Weekend Project Part 1 - Simple Queen-sized Headboard

We recently moved  and things have been slowly getting to where they need to be around here. I finished decorating the living room and my son's room but our bedroom was a not-so-hot mess. We decided to turn our master bedroom closet into my daughter's nursery and I had tons of sewing stuff laying around the room because the garage was occupied with boxes. Last weekend I had had enough of the master bedroom clutter and I cleaned out the garage and organized it. I moved my sewing/craft stuff out there (yay!) and started organizing our horrible clothes situation (you know, since our closet was no longer available for clothes storage). Now that the clutter was gone it was glaringly obvious to me that our bedroom was in serious need of a makeover. Pictures were just sitting around waiting to be hung, our dressers didn't go together (which wasn't a big deal before since they were in the closet!) and our old headboard somehow got lost in the move. It was time for a room intervention!!!

The first project was a headboard. I did my usual research and had the usual debate with my husband. That debate goes something like this:

Husband: "Let's just buy one"

Me: "But headboards are expensive."
Husband: "What, like $20? No biggie."

Me: "More like $50-$75 and that's if you want a crappy Walmart one that will break when you blow on it. If you want a nice one you're looking at a couple hundred, easily." 

Husband: "I'm sure you can find a nice one on sale somewhere. Just look around, it will be easier to buy one. Do you really want to spend all weekend in the garage on another project?"

Me: *secretly squealing with joy inside because projects excite me* "Sure, I'll look around first."  

So, I did. And you know what? I was right. I drove all around town with kids in tow looking at headboards. I bombarded him with pictures of everything and he hated them all and couldn't figure out why they were so expensive. I even tried to convince him to let me buy one I had found and let me recover it. But that one was $100 and then I'd still have to buy fabric and be in the garage all weekend. So, he caved and off to Home Depot I went with a smile on my face. 

The end result put a smile on his face. Oh, and it only cost us $27. Well worth it, he says! 

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the process but I'll do my best guiding you through it. 

First, supplies. 

At home depot I bought 4 pieces of "2x3"s. These are always cut a little smaller than advertised. Mine were 2.5x1.5 and about 98 inches long. I bought the cheap ones and they were about $2 each. I had to sort through the pile of wood to get ones that weren't splintered or cracking or anything. Next you'll need to get a piece of plywood. I didn't need to because miracles of miracles as I driving out of my complex one of my neighbors was throwing a piece of plywood away that he had miss-cut - it was perfect for my needs so I scooped it up! FREEEEEEEEEEE! Most plywood is pretty cheap though since you don't need too big of a piece and you don't need it to be very thick either - at my Home Depot you can get a sheet for about $8. Lastly, you'll need 4 L-shaped brackets and screws if you don't have any on hand. Oh, and a screw driver, saw and staple gun if you don't have one already. :) You can have them cut your wood at most lumber stores to the sizes you need (see below) if you don't have a saw at home. 

TIP - if you chose to get yours cut in store, make sure you are very clear with them that it needs to be measured twice and cut exactly to your measurements. Sometimes their machines aren't very accurate so stick around and have them measure it one more time after it's cut so you don't get home and have it be too short or crooked (this has happened to me in the past).

Here are the instructions I drew for how to lay out your frame and the cut sizes you need for a standard Queen but please, please measure first and then measure it again and again just to be sure! Measure from floor to top of mattress and then from floor to projected top of headboard and then measure width of your bed and width between where it screws into the frame. 

Lay out your 4 pieces of cut wood on top of your piece of plywood and make sure everything is lining up. Also, make sure you measure you bed AND your bed frame. These instructions are for my standard queen size frame. Now put your 4 braces in the corners and screw them in. Next, flip it over and attach the plywood with screws to the frame. You'll notice this will give you a hole in the middle and that's where you'll be putting your foam. Which leads me to the next step - buying your craft store items. 

What you'll need from your craft store: 

A piece of 2 inch foam. This will need to be 56 inches long. 

Your desired fabric - 2 yards should be enough if it's a wide fabric. 

Nail head trim (picture below)

Fabric glue or some other kind of strong bond glue
Batting, if you want extra padding

TIPS: I never, ever shop at my craft store (Joann's) unless I have coupons. I scored my fabric for only $6 ($3 a yard) and my nail head trim for only $10. My foam was free (usually around $30). Joann's fabric allows you to use competitors coupons - Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc. and you can use one of their coupons on your phone and one printed. Restrictions apply, of course. Most are for regular priced items but occasionally you'll find ones that discount your entire purchase. This weekend I had a 50% off one item, a 40% one item (including sale priced items) and a 25% total purchase. The foam was free from a previous Joann's sale that I stocked up on because I'm a pack-rat like that. Also, if you're willing to shop online you can find even better deals and promotions. Fabric.com is a great place to get stuff and they will send you a 20% coupon just for being a new customer. 

Now back to the headboard - Take your foam and cut it to size (I used an electric knife -the one we use to cut turkey and Thanksgiving- and it cut straight and perfect like a dream). Put your glue (I used wood glue) in the hole you created and then press your fabric down on top of it and let that dry completely. Next, drape your fabric (and batting if you bought it) upside down on a bed or clean floor. Place your frame foam side down on top of the fabric and then start pulling your fabric tight (but not too tight, you don't want it to pucker) and secure it to the plywood with your staple gun. Now just flip it over and attach your nailhead trim around the edge of your foam into the wood. Here's a closer up picture of the almost finished product:

The last thing I did was wrap the legs in fabric and attach it to the headboard (see holes from my drawing) with some bolts we had left over from our old headboard. 

FYI, I calculated this out for a friend and her King sized headboard without the 2 freebies (plywood and foam) came out to be about $70 after coupons. That's a pretty awesome deal if you're willing to put in the labor! You could also do button tufting on a headboard like this too.