apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We don't have a headboard, just pillows, but we have some framed pix arranged above the pillows, and two directed lamps. I don't feel like we really need a headboard, but that's just us I guess.

I had the same problem a few years ago. I decided to buy a bed that I really liked that did not have a headboard. Later, I kept wishing for a headboard, so that I can sit-up in bed and read, or for doing other activities. I later decided to have a minimalist headboard built for me. The headboard attaches to the wall, not the bed. It looks great. I would recommend selecting a bed you like, and probably having a headboard built later.

a fabric wall-hanging might be a good option for you. Marimekko has several ready made wall hanging kits that are both warm and colorful and still very modern (http://store.txtlart.com/walhankit1.html).

If Marimekko prints don't suit you, you could easily create a customized wall hanging with the fabric of your choice.

i love the idea of painting a headboard, if i hand't already bought a bed that is what i would do. (next go around i will opt for a simple platform bed sans headhboard and paint or stencil one on).

maybe you could paint in that really dark blue that is in the quilt at the foot of your bed? or that shade of grey in the pillows?

I've seen a "headboard" painted on the wall in a contrasting color and it looked great. The best part is that it would be easy, fast, cheap, and readily changeable.

I like the way your room looks now; the blue is very refreshing and clean looking.

DIY headboard maybe? Plywood, fabric, staple gun, batting...

Then just have the bed on a standard frame?

http://interiordec.about.com/od/diyheadboards/

Holly

I made a fabric "headboard" with a large piece of plushy fake fur and a contrasting border along the top. On the back side of the border, I sewed a channel to slip in a dowel. Then I screwed tiny eye hooks into the ends and middle of the dowel (channel is split in the middle) and hung it from small L-hooks. The hooks are invisible since they're hidden by the border.

We actually have wood bed with a low headboard, but I like the softness and texture of the fake fur behind it.

Hakarl and Jili's bedroom in Smallest Coolest Apt. Contest had a large poster acting as the headboard in a color contrasting to their sheets. It looks awesome. The effect could easily be achieved with paint. I think I linked through my name.

I sort of do the same thing that Matilda does. I have 2 euro pillows and a large framed print instead of a headboard. A swing-arm sconce is next to the bed and all together it looks really nice.

Growing up in a family who didn't believe in headboards, I'm finding myself without and wanting.

Luckily, I saw a DIY one in an issue of Ready Made magazine. It was called a Head Bangin' Headboard. Looked very clean, organic and simple. I'll have to find what issue.

Also, this issue's Domino has alterna-headboard ideas.

I think a bedroom needs a headboard (or a similar head-of-bed visual anchor) to look finished and grown-up (like a livving room needs a rug!!)

But agree "visual anchor" leaves lots of room for interpretation, as in the many great suggestions above. I'd add to the list ceiling-hung (from hospital track) fabric behind or slightly wrapping the bed's head.

The latest Ikea catalog has a very interesting woven fibre headboard shown on one of its beds. Very organic in nature.

Is an upholstered headboard not soft enough a look for you?

How about something like this hung above the wall?

http://store.txtlart.com/lumimarja.html

It sounds to me as if you are yearning for an antique bed. For some reason, Ilse Crawford's bed, as featured on the cover of her book "Home is Where the Heart Is" comes to mind. It is a large ornate antique French headboard painted white.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0847826856/sr=1-1/qid=1154377497/ref=sr_1_1/104-4360487-0966365?ie=UTF8&s=books

We ended up buying a 4'x8' canvas and painting it a color that matched the rest of our room. In this case we did a horizontal split. The top 2/3 was brown. the bottom 1/3 was a dark red.

I think raising your bed 1 foot is a good idea. i prefer a platform bed. not the kind that is a wood box touching the floor, but the kind that leave a few inches underneath the bed for air. i like under the bed empty, without underbed storage boxes, to give an airy feel to the room. you can get the platform bed without the headboard attachment, if you don't want one. but with mattress on floor, it gets dusty, and is harder to clean floor.

Just a taking a moment to acknowledge that the blanket in that photo is fantastic

Just a taking a moment to acknowledge that the blanket in that photo is fantastic.

For "visual completion" what about hanging a tapestry or carpet from a dowel? Something handmade, like

http://web.mit.edu/ekmiller/Public/www/miller/Morocco_carpet_2.jpg
http://whoolery.com/images/mat/morocco/berber%20rug.JPG
http://www.tribalmonsoon.com/categoryList.asp?~p~N=1&CC=49

not really a headboard because it's not lean-on-able (lean-up-againstable?), but my sister has a tibetan flag art hanging from an iron rod above her head. though it probably sounds cheesy, it's made from silk, very colorful, and looks great contrasting against her crisp white linens.

hanging above her bed.

yeah, that's what i meant.

I can suddenly imagine Curtis painting a complete faux old-fashioned headboard behind the bed... This would *not* be an easy project for the average bear, but if you were really, really patient and planned it carefully, it's potentially do-able.

i like a headboard, it makes me feel protected.
or safe or something.
i could just be a sissy too.

the feng-shui-ers are also big on headboards.

who-ah(!) on that blanket. sensational!

I don't know much about feng shui issues, but I've been without a headboard since moving in with my boyfriend almost three years ago, and I am thrilled that we are in the process of changing that. The old bed is currently placed with the head under a cracked window that faces the street. Bad vibes all around.

