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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Padded Headboard

In an effort to spruce up a basement apartment bedroom, we constructed our own version of a padded headboard.
This room has no windows.  The cheery pale yellow on the walls and warm flooring helps cozy up the room, but the plain wall behind the bed needed help. 
Here’s an abbreviated version of what we did.
Start a with 5/8 sheet of finished plywood cut to fit a double size bed.  Select some trim for the edges. This makes up the main part of the headboard.
Headboard Project 001a
We cut another piece of finished plywood in this design to mount on top of the main square piece.
headboard 007a



With a homemade paint mixture of a dark taupe and white, we came up with this’ taupey-greyish-greige’ color, (that I’d never be able to duplicate).   With thin coats of this paint we left a semi-transparent color on all the wood to show wood grain.
headboard 017a
Appliques were painted with the same color, but solid/opaque.
headboard 016a
Because we wanted something simple that would go with any patterned bedding and because I love the look of a drop cloth,  we used that for fabric and some awesome large brown buttons.
headboard 021a
For the padded insert we cut a sheet of 3/8 plywood to center on the backboard.
headboard 023a
Foam was cut to the exact same size and affixed to the plywood with spray adhesive. Batting was cut  to the same size plus the width of the edges.  You just want the batting to cover the sides but not wrap around to the back.
The pencil line you see down the center of the plywood marks the center where pilot holes were drilled to allow for the needle and thread for the tufting.
headboard 029aheadboard 030a
Cut your fabric large enough to allow some good stretching room, you can trim it up later.
headboard 032a
headboard 035a
Now this part I learned the hard way…
With very strong thread (used in 4 ply) and a large needle, I tied a small thin button to the end of the strings, and threaded the needle through from back to front.  Weave the needle and thread through the button holes of the large front button several times and then tie a knot.  Trim the excess thread and pull the small button from the back until you get the desired tension.
headboard 043a
Staple the thread to the board in several spots.
headboard 039a
headboard 045a
Attach the padded board to the back board with long screws.
headboard 054a
I found this beautiful thick piping to soften the transition from backboard to padded board. The piping was hot glued around the edges.
headboard 049a
headboard 066a
As for the top piece, the appliques were glued on with wood glue and it was attached to the main headboard with wood from behind.  Again we used the brown piping to tie it in with the padded board below.
The headboard will be attached to the wall with French Cleats.
Headboard after 001a
The headboard has an elegant yet rustic charm about it.
Headboard after 021a
Headboard after 003a
The nightstand in this room will be a future project.
Headboard after 030a
Headboard after 015a
Thanks for reading

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31 comments:

  1. Beautifully done Lisa! It looks majestic :)

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  2. Beautiful job, Lisa! Brave of you to take on a little tufting! : ) Although I love that look, too, I don't think I'd try in myself; I know I'd mess it up ~ badly! Love the color wash you did and the embellishments. It's got a great French Country look to it.

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  3. Fabulous and so unique~!
    applause applause

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  4. That turned out beautiful!! Drop cloth is one of my favorite materials to work with too. Dee from My Painted Stuff.

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  5. Wow! I love this! It turned out beautifully and is such a great idea! Thanks for showing us your beautiful headboard!

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  6. WOW! Great job, love the look of this beautiful headboard!!

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  7. Like that this is not a typical headboard. Looks great in the room.

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  8. Lisa, that is fantastic ! The pictures and instructions are top notch as usual!
    Smiles, alice

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  9. Superbe, merci pour les explications

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  10. Those huge buttons and the padded insert really make for a WOW! Nice job!

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  11. Wow, that is gorgeous. Thanks for the idea.

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  12. This is beautiful, Lisa! I found you from Tip Junkie's link party. I'm the next one after you. You have a beautiful site and are doing a great job! http://www.mymerrymessylife.com -- Sara

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  13. Great job! I usually don't like padded/tufted, but this one I LOVE!

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  14. Absolutely beautiful!! What a fantastic tutorial you've provided. Megan

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  15. Wow ~ yours is way fancier than mine! I checked on line but the tufting part freaked me out which is why I took the easy way out with mine. Great tutorial as always Lisa ~ you da bomb. xo

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  16. Gorgeous! I'm visiting from Show Me What Ya Got, and now your newest follower!

    Carolyn
    {my simple messterpiece}

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  17. WOW, this is amazing. It turned out just beautifully!

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  18. You did a wonderful job on your headboard Lisa! You are very talented! The photos of your headboard stood out to me right away because I turned my vintage china cabinet into a cabinet to store my books and on the doors at the bottom of the cabinet I used the exact scrollies that you did. I love them so much and they look amazing on your headboard as well.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  19. Fabulous! Where do you get a french cleat??
    Love what you did....so wonderful.
    Nancy
    http://wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

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  20. I love that headboard - I wish you could make one for me!

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  21. Lisa, your headboard is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing at Project Queen. I will be featuring it tomorrow night at the Highlight Party!

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  22. Hi!
    Nice post. You did a great job, this headboard is awesome. It turned out beautifully and is looking so elegant. For a wide range of new headboards visit http://www.dreambedroom.co.uk/compare_headboards.html

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  23. Meu Deus! Que coisa mais linda!
    :)

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