Padded Headboard

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Headboards are a great way to dress up a bedroom wall. If you regularly read in bed without one for any length of time, you are likely to find a dark spot on the wall where the back of your head rests. Headboards can prevent that problem. For beds that are not set directly against a wall, a headboard that is attached to the bed frame is almost mandatory. The problem with so many of those headboards is that they are held in place with just a couple of bolts and nuts and, over time, they loosen and start feeling a little flimsy. For a strong, solid headboard, the best bet is attaching it to the wall rather than the bed. If you decide to take that route, then why not use the opportunity to make a comfortable, padded, upholstered piece that is large enough to substantially alter the character of the room?

That is the approach that Laurie took in her redesign of this Jackson, Miss., bedroom. As you can readily see from the photograph of the finished project, this headboard goes well beyond the purely functional to become a major visual component of the room. If you like the effect, the really good news is that it is pretty easy to build, and to pay for.

Don't be discouraged if you would like to tackle the project but your bed already has a headboard. That was the case in this house, as you can see early in the episode. The bed had a metal headboard, with a framed picture sitting above it on the wall, both of which were dispensed with. You should be able to remove the headboard on your bed with little more than a wrench.

Shopping List

For the panel:
1/2-inch plywood
Spray adhesive or regular glue
Batting
Fabric
Staple gun and staples

For the frame:
2-by-4s
1-by-4s for back support
Wood strips for the grid
Assorted nails and screws
Wood putty
Sandpaper
Primer
Paint
Paintbrush

Design Options

Laurie's objective with this headboard was to cover the large upholstered panel with a grid of wood strips to create the illusion of multiple, small panels surrounded by wood trim. She described the wood strips to resemble muntins, which are wood strips that separate panes of glass in a window sash. Today, muntins are often purely decorative items that are set on top of large panes of glass to give the appearance of traditional divided windows. This headboard is constructed the same, somewhat deceptive, way.

The frame and grid assembly is an optional feature of the headboard. You might be just as happy attaching the padded and upholstered panel directly to the wall, perhaps using attractive screws with trim washers or one-piece washer-head screws. Just be certain that your screws go through the wall and well into the studs.

If you like the grid idea, but would rather stay away from the somewhat tricky woodworking needed to create the half-lap joinery, consider using a different material. You could build the frame, as described below, and then fish some cable, twine or strips of fabric through holes drilled in the sides of the frame to create a functional grid-like appearance.

Plan the Size

The upholstered panel is the primary visual element of the headboard. It consists of a piece of plywood covered with batting and fabric. The only real decisions you need to make are how big to make the panel and what kind and color of fabric to use.

The width of the panel obviously depends on the size of your bed. You may want to measure your mattress to be sure, but mattress sizes are pretty standardized these days. Kings are 76 inches wide, queens 60 inches and doubles 54 inches. For a typical bed, make the panel the same width as the mattress. That means you should plan to cut the plywood a bit smaller than this dimension, as the fabric and batting will be wrapped around the edges to create the finished width.

The height of the panel is largely, but not entirely, a design choice. The headboard that Amy Wynn built for Laurie was a full 8 feet high, which works fine in a room with very high ceilings. Many people, however, are faced with ceilings that are 8 feet high, and would be well advised to keep the headboard a foot or two shorter. Try hanging a sheet on the wall at different heights to give you a sense of how different sizes would look on your wall.

Plan the Grid

The grid is defined by narrow strips of wood attached to the frame, but it may influence the height of the panel you build. Amy Wynn's headboard had a 4-over-4 grid pattern, for a total of 16 individual sections. The grids do not have to be perfectly square, but they should be consistent. The grids on Amy Wynn's headboard are about 16 inches wide by 24 inches high. You may want to sketch out several grid sizes on a sheet of paper, but the best approach would be to use painter's tape to create various configurations on the wall (or the sheet temporarily tacked to the wall).

When planning the grid, give some thought to where your head will rest when sitting up in bed. I would want to avoid having the back of my head resting against a piece of wood while reading in bed.

Plan the Frame

The visible portion of the frame consists very simply of four boards attached at the corners. For additional support, plan to add a couple of horizontal boards inside the frame after the upholstered panel has been installed. These boards will both help hold the panel in place and, if necessary, provide a surface through which fasteners can be driven into wall studs. Also, since you will almost certainly have to use two pieces of plywood, plan to place one of the boards at the joint between plywood panels to provide support.

