18 Dreamy DIY Headboards to Suit Every Style from Minimalist to Farmhouse

Perfectly organizing a bedroom is one thing, but a full-fledged headboard DIY can feel a little out of reach. Thankfully, headboards are actually one of the simpler pieces of furniture to DIY, since—unlike a chair or a table—they don’t need to be sturdy or hold any weight.

The other great thing about headboards is they’re super flexible in style. Yes, you have your classic wood or upholstered headboards, but almost anything hung or painted behind your bed can be a headboard.

Need some inspiration? Here are 18 DIY headboards that range from simple styling and repurposing to full-on woodworking projects—in styles made to match nearly any decor.

Laurel of The House That DIY Built says that this was one of her first big DIY projects, and has some advice for anyone attempting to do a large DIY installation such as this one:

“Make sure you have helpers available to attach the board on the ceiling,” she says. “It took three people standing on our bed holding it up, and one person attaching it to the ceiling with big screws because it was super heavy and awkward.”

Riley of Campbell House explains how she created this chic headboard for her guest bedroom in her tutorial here. Her advice for beginners? “A beautiful home doesn’t happen overnight. Give yourself time and grace,” she says. She also adds that with a little creativity and elbow grease, you can create beauty within any budget.

Which came first—the earth tone palette painted headboard, or the dark blush pink comforters?

Chanelle says when her adorable 8 and 12-year-old clients showed her pictures of rooms they loved, earth tones emerged as a common theme.

“Looking for something inexpensive but with a big impact, we landed on the painted headboard,” she says. So the headboard came first, but she adds that the colored comforters were a slam dunk IKEA find.

Lauren of @seed.and.salvage DIYed this headboard for under $10, thanks to the bamboo fan finds from a 99-cent store.

Artist and Architect Hannah (@hnnh_trry) brings together multiple DIY favorites on her bedroom wall: a simple plywood headboard against a patterned hand painted wall with a bold piece of art (that she also created) centered above the bed. The final product is fun and playful, but Hannah said she learned the hard way that if a store is cutting wood for you, double check that the dimensions were cut correctly before hauling it home.

Rebecca Riel (@rielfinishings) says when she upgraded to a king size bed, she opted to make their own headboard rather than spending a fortune on a new one. She used pine boards, a sheet of plywood, mitre saw, brad nailer, and Gorilla Glue.

“This project wasn’t as complicated or as expensive as it looks,” she says. “The part that took the most time was staining and whitewashing each individual board. I really wanted it to have a reclaimed look and it took some time to achieve this effect.”

Katie McColm said she had pinned a similar headboard to her Pinterest about 20 times before she decided to just do it herself. The final project cost her only $48 (about a fifth of the price of brand new headboard in this style). 

While the streamlined look of the headboard is super chic, Katie took it one step further by adding shelves made from reclaimed wood to the side in place of nightstands.

“You’ll surprise yourself with what you can do with some wood and some screws,” she says. “You don’t need a garage full of tools either! There are so many DIY projects to be done with just a mitre saw, wood glue, screws, a drill, some sand paper and a beautiful stain.”

Alexander and his partner, Cesar, used their time in quarantine to dive into some DIYs—one being making their bedroom into a real haven. Alexander says he started by picking a bold color for the wall behind the bed.

“I painted it black to give the existing grey walls a nice contrast. The black would highlight the warmth of the wood frame around the mirror and the green tones of the plants,” he says.

Add in a chic circular mirror and shelf full of flowing, thriving plants, and we could lie here all day.

No woodwork required here. See how the team from The House That Lars Built painted this incredibly bright and fun rainbow headboard in the tutorial on their site.

Erin Spain shows how she created this fun headboard for her son in her tutorial here. The pop of orange really kicks this one up a notch. She chose to anchor it to the wall, but said you can also bolt the headboard to the bed frame itself.

Jenna says her headboard is actually a thrifted space divider.

“I was at a vintage sale and I saw them, and I immediately pictured a headboard for a boho bedroom I was working on,” she says. She stood the three pieces up side by side and pushed the bed frame up to them. Now the repurposed find is a statement piece in this bedroom.

Callie completed this project on the cheap by using a piece of plywood she already had, a $10 stain and $30 spent on hanging hardware. The final product looks like something you’d find at a custom woodworking shop for much, much more.

Kelly chronicles how she made her daughter’s headboard in her tutorial titled “How to Make a DIY Headboard Fit for a Princess.” You could easily change the colors or size to make it more fit for a Prince (or for some of us non-royals).

Britt Hislop said these three doors were originally covered in multiple layers of oil-based paint. She stripped and sanded until she got them down to their current refreshing color, which looks especially stunning in front of the crisp white walls. Hanging from her DIY headboard is a strand of handmade ceramic ornaments that she made into a garland.

Tiffany created a headboard look with a macrame wall hanging. This one, “Nova,” is one of her original designs.

Joana of @my.third.floor built this trendy cane headboard with a simple wooden frame and cane fabric. You can see her process here.

Sam writes in her DIY Headboard tutorial: “I have honestly been drooling over those trendy geometric feature walls that have been popping up all over the internet, but my landlord wouldn’t be too happy with me if I installed one in our rental. So, to scratch my accent wall itch in a way that will still get me my deposit back, I decided to create a DIY geometric wood headboard instead!”

Because this one is a bit more complicated, she first designed it in Adobe Illustrator before cutting any wood. Her planning paid off because the final product is stunning.

This voluptuous bold wallpaper print from Mindy Schroor really says, “Who needs a headboard?” in a big way. It not only serves in place of a headboard, but it’s a big beautiful statement as well as a way to bring all the colors of the room together.