I have been wanting to make a DIY upholstered headboard for such a long time now! A few weeks ago I saw Julie from Clever Poppy make one on her story on Instagram. It didn’t look too tricky or expensive so I decided to give it a go myself. You can check out her instructions and video here. My instructions are based off hers but adapted slightly.
What you need:
- thick MDF (we used 18mm thick and a piece 1800 x 600)
- pine plank (for the legs)
- staples and a staple gun
- upholstery fabric (I purchased 1.8m of 140cm wide)
- wadding (I used 2 layers of 200gsm)
- buttons
- wire
- fabric scissors
- drill
Cost:
Wood: 24.93
Fabric: 32.38
Buttons: 23.96
Wadding: 27.98
Total: $109.24
Firstly we cut the MDF to size. I played around with the position of the buttons and decided on a staggered look as opposed to a grid formation.
We drew three horizontal lines across the wood (at one quarter, half, and three quarters), and marked where the buttons would sit.
We then drilled holes at all the marked spots.
Next step was wadding! We wrapped the board in two layers of wadding, securing it to the back with staples. Folding the corners into neat triangles gives it a more professional look.
We then wrapped the fabric around the board, trying to keep it as neat and straight as possible, then put plenty of staples in to keep the fabric in place.
I used thin wire to thread through the button. Then, I covered normal buttons with fabric by cutting circles of fabric and sewing it tight around the button.
Next we pushed the wire through the fabric, wadding and wood, pulling it tight at the back. We threaded both ends of the wire through a button, twisted it and then trimmed it.
Lastly, we measured where we wanted the headboard to sit and cut two legs accordingly, screwing them onto the back of the board.
We love our new DIY upholstered headboard! It gives our bedroom a much more polished, yet cosy look. I’m super happy with it! DIY also gives you so much more appreciation for it too, so why not give it a go?
