After using our favorite method to make a simple headboard for our son’s room last week, we had enough leftover materials to try a new trick in our daughter’s room — and ended up with a completely free headboard for her. Three cheers for $0 projects. She helped pick the design and took part in making it, so it’s not only comfortable to lean against, but she’s genuinely excited about the result.
Before we get into the how-to, here’s a quick update on how her room has evolved since we moved in. When we first saw the house it looked very different, and one of the biggest changes we made was vaulting the ceiling. There was an empty attic above and the roof sloped this way already, so no structural changes were required — we simply opened the space up and replaced the popcorn ceiling with planks and a beam. The contractor handled this while we were still out of state, and we caught some progress photos during the renovation.
Now, after a couple of months of living here, the room mostly contains things we already owned. The rug came from our previous kids’ art room, the nightstands are from the pink house, and the dresser and bedside lamps moved here from her old bedroom. We did purchase a pendant light, new curtains and hardware, and a bed frame — the bed was the only new furniture piece we needed. We chose it because it provides three sides of under-bed storage with eight cubbies that hold bins for games, Legos, books and toys, which has been incredibly useful.
We debated replacing the exterior door in this kids’ room with a window because of concerns about privacy and safety. Instead, we installed a secure deadbolt and a robust whole-house alarm system that monitors the door closely. The unexpected benefit: in an emergency the kids can walk directly outside. We may still convert it to a window someday for furniture flexibility, but for now the door feels safe and practical.
Now back to the headboard. Floating the bed under the window made the most sense for layout, but it didn’t leave room for a conventional store-bought headboard. We had a stash of scrap fabric leftover from our son’s headboard project — not large enough for a single panel, but plenty if pieced together. We decided to create a horizontal channel-tufted look composed of multiple upholstered strips.
We involved our ten-year-old in the design and she chose three visible horizontal panels above the mattress. To avoid gaps below the mattress, we actually made four panels so the headboard extends down to the top of the bed frame. We cut four identical strips from scrap plywood — each measured 39″ wide by 7″ tall — anticipating that batting and fabric would add about 1/2″ thickness to each panel.
The upholstering process is straightforward and much like any DIY headboard, except you upholster each narrow panel individually before assembling them. Start by wrapping each plywood strip with two layers of batting and stapling it securely. Older kids can help with measuring, cutting, and holding materials while you staple, but use care with tools.
Next, wrap each strip with your chosen fabric, stretch it smoothly and staple it at the back. If your fabric has a pattern, plan the layout so patterns line up across panels. For our solid fabric this wasn’t an issue. Repeat for all panels until each one is fully upholstered.
With all panels finished, attach them together using two horizontal connector strips of scrap plywood that run across the back. Nail and then screw these connectors into place, but be careful to use fasteners short enough that they won’t penetrate through and reach the front-facing upholstery. Press the panels tightly together while fastening so there are no gaps between them, and assemble the unit on the floor or against the wall to keep edges straight.
Once assembled, hang the headboard using your preferred method. We cut a simple cleat to secure the headboard to the wall (you can purchase pre-made cleats if preferred). Alternatively, D-rings or French cleats work well. Make sure the cleat on the wall lines up with the cleat on the headboard for a safe, level installation.
Because we made four strips, the headboard reaches from above the mattress down to the bed frame, avoiding an awkward gap that can collect pillows or bedding. You can see the hidden fourth strip if you move the mattress slightly; it keeps everything looking intentional and finished once the bed is in place.
There’s more to show in this room — we DIYed framed canvas artwork and painted a colorful wall treatment behind the dresser — but those projects deserve their own posts. For now, here’s a final before-and-after to show how much vaulting the ceiling transformed the space. It truly feels twice as big in person.
Ah, that’s better.
More DIY Headboard Tutorials
Want more headboard ideas? Here are other projects that use similar techniques and might inspire your next build:
- Adding an upholstered headboard to an existing bed’s headboard
- Creating a multisided upholstered headboard for a daybed
- Making a lightweight fabric headboard
P.S. We’ll share more updates from this house, including bathroom photos and tutorials for the framed canvas and painted wall treatment, soon.