apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oooooo, Jonathan! This is beautiful, especially the back lighting. Very nice...

BHG is overflowing with inspiring ideas...
I did a post on this way back.. some fab looks!

perfect timing! i am finally moving out of my studio within the next two months and will need to design my new bedroom. this will most certainly come in handy!

Praytell, how much do those doors cost?

i agree that there are many concerning things in that middle photo... ha! I do like the bureau, but not where it is at the end of the bed, and I like the vintage textiles but that theme-room crap of fake roman columns and iron decorations looks stupid. yeah, stupid... sorry that's the best I can do with my words today.
the closet doors trick is a good one, they are light and cheap.

yes, how much is a standard closet door in manhattan?

right now i have a bamboo curtain from Pearl River Mart as my headboard -- someone once suggested finishing the edges with something. i have no idea with what tho..

click my name for a pic!

oops didn't realize this was the L.A. AT, not the N.Y.C. one.. i feel like i stepped out of bounds!

oh well, at least i'm originally from the O.C.!

I've used a big piece of cardboard for a headboard. It looks pretty awesome.

looks great! i'd suggest overlapping the strips of light if possible so that you get a uniform glow rather than two circles

I made my headboard by getting a piece of plywood, wrapping batting and fabric on it, and then faux tufted it with covered buttons by stapling pieces down and hot glueing the buttons on top of the staples. Really easy and cheap (especially because I had the fabric already). After a move, it's a bit dissembled--I need to get out the staple gun and re-do it, otherwise I'd post a pic!

hey chris- great suggestion. I actually thought the same thing and have since replaced it with one long one, looks much better...(the photo above is an older one)

Here's a few hints that I used for my old headboard - I took a sheet of MDF and had it cut to size. I think it cost less than $25 per sheet. I chose to make it 4' x 6' mounted long(MDF comes in 4'x8').

Since I had leftovers, I asked them to cut a few strips about 4" wide using a 45 degree. I used these as "Z-clips", mounting one to the wall using a level and one to my headboard (use another set if you want more security, though it might be hard er to line up). It's a little tricky, but it's the easiest way to wall mount something. Also, since MDF is quite heavy, you can place the screws along the clip anywhere you can find a stud.

Because I think MDF is too "thin" visually, I wanted to thicken it up. I had some regular strips cut out (whatever thickness - I'd suggest 2" or so). Then, I miter cut them and added it to the edges using screws/contact glue. I did the same for a platform I made using two sheets. I stained/lacquered mine a dark brown with a high gloss.

When I moved out of the country and I had to sell the bed because shipping it would have been too expensive. I was so sad - I loved it because it was the first piece of furniture I had ever designed and made on my own. I think the project cost less than $200 (welded frame was $100, $75 for MDF, $25 for lacquer/misc).

Here's a picture of the headboard assembly if you're a visual kind of person.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/570/headboardao3.jpg

Some variations of this project would be to just use paint grade plywood (it's lighter, but it is a bit more expensive). Also, if you don't "thicken" it, you can use the space made by the z-clip to put rope lighting. You can pad the headboard and staple fabric. You can spray adhesive fabric for a clean "solid" look. I could go on and on... which means it's time to shut up. Hehehe...

I love that...wonderful job

The closet door thing looks doable, but that top-pic of the upholstered headboard doesn't look very diy-friendly.

PhillyLass, my mom upholstered a headboard much like the top one herself. It took pretty basic sewing skills once the plywood base was cut. And if you were going with a rectangular shape you could probably even find plywood that's already the right size, or have it cut at Home Depot for you.