Using Wall Panels To Make A Headboard: a house log

When Jennae sent over her bedroom before and after photos we had to share her Hands-on headboard project. Here is her letter:

My husband and I live in a rental, we are on a budget, and we enjoy all things green (as indicated by my journal) – so decorating the bedroom was not the easiest task. Our biggest challenge was what to do for a headboard. We searched the web for headboard ideas & walkthroughs (including yours) and then I at last remembered a product I’d featured on my journal a while back: Wall Flats from Inhabit Living. Wall flats are essentially paintable 3-dimensional wallpaper, although it feels more like stiff lightweight cardboard. They are made of bamboo pulp and fully biodegradable at the end of their life cycle, so they met our green criteria. And a box of 10 tiles typically costs $86, but ever on a budget, we picked up their “second-quality” wall flats (think irregular clothing) at $4.50 apiece. A miscalculation on my part meant we picked up 12 tiles, but we only wound up needing 9. Still, even though we picked up too many, our headboard still only cost us $55, plus $10 worth of foam tape, and we are thrilled with the way it turned out. You can see how the whole room came together in this post. You will see we changed quite a few things in the “after” photo, but the headboard and the bedding were the biggest changes. – Jennae

Here is her room before the big headboard undertaking (ignore her husband, he was warned he’d be published if he did not move):

And here is the same room after a little Hands-on headboard magic:

Did not Jennae do a strong job? We enjoy that she used discounted wall flats to get a strong textured look on a budget- and since she’s a renter they are fully removable (so they can go with her when she moves on). And considering that most headboards are hundreds of dollars (and she used eco materials- which are typically a lot more pricey!) we think she scored one heckova deal. Plus we enjoy how modern and textured it all looks- especially when paired with such a lovely duvet with those strong printed pillows and lamp shades. What do you folks think? Anyone itching to take on a project like this? It makes us wish we had another bedroom to tackle.