If you recently bought a new bed frame without a headboard you quickly find that your walls get scratched easily and marked. Making your own upholstered headboard is a relatively easy project and can save you money as well. Many furniture stores charge up to $1,000 for a manufactured headboard, depending on the design and fabric required.

Toos and Materials Required:

Skilsaw, Handsaw, Electric Jigsaw, 1/2 inch Plywood cut to size, Tape Measure, Sandpaper or Electric Sander, Upholstery Foam, Fabric, Batting, Electric Drill, Screws, Staple Gun & Staples, Optional Trim, Braiding, or Decorative Cord, Fabric Glue (Optional). You also need 1" by 4" pine boards as legs for the headboard.

Tip: When choosing fabric, make sure it matches the theme of the room matching pillows, bedding etc. You can attach any decorative finish to outside edge using facric glue which you can purchase at the same store you buy your fabric.

Step 1. Measure the width of your bed, and decide what measurements you need, making the bed equal to or slightly wider than your mattress. Make sure your headboard is higher than where your pillows touch your wall.

Step 2. Sand the 1/2 " plywood sheet on both sides and outer edge. Lay the sanded side of your plywood face down on a large piece of quilt batting. Cut around the edge of the plywood adding about 4" to 6" inches extra all around, folding the batting over the back side and stapling it with a staple gun to the back. Keep the edges smooth and fairly tight when stapling.

Step 3. Using the exact same method as Step 2, place your soft headboard face down on the wrong side of the fabric you're using to cover it. Cut around it adding another 4" to 6" to the edge for folding over. Then, do just that. Fold the fabric over to the back of the headboard and staple it on. Make sure to move from top to bottom then side to side to stretch the fabric keeping the fabric tight as you go.

Step 4. Cut a piece of plain cotton cloth to the exact size of the headboard. Lay it on the back, covering all your staples and raw fabric edges, fold it under about an inch, and staple it all the way around as neatly as possible.

Step 5. Mount the 1" x 4" pieces of pine cut to the correct length, to make the legs, using wood screws on the back of the headboard. The two legs should be placed about 6" in from the outside edges of the headboard. If you are using a metal bed frame, check to see where the legs need to be to match up to the holes in the frame . For a king size bed, add a third leg in the center of the frame for support. Determine the length of the legs by holding the headboard up to the bed. The headboard should start about an inch below the top of the mattress, to help hold the mattress and pillows in place. Now, measure down to the floor from a few inches lower than the top edge of the headboard. Use several wood screws to attach the boards to the headboard, making sure that the screws are short enough not to pierce through to the fabric.

Step 6. Attach the headboard to a platform bed with wood screws through the headboard legs and into the platform trim board. Attach to a regular metal bed frame by drilling holes into the legs that match up with the holes in the frame for mounting a headboard . Use nuts and bolts to hold the headboard in place.

And there you have it, wasn't it worth it to make your own headboard, now that you have finished your project you also know how to change the fabric to another design any time it strikes you!