Don’t Buy a Headboard — This Design Hack Makes Tiny Bedrooms Look Better

Headboards can definitely make any bed look and feel elevated. But headboards can also be expensive and visually bulky — especially when you have limited space to fit in all the essentials (the extra 12 inches counts!). If you’re working with a tiny, cramped bedroom and don’t want a basic headboard to take up valuable wall space, it’s time to skip the headboard entirely and use this ingenious, buzzy, Instagram-fueled alternative.

“No headboard? Use a room divider,” Sarah from @sarahbeason_ on Instagram wrote over a recent video where she illustrated the design hack firsthand. She added in the caption, “Proof that your headboard doesn’t actually have to be a headboard.”

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A decorative room divider like the one Sarah chose not only anchors and frames the bed as a headboard does, but it also serves double duty as artwork (and visual interest!) thanks to its beautiful painting on each panel. Plus, the divider she chose is nearly the same height as her walls, so it draws the eye up and makes the room look larger. 

“I found this Asian-style folding room divider on Facebook Marketplace for $120 and thought it would be perfect as a headboard in my bedroom!” Sarah continued in her caption. “I love that this doubles as a headboard and art, adding so much more character and visual interest behind the bed.” In a follow-up video, she added, “This is just so much more interesting than my little DIY project,” referencing the painting she had displayed before.

As Sarah mentioned in her now-viral video, you can use her room divider hack as a jumping-off point for thinking about your bedroom differently. You can also use a tapestry, quilt, or decorative rug in place of a headboard, or even a large piece of framed artwork. Just keep in mind that if you like to sit up in bed to read, you might want to layer your textile or artwork behind an actual headboard so it doesn’t get exposed to wear and tear.

So before you invest hundreds (or even thousands!) of dollars in a new headboard to anchor your bed to the wall, think outside the box first. You may just stumble upon a piece that does an even better job of making your bedroom feel cozier and more like you.