleep. The floors look amazing, better than the pros. Get some rest, have a think, and all will be clearer in the morning.
Cheers to you and Matt!
What I luv about the first headboard, besides its shape, is the double nailhead trim. When I see it, I envision the fabric between the double row of nailheads to be a Orange/Coral Velvet to match the Orange/Coral in the fabric – which means it would have to be a seamed band-trim added to the headboard fabric, and then the nailheads would be added along the seam of the two fabrics, after wrapping. I also envision the footboard – if you added one – being all of the Velvet Orange/Coral fabric used in the headboard.
You have a lot of good examples and you’ll make the end product lovely, I know. I wouldn’t upholster the bottom sides or end of the bed. Since you have cats, and your husband likes to have his feet hanging down and therefore touching those areas, any fabric would get shredded or rubbed against and soiled pretty quickly.
1. Try Ekena Millwork, Van Dyke’s, or Architectural Depot for radius corner millwork and matching straight trim. I’m sure other millwork companies do as well, I just know they do.
2. I have made a fully upholstered queen headboard using a print that could not be railroaded. If you match the seams well, you will very quickly stop noticing them once the headboard is up and the pillows are in place, even on a tall one.
Use flexible molding…
https://flexiblemouldingconcepts.com/architectural-accents/misc-category/radius-corner.html
There’s a video about d-i-y wood bending here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Fr8FkpXfz/
I have that same bird print onna head board. Lined up and matched the fabric. I can hardly notice unless I look for it. I’d send you a picture but dont know how.
My guess is that these manufacturers are able to buy wider printed fabric to make those headboards with no seams. But the idea of using the wide panel in the middle and add to the sides would look fine I think. I’m sorry you hurt yourself…hopefully you are much better now. Take care!
I personally like the upholsteted headboard & footboard option…with a solid color fabric on the footboard. Perhaps a coral color? .. to tie in with the area rug? That should open up bedding options.
Good luck!
The beauty of the headboard fabric stands out, partly because there’s some visual space between it and the rug. If you upholster the footboard, it might look a little busy. So I would maybe do a wood footboard, if you want one at all. Just a thought.