We got the Vinstra headboard from IKEA that patrick(the other one) mentioned above, and won't be setting it up until we've repainted and swapped a couple of rooms around, but I am really looking forward to having a gigantic wrap-around structure near my head as I sleep.

Does anyone have this headboard? I'm thinking of draping the headboard with some fabric, like maybe a couple of embroidered linen panels or something. To make it even cozier.

Possibly a similar solution for Sommar & partner, who find modern headboards too stern.

This isn't a headboard comment rather a bed frame suggestion. If your bedframe has protruding connectors that should be going into a headboard then wrap them with cloth and run tape to secure it in place. This will prevent damaging your wall should the bed move against the wall in the course of its use. Two minutes of your time is better than having to repaint an entire wall.

I have bookshelves behind my bed, which provides the visual balance I felt my bedroom was lacking. http://dmgware.dyndns.org/~apm/lj_images/bedroom1.jpg
To prevent the pillows from sliding into the shelves, I use the lowest shelf to store extra blankets. This also creates a comfortable backing to prop up against when reading in bed.

Try buying some finished-edge canvases (any number) at a local art supply store. They're light and easy to hang (a nail in the top two corners of each) and can be painted, collaged, wallpapered, or covered with fabric to match your room/style. Plus they add a third dimension to the idea of painting a headboard on the wall.

I generally don't like headboards. Maybe that is because so many are ugly? I suppose there are a few good ones out there. I do like the idea of hanging art or fabric, or painting behind the bed.

I don't know, sometimes headboards seem so painfully conventional to me. Like people only get them because they are taught to believe they are necessary.

I have a platform bed with a mosquito net over my bed. No headboard.

What exactly is the point of a headboard?

Ikea used to sell these decorative plastic squares you could hang on the wall (or attach using magic mounts). They were about 10" square, very modern, nicely textured. 8 or more of those would make a very inexpensive, easy to move "headboard". I've got a slew of them in my living room as "wall art".

You could do something similar using small mounted canvas squares, which you can get cheap at art supply stores (as jules suggested up above). Paint some, wrap others with decorative paper, fabric, rope, leather, yarn or whatever. Cheap and easy to move when it's time to go. Or, if you want something less busy, shell out a few more dollars and get one large canvas the appropriate size, and stick to a single treatment - maybe painting a simple grid pattern or color fields on the canvas, or just a color gradient.

Decorative pillows can be mounted to the wall, either using Velcro or by placing grommets in the corners of the pillows and attaching them to the wall using cabinet knobs or something similar (look for soft rounded edges that don't stick out too far from the wall – you don't want something you'll whack your head on or that'll poke an eye out). Gives a neat quilted look, and if the pillows are washable you can even keep it clean (not really an option if you wrap a board with fabric).

Carpet samples might be another cheap option. Cut as required and assemble using tape on the reverse or knit them together with yarn or shoestrings or similar visible laces. Nail them directly to the wall, unless you're dealing with plaster. If that's the case, you might need to mount them on a thin piece of laminated particleboard, preferably in a color that matches your wall, one that's large enough to stand upright between the wall and your bed.

You could also just wallpaper a rectangle, square or strip the appropriate size at the head of your bed. Next to paint, that's probably the cheapest solution, and wallpapers are available in a variety of textures, colors and patterns (including fabrics and metallics).

To answer violetsrose - a headboard is where you leave your chewing gum overnight.

They are a hangover from four posters and probably braced them; mimicked because only rich people had beds.

A bench cushion, or a pair of large seat cushions mounted to the wall will do the trick. In the past, I've used a 60" wide bench cushion, purchased at an outdoor furniture store (it was intended for use on a long picnic style bench), sewed 3 small metal rings to the backside and hung it on strong picture hooks.

The cushion stays put, adds comfort when you're sitting up in bed and looks much like an upholstered headboard. And you can recover it in anything you like.

A related idea is hanging cushions (often chair cushions, the kind with their own ties) from a curtain rod mounted on the wall above the bed.

good luck!

I have two 4'x8' wood panels leaning against the wall behind my platform bed. I screwed a small ledge into the floor in front of them and then screwed each panel to its ledge so there's no movement. The panels are thick enough so they don't buckle when I lean against them in bed. I have a bolster across the top of the bed and four standard pillows. The bolster is from DWR though I've seen much cheaper ones from West Elm. I used a dark stain but you could pickle the wood for a nice aged, gray look.

I have wondered if someone could do something with Flor carpet tiles -- if you could use some of the softer ones to make an interesting pattern behind the bed -- I think you can reposition them too.

Thankyou so much for all your comments! The room in the picture isn't actually ours, it is a room we like, though too bare for our tastes. Our room is actually going to be a soft olive green with white trim (that sounds terrible, it is a nice green, but hard to describe).

I think we will buy a bed without a bed head and then decide on our bed spread, because we like a lot of those, and from there we can go through your suggestions and pick the one we think will fit the best.

Just one thing, does anyone have a photo of a headboard painted onto the wall? I can't find one and can't imagine what it would look like.

Thanks again,
Summar

Summar--
Try the archives here in the "I've Got Color!" contest.

Also, this month's Domino magazine has a whole story dedicated to this topic... alternatives to headboards. Some great, easy and highly adaptable solutions.

I saw something in Domino...basically you find some interesting wallpaper (or fabric) and then frame it using molding. You can make it dramatic by making it very tall.