Amy Wynn built her frame out of standard 2-by-4s, which were painted along with the wood strips in the grid to match the other furniture in the room. You might be happier with the finished project if you use either 5/4-by-4 or 1-by-4 pine boards instead, which will require less sanding and sealing before being painted. If you plan to paint, you might want to use MDF, which you will have to cut into strips, or poplar instead. Oak or maple with a clear finish would also be a suitable choice.

When planning the frame, keep the full thickness of the headboard in mind. If the wood strips used on the grid are 1 and a 1/2 inches thick and you use 1/2-inch plywood and 3/4-inch supports behind the panel, that will leave you about a 3/4-inch space to fill with batting and fabric, which ought to be plenty of room. If you opt for using thicker foam rather than batting to create a more comfy headboard, you may need to adjust the frame size accordingly.

Build the Panel

If you are building a large headboard, you will have to do so in the bedroom itself, and that may well require that you take the bed out of the room to provide enough floor space. You should cover the floor with a protective tarp. Cut the plywood pieces for the panel to size and set them flat on the floor. Attach a couple of 1-by-4 boards to support the panel, and then flip it over. Cut the batting long enough to lap around the edges of the plywood a few inches. Set the batting aside and spray some adhesive or spread some glue on the plywood. Quickly, and carefully, set the batting in place and let the adhesive dry.

Set the fabric on top of the batting. Ideally, you will be able to use only a single piece of fabric. If you need to join two pieces of fabric, plan to locate the stitched section beneath one of the grid boards. Allow about 6 inches of fabric to overlap on all sides. Pull the fabric around the edge of the plywood and attach it with a staple gun on the backside. Take care to form neat, tight corners. Note that you do not necessarily need to attach batting and fabric to the panel below the mattress line, as long as you are certain that the bottom portion will be thoroughly concealed by the bed.

Build the Frame

Set the panel against the wall and build the frame on the floor. Cut four boards long enough for the panel to fit snugly. Attach the boards with screws or nails at the corners, making sure that the corners are perfectly square.

Build the Grid

Use a strong hardwood for the grids. I would probably choose oak or maple, cut into 1 and a 1/2-inch squares. Since you want to keep both the inside and outside faces of the grid on the same plane, you will need to join the separate pieces with half-lap joints. For grid strips measuring exactly 1 and a 1/2-inches square, you would need to cut laps exactly 3/4-inch deep by 1 and a 1/2-inches wide at each joint. You would then form the grid at the laps. Cutting the laps can be quite simple with a table saw equipped with a dado blade or a bench-mounted router, and a bit more involved with other tools. You will need to cut to the proper depth with a power or hand saw, then use a chisel to finish the cut. After cutting all of the laps, assemble the pieces to make sure that all of the joints fit perfectly, are properly aligned, and fit snugly inside the frame. When you are satisfied with the results, assemble the grid using glue and short screws or nails driven through the back (where they won't be visible).

Attach the Grid

When the glue has dried, set the grid inside the frame, then drive screws through the frame and into the ends of each grid strip, making sure that the front of the grid is flush with the front of the frame. Once the grid and frame are fully assembled, countersink all screws and nails, fill all fastener holes that will be visible with wood putty, and let it dry. Sand the entire assembly and then prime and paint it, or apply a couple of coats of clear wood finish or stain. Allow it to dry thoroughly.

Assemble the Headboard

Set the frame flat on the floor, with the grid side down. Carefully drop the panel into the frame. You want the panel to exert a little pressure against the grid, so that it appears that the upholstered pieces fluff out just a bit, but not so much as to bend the grid. When you feel that you have the right amount of pressure, either by pushing on the panel or having someone stand on it, drive screws or nails through the side of the frame into the support boards and the plywood.

Since this headboard will be resting on the floor and flush against the wall, you will probably have to trim a little wood from the bottom of the frame to fit over the baseboard. Carefully lift the headboard into place. When you are satisfied with the location, drive a few long screws through the frame and into the baseboard at the bottom, and through the top frame board into wall studs (use a stud finder to locate the studs). If the headboard feels a little loose, compress the panel enough to drive a few screws through the front (beneath a grid strip), through a support board and into a stud. If the grid feels loose against the panel, drive some small screws through the face and into the plywood backing, but take care not to drive the screws so far as to pull the grid too tightly into the panel. Fill and sand any remaining holes and touch up the paint.