Nothing quickens the DIY spirit like a headboard. The web is full of creative ideas for what to do with the end of your bed; here, we round up some of the best ones.
Top row, left to right:
1. Here's a clever idea: turn an antique mantelpiece into a headboard. This picture is from Apartment Therapy contributor Leah Moss' home; here's a step-by-step tutorial on how she did it.
2. Paint the wall behind the bed with chalkboard paint...and then draw a headboard on the wall. Clever, stylish, cheap, hilarious. From FlyChicks.
3. From Better Homes and Gardens: oversized mirror as headboard.
4. These Blik wall decals are super affordable (this one starts at only 40 dollars), and all you have to do is stick them to the wall.
5. Hanging an interesting textile behind the bed is a lovely (and effective, and super-simple) way to DIY a headboard. This example is from Dean's house tour.
Bottom row, left to right:
6. The very simplest of DIY headboards...just a square of color painted on the wall. So clean and modern. From Alexandra Angle Interior Design.
7. Antique doors as headboard from Apartment Therapy.
8. Here's one from Country Living made from old louvered shutters. (Being a frequent visitor to antique stores myself, I can tell you that these things are a dime a dozen.) You can sand them down and paint them any color you want.
9. A canvas with string lights behind it gives the bedroom a dreamy, fairylike feel. From Apartment Therapy.
10. And I couldn't resist including at least one headboard made from recycled wooden pallets. This one's from Stylizimo.
(Images: As credited above)
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The chalk almost had me! I was sitting here thinking... "OMG!!! An acrylic headboard!!"
But then i noticed it was chalk. Sad for me, but really cute for the wall.
I need some DIY headboard ideas for beds in front of windows!
@Jennamack87 Maybe a faux stained glass board to catch the light?
I'm making a canvas board covered in linen soon. Easy, and I can just hang it up like a picture (because it is, sorta, lol).
@jennamack87 I'm moving into a place soon where the only logical spot for the bed is under windows. My plan is to make some simple canvas curtains and paint a "headboard" on them.
@jennamack87, I would suggest some hanging plants with long trailing stalks. They would provide a certain amount of privacy as well as a seasonal mobile display.
My favorite diy chalk headboard is from Shauna's More Dash than Cash.
All of these are cute, but some of these seem terrible if you ever sit up in bed and lean up against the wall. Like the chalk. Or mirror.
These are all great! I recently made my own headboard. It was super cheap.
http://media-cache.pinterest.com/upload/148829962655789941_Ujzk4H2I.jpg
I really like the light string headboard. It must look AMAZING in the dark.
Isn't the string light headboard idea lifted from an old episode of Changing Rooms? I miss that show...
Clicking thru for #9 didn't get me to instruction but I was able to find it on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/20101230174457/http://www.diyideas.com/roombyroom/Bedrooms/headboards_ss2.html
Bring romantic ambience to your bedroom with a headboard that glows. Build a simple wood frame from 2x4s, and add crossbeams to create as many light "frames" as you like. Drill small holes in the bottom of each opening. (Make sure the holes are large enough to feed the light cords through.) Paint your frame, then attach it to the wall, screwing it into the studs. Fill each space with lights, connecting the cords as you go. The translucent panels were cut from polycarbonate sheet and affixed to the frame with screws. If you don't want to cut the polycarbonate yourself, have it cut to size at your local home supply center.
@teacupsquid - I LOVE that idea! I tried to find an example after reading your comment but couldn't. I am picturing a roller blind or roman shade with a painted or decaled headboard. I'd be interested to see what you come up with when you are finished :D
Such great ideas. We want to replace our original front door and use it as a headboard. We bought my folks home so the door has sentimental value. I also love the shutter idea.
I would LOVE to see a whole post about decor when you have to place a bed in front of windows. Love @Pestle's plants idea, would really like to see it in action!
They are all amazing, but my "headboard" is a gallery of original paintings of all different sizes and subjects that I have collected throughout the years but did not really go with the rest of my house anymore. The only common thing is they are all framed in fancy gold-leaf frames. The only drawback is that I can't lean against them but I solved that by hanging the bottom ones just above the pillow shams so I can partly sit up and read in bed without hitting the paintings. I don't usually sit up in bed anyway so it works for me!
Love many of those ideas.
Agree the chalk looks neat, but too easily smudged.
Mirror is an odd one too! Interesting, but not for everyone!
I love my headboard. It is the weathered stake side to a truck. It had been used/outdoors for a long time and was really beaten up. Had the metal brackets on the back (perfect for bolting to the wall!) and looks great with just a wash of antique white paint.
I did not cut it or sand it or anything else. Just washed it and gave it a bit of color and stuck it to the wall. I love it.
@mic_kaboom - Thank you for providing that link!!
I can already feel my lungs wheeze up at the sight of that chalk design head board. The weathered doors are perhaps my favorite.
This is such a great idea! Especially the canvas with the lights behind it - marvelous. Maybe even hanging some fabric behind your bed, and extend it with hanging from dowel rods. Fun!
When staying with friends in France this summer, we loved the "headboard" on our bed - a rod attached o the wall with two euro (Square) shams hanging from it. Apparently this is common in France as they directed us to Madura ( a chain that also has stores in the US) to buy the rod, shams, inserts and even the fabric straps to attach them to the rod. Very cool and doesn't take up any room! I've now recreated it in my own home.
Wow, it's like heroin for your eyes! So many jaw dropping and inspired things here, the light board, the chalkboard!
I got really inspired off of a pic from one of the home tours and decided to DIY my own upholstered corner headboard. Having the L shaped headboard really makes shoving your bed into a corner a lot more socially acceptable!
Check it out if you want!
http://shamelesslycheapdiydesign.com/2012/08/30/diy-project-head-bored/
@eascheel - I may just have to do something like that with shorter pillows - the full-sized bed in my guest bedroom/library/office is half under a window, and I cannot use a regular headboard because the bed would stick out too far in the room due to cast iron baseboards on that side of the room and a bookshelf opposite.