Our bedroom is so small that we had to choose between making room for night stands and a bed frame or having room to walk on both sides of the bed. Find out how $50 in hardware, a drill, and some patience became a space maximizing, faux headboard with bedside lighting.
Two swing lamps, a long towel rod, and three ceramic eggs from Ikea mounted to the wall above the bed were enough to make a faux headboard. The key to making all this work on plaster and lathe walls was making sure that everything was well connected to the wall.
Toggle Bolts and Wing Anchors
In order to make sure that we didn't tear the lights out of the walls from daily use, I used toggle bolts and wing anchors to securely fasten the swing lamps to the wall. I knew we would want to adjust the lights and that would put a lot of stress on what could have been a very delicate connection in a fragile plaster wall. The wing anchors connect to the plaster wall behind the lathe which keeps the fixtures from pulling out of the wall. It also helps them feel secure when we move them.
Clutter
An unexpected bonus to this faux headboard solution was that it reduced the amount of stuff we used to think we needed by the bed. There are only three little ceramic eggs now so only essentials are out.
Cords
The disadvantage of a wall mounted light is that one must deal with the cords. As you can see, I haven't dealt with them yet. The switch for these lamps is along the cord, so it cannot be completely hidden and There isn't a good way make them disappear into the wall. Can anyone share suggestions on how to tackle this last part o fthe project?
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I don't care for the look but I appreciate the imagination of making this as a space saving device and unique headboard.
I'd like to see the completed room, with the bed and the "headboard" before making any judgments. By itself it's kind of lackluster.
I have an idea that may complete the look and cover up those hanging cords.
Measure the width and height of the space
a) mattress to towel rod b)width between the hanging light cords but add an extra inch or two to cover the cords completely. Buy a piece of 1 inch thick foam that is the same width and height as above.
Cover the foam with a nice piece of upholstery or tapestry fabric and hot glue in place. The fabric does not need to cover the entire back of the foam...just the front, sides, top/bottom and an little of the back. It will make a cushion style backrest. (You can usually get a good piece of suitable fabric on sale at Joann's or Hancock).
Using the same fabric hand sew loops of fabric (folded under to conceal the unfinished seams) to the top of the cushion. Hang from the towel rod. If you need to be able to easily remove this cushion from the towel rack you can sew in some velcro strips so they can be removed without unscrewing the towel rod).
The foam cushion allows you to still hang the containers off the rod without making the fabric look sloppy.
Hope this helps.
Pat C
I understand that the concept here is modern…However, I saw some amazing wall mounted lighting at getbackinc.com. The lights are what is called Vintage Industrial and depending on the motif of the boudoir it might work.
Interesting idea. I'd like to see how it looks in a bedroom.
Long shot, but...paint the cords to match the wall? Never tried on purpose, but I once spilled latex wall paint on an electrical cord (not plugged in), and the cord seems fine. The colour hasn't even cracked or anything, lol.
Also, this is a cool idea! :)
Neat idea Carepac. I might give it a shot.
I once hung a curtain with big pockets in it (think shoe bag but way bigger and better looking) as a headboard/storage in a very narrow bedroom. I could stash books, glasses, water bottle, etc. in the pockets. It was really handy and created a nice focal point in the room. I'd completely forgotten about it until now. I guess having more space makes me kind of lazy and less innovative.