apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oh it's really easy! Ideally you should have a staple gun to adhere the fabric to the canvas frame... but I didn't have one and used a hot glue gun instead and it turned out all right.

http://flickr.com/photos/seshat/3090703205/

I covered 3 canavases with a solid fabric and painted the design on them. It was a cheap, quick fix for my lack of a headboard... unfortunately my cat likes to scratch it to wake me up in the morning. I also used command velcro strips mount it on the wall because using a picture hanger is none to stable if you flail around in your sleep (I used to throw pillows at roommates...)

Good luck!

Well maybe you still want an upholstered headboard. How inconvenient would it be for you to wait to get enough money to make what you really want, instead of wasting your nice fabric on a project that's sort of makeshift? Is that what will make you happy?

Question...I need a headboard too and prefer the DIY method but I like to sit up in bed. Could I just take some strips of wood and nail them to the back of the canvas and stuff the space in between with something soft? It works in my head but that isn't saying much.

Here's a compromise suggestion.

Assemble canvases that are the width you want for your bed. (Hopefully just two that are the same size.)

Place face down on your fabric, with the design centered as much as you can manage.

Duct tape or otherwise temporarily fasten the canvases together and then duct tape or pin the fabric on (so you don't damage it and can use it later when you can afford to do this right.)

If you have some quilt batting or an old disposible blanket around, you could cut some layers of that the size of the two canvases and layer them between the fabric and canvas as padding.

Hang the canvases on the wall from carefully placed finishing nails by balancing the rim of the stretcher bars on the nails.

I agree w/ KTG - Hold onto the fabric and wait until the right time to get what you want done well rather than waste it on some slapdash compromise.

I am selling my old upholstered headboard if anyone is looking for a base for their reupholstery project.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fuo/1033770464.html

Thanks. I'm especially happy that the directions involve duct tape.