A New Headboard by Bedtime: 12 Unusual & Affordable DIY Headboard Ideas

Written by

Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director at AT Media
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director at AT Media
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published Feb 23, 2014
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Looking to make a bold impact with your bedroom decor? We showed you unusual items to use as nightstands last week, but the sides of your bed aren’t the only place you can make a visual statement in your bedroom. Why not show off your personality with an unusual headboard, too? We’ve got 12 fun ideas you could DIY today.

Top image: Hang a shag rug! Spotted in Laura & Ray’s Art-Filled Austin Home, making a soft, textured visual behind your bed can be as easy as hanging a rug (make sure it’s clean, of course!). Play with the height above your mattress to control the dramatic impact.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Pegboards have long since been a functional tool homeowners use to organize their rooms, but it could make for a surprising and flexible headboard. Yes, we see this bed has an actual headboard, but we think you could tweak this idea and just use a pegboard by itself!

To do it, we’d suggest hanging a pegboard tall enough to start below the pillow line and extend as high as you’d like. Just keep any organizing pegs above the pillow line (and above where you might rest your head while seated in bed). This idea could make a great substitute for nightstands in a small space. Spotted on Sugar & Cloth.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Love the idea of taking just a bit of wallpaper (using only a little means you can splurge on a pattern you adore) and creating a classic headboard shape out of the wallpaper. If you rent, you could still achieve this look with removable and temporary wallpaper. Find out how to on Etsy.

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Using a quote as a headboard is quite a visual. This quote on a piece of wood was spotted on Beetle Bailey, but don’t think you’ve got to write a quote on something solid to make it a headboard — you could totally put the writing right on the wall.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Renting or not a fan of drilling holes in your wall? Why not just lean a piece of wood behind your bed to create a solid look? The idea of just leaning a piece of wood is unusual, but the actual look will turn out quite modern, simple and classic. As spotted on Better Homes & Gardens.

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Window shutters can be found really cheaply at home supply restores (or you might have them somewhere else in your house you can re-purpose them from). You could hang them, or like the example above, you could just lean them. They’ll add an architectural feel to whatever space they’re in. Spotted on Ador by Melissa.

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Though the need for dusting this idea would make us hesitant, as book lovers, we enjoy a few stacks of books used as a headboard as spotted on Freshome. You’d need a lot of books for this idea! But it would free up bookcase shelves and allow you to collect more.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Those with drawing skills and imagination might be able to make something fun out of cardboard. It certainly would be cheap and easy to move. Inspiration could be found here: Lakberendezés szívvel-lélekkel.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Though it’s customary to hang art above a headboard, why not skip the middle man and just hang a powerful piece of art low and close to the bed to mimic the feel of an oversized headboard? Inspired by this photo found on HGTV.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Another window-themed headboard idea, this time in the form of fun salvaged windows with great peel-y paint. Consider having the glass removed for both safety and an easier time hanging, but do hang properly so you don’t have anything fall on you while you sleep! Found on Liz Marie Blog.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

While the homeowner in this tutorial found on Homemaker on a Dime made the ruffles herself, we can’t help but adapt this idea for an easy, affordable option for a headboard: Hang a curtain rod and a fun curtain or shower curtain. Wouldn’t have to be something ruffled, but certainly going with material that’s colorful or patterned would be a bold choice, and the idea of using a curtain rod does sort of lend an architectural feeling to the idea.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Dream about traveling the world when you wake up under a fun vintage map every morning, as spotted on Fresh Vintage. To make it feel more like a headboard and less like a map hung over a bed without a headboard, hang a map so that it falls under the pillow line, connecting with the bed to create one clever composition.