Headboard Hesitation, Be Gone!

I made the promise last post that the next project I did would be the headboard I kept putting off doing.  Part of my reasoning for the delay was I wanted to do it with a smallish budget but without compromising style or functionality.  I wanted to make a headboard that anyone could make, and easily hang with minimal damage to the walls. That took some figuring!

When I made my own headboard, it was on a heavy hunk of wood with a heavy wood frame (it’s how I was taught people!) with two chunky wooden cleats that made huge holes in my walls (again, it’s how I was taught!).   Another thing I needed for mine but wanted to eliminate, was a drill to make holes for the button tufting – disclaimer here – fellow blogger Vintage Furniture Girl  (check her blog out – she’s so good I could cry!  I recently discovered her talent in ceramics too….) must not scoff or roll her eyes at the words or techniques I will use  in my following descriptions.  Or ANY of you other upholstery stars for that matter.

So, how to change it?  For starters, instead of the heavy frame etc, I purchased two pieces of peg board from the Home Depot.

  

My thinking was I could eliminate the drill, and you can choose how many and where a multitude of buttons could go! Excellent!  AND If you were really cheesy you could spell out the word LOVE or DREAM or ZZZZZZZZZ  in buttons…  I measured 62″ (FYI Queen beds are 60″ wide) and connected the two pieces with flat metal connectors held with nuts and bolts  short enough so they don’t poke through anything.

I purchased 3″ thick foam squares – much much cheaper than going to an upholstery shop and getting a solid slab.  I spray glued them down.   I wrapped batting around the foam ending up with about 3 inches all around on the back which I stapled tightly in place to the peg board.

    

Lucky for me, I found a beautiful grey drapery panel on sale.  I wrapped that like I did the batting and stapled it tightly in place.

 

  Now the fun part and also the part where you get the professionals involved.  I went to an upholstery shop and had them cover 6 button forms with a piece of left-over fabric.  They have a button press and can pop those babies out in seconds.  The button forms you can buy in the fabric shops are not meant for upholstery and won’t hold up.  For a dollar a button they make them and give you the proper string needed to secure them in place.   I also rented the needle needed for the tufting.  They didn’t mock me at all!  Well, not at least while I was standing there anyway.  I love them.

  That needle scared me a little.

With a little math – and trust me, I try and keep that to a minimum, I figured out where the buttons would go.  The holes in the peg board help you line up the placing of the buttons.  Mine were 7 holes apart.  Cool, right?

  

I did enlist the help of husband when it came to pulling the buttons tight, I couldn’t hold the string taut and staple gun the string to the peg board at the same time.  Boys are good at helping if you ask nice.

I could go into more detail about the actual process, but I will rely on you, dear readers, to ask if you need more info.  That technical jargon can be gosh darn dry and heaven knows I refuse to be responsible for possible yawning.

Here’s how the cost war was won:

Peg Board x 2 = $14.00      Metal connectors, nuts and bolts = $5.00

Foam squares x 4 = $20.00        Batting= $8.00   Drapery Panel =$13.00

Buttons x 6 = $6.00        Staples, spray glue and needle rental =  $20.00

Because the house the headboard will be hanging in is very old, the question of how to hang it without piercing the wall (asbestos, perhaps?) is solved by using those fabulous 3M velcro hangers –  6 to be exact.  $8.00  (two D-rings would work if you can put holes in the wall)

Grand Total = $86.00 without taxes – so, still under $100.00 with taxes.

I am really happy with my cost cutting on this project and the ease of the execution.  Anybody can do this.  The recipients wanted a simple look, but you could certainly adjust so much about this headboard that it could be varied to suit any design style. Get a larger piece of peg board and you could cut a swoop on top or make a statement by going to the ceiling.  You could add a border of tacks or slipcover the whole thing or even try the cross stitch trend that’s hot right now, peg board would be perfect to try that on.  Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

I may just have to recover my clunky headboard again while I have the giant needle.  If I don’t poke my eye out first.

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