Decorate and Save Money with Easy Headboard Upholstery Techniques

To upholster an existing headboard you will need cotton batting, a medium or heavy duty staple gun, hot glue and glue gun, and fabric of your choice. If you have no headboard to cover, purchase a sheet of plywood and cut it to the desired size.

Begin by covering the entire front surface of the headboard or plywood with cotton batting. Use the glue gun to adhere the batting to the headboard. The batting should overlap the sides of the headboard and wrap around just to the back edge. Apply at least two layers of batting, more if you like a thicker padding on the headboard. For a very thick padding, apply a sheet of foam (in any desired thickness) and cover the foam sheet with batting (at least one layer).

Next, flatten the fabric over the headboard. Pull out all wrinkles. If you are using a striped or patterned fabric, be sure the lines are falling in the appropriate directions.

On the back side of the headboard, staple the fabric in the top center of the headboard. Pull the fabric tightly at the back center bottom of the headboard and staple there.

Repeat the method for each side. Next, staple from the center staple towards the corners, keeping the fabric straight and evenly pulled. Stop a four or five inches from the corners.

When only corners remain, fold and staple the corners of the headboard. This can be done by folding squarely and stapling, or you can first fold over the center of the corner, then fold and staple the rest of the corner (this method is preferred for rounded corners). Trim away material as needed while folding.

Next, cut a length of fabric large enough to cover the back of the headboard. Fold the edges under one-half to one inch. Cover the staples on the back of the headboard with the fabric, but do not wrap at all over the edge of the headboard. Staple or tack along the edges of the fabric. Staples work to secure the fabric if the back of the headboard will be mounted or against a wall where it will go unseen. If the back side of the upholstered headboard will be visible, use decorative upholstery tacks instead of staples to secure the backside fabric and add a decorative trim. For this, you will want to place upholstery tacks close together (either side by side or half to one inch apart).

With the upholstery part of the project complete, you next need to decide how the upholstered headboard will be mounted if you did not cover an existing headboard.

The headboard can be mounted directly to the wall with a strong mount system on the back. This method achieves the look of an attached headboard without having to attack the head board to the bed.

If attaching to a bed frame, you will want to sand and paint pieces of wood to match the bed, then screw them to the back of the headboard and into the mounts on the bed frame. Cross pieces of wood across the back may also be needed.

A complete headboard upholstery can be done in just a few hours, but it can change the entire look of your room. Colorful prints and fabrics add interest to bedrooms in need of a little lift far more economically than purchasing a new bedroom set. An upholstered headboard is a good way to incorporate new fabrics an