My bedroom re-do project has finally tipped into the "mostly finished" category and I couldn't be happier (well, I would be happier if it were in the "done" category but I'll take it...). We finished our headboard and the final product is everything I'd hoped for. I've been pinning "padded, framed headboards" on Pinterest, trying to find the right inspiration. I wanted something that was padded, tufted, and a little bit over-the-top without being too fancy schmancy. Mission accomplished.
Here is a picture of our bed as it looked for most of the past 10 years (and yes, the cat has been there for 10 years I swear). I was so tired of the dark colors and tan walls.
I've had this old quilt hanging around for a few years. I bought it at Goodwill in Portland a few years back and almost made a tree skirt out of it this past Christmas. I'm so glad I never got around to it because when it hit me that it would be perfect for my headboard I was breathing a sigh of relief. The center swath was pretty threadbare so I cut that part out and sewed the two less worn sides together.
Joey created this frame for me and it was the most expensive part of the whole project. I'd kept a tight budget but I really wanted the fancy trim work framing it so I shelled out 75.00 for 3 lengths of fancy trim at Lowe's. I painted it a glossy grey enamel.
Then we took a separate board which had been cut to fit within the frame and started covering it (after Joey pre-drilled the holes for the buttons). First I put the 1" foam padding down and cut it to fit with my electric knife (I bought it at Goodwill years ago and keep it on hand just for this purpose). The board was sprayed with upholstery adhesive to keep the foam in place.
I bought batting for a twin sized bed quilt and it was just the right size to cover the padded board and wrap around the edges.
The buttons were covered with some silky striped fabric I've had forever. I just cut out the fabric from the stripe that I liked and I have enough left to make a pillow cover or something else to coordinate in the bedroom.
So here it is after we got all the buttons tied in place. We started at the middle and moved outward from there, pulling the fabric gently as we went.
Joey bought some thick cotton string at the hardware store which was a pain to thread into the big doll needle hole but it was a good choice since it's so strong. Here he is trying to fish around for the hole to pull the string back through. That part was trickier the later the day got.
On the back side of the board he tied the string to a washer and everything held nice and tight.
Then we flipped the board over and pulled the fabric tight and stapled it down all around the edge. Sorry I don't have pictures of this process (I was too busy stapling with my macho pneumatic staple gun). We set the padded piece into the frame and Joey drilled some screws through the back of the frame to pull the boards together.
I'd made some yellow gingham piping to go around the egdes so we hot glued that in place making sure we started and ended at the bottom of the headboard so it would never be noticed by anyone.
Joey mounted it on the wall using a French cleat picture hanger and made me swear to never ask him to remove it, ever. That thing is seriously, hernia inducing heavy.
I was really happy with it but knew I wasn't finished. I had been shopping and shopping for something to decorate the top with. I googled all sorts of millwork appliques to find the right look without spending a fortune and was getting quite frustrated. Then I saw a decoration on Pinterest that was called a "pediment". Once I googled the word pediment I hit pay dirt. I found exactly what I wanted at Hobby Lobby and it was 50% off so I got it for 18.00 (as opposed to those fancy appliques which were 50.00 - 100.00 easily).
I painted it to match since I wanted the frame and pediment to look like they were all one piece.
Joey attached it to the wall and I was 20 shades of happy.
So there it is! My beautiful, one of a kind, shabby vintage, French-ish, tufted, padded headboard! We are so proud! I painted our side dressers a lighter shade of the grey, got some new lighting (which I'll do a post on soon) and called it done. I love how pretty it is and Joey loves how comfortable it feels when he's sitting up in bed reading. Win win.
