Love and Food in the Big D

Monday, September 08, 2014

The Making of: Our Super Awesome, DIY, One of a kind, Tufted Headboard Masterpiece!


Almost exactly a year into living at our new house in Frisco and we've FINALLY turned our attention to our master bedroom.  Hallelujah!  I'm actually quite embarrassed to show how we lived in that room for the past year.  From the AWFUL curtains that the previous owners left...to the pile of randomness in the corner... to the non existent bedding... this room has been nothing short of S.A.D. for WAAAAAY too long. 

Spoiler alert:  It's not quite done yet, BUT it's sooooooo close and it's come SOOOOO FAR!  I can't wait to show before and after pictures, coming soon.  Stay tuned.  :) 

The turning point to the whole master bedroom renovation project was getting Chad on board with this super awesome, DIY, One of a Kind, Tufted Headboard MASTERPIECE!!  After scouring Pinterest for inspiration and seeing waaaay too many beautiful headboards for waaaay more than I was willing to spend, I knew I wanted to try our hand at our very own do-it-yourself version.  

AND... it came out BEAUTIFULLY!! I couldn't be happier with the results.

For all those interested in tackling your own version of this headboard, here is my non-tutorial, tutorial...(because ya'll know I stink at giving instructions ;)


Materials Needed (In Photos!): I've seen these headboards done a number of ways, but this is how we did ours.  

Canvas Drop Cloth (or fabric of choice) - So cheap and we loved the texture!  Purchased at Lowe's, I was a great alternative to expensive fabric.  :) 


Batting - enough to cover the size of your headboard with a bit of overhang.
(This "full size" batting was enough to fit our king sized headboard frame.)

Mattress Pad (or Foam) - we went with the queen sized mattress pad because it was significantly cheaper than the foam we saw and it actually worked just as well.  


Upholstery Needles - Ours came in a pack of multiple sizes.. I used the longest one in the pack.  

Craft Cover Button Kit - 
we ended up needing two packages of these and had to make an extra trip to JoAnn's.  Just make sure you've figured out how many buttons you're gonna want BEFORE heading to the store.  

I insisted that we have a frame to surround our tufted headboard... 
(because I'm complicated like that)  ;)
Chad and Everleigh were in charge of that step.  


We taped out the size we wanted the headboard on the wall then Chad used our table saw to cut the frame surround.  He mitered the corners and used crown molding to give it some depth.  (it's a bit more complicated that I'm making it sound but there are plenty of in-depth tutorials out there if you need them. ;)  

We also used pegboard (cut to the size of the frame) for the backing of the headboard.  This allowed us to use the holes for the tufting... easy peasy! :)

The crown molding, glued (and taped!) to the outer frame.

While the frame dried, Chad and Everleigh figured out where we wanted the buttons ;) 

And because one pegboard wasn't big enough, we put two together.. 


Daddy's cute little helper. 

Project Manager Bear 


Marking her territory ;) 

Once the glue was dry... and while our bear had a little frozen yogurt snack, Daddy took off all the tape to prepare our frame for staining. (which he did outside in the garage, not in the house ;) 







We attached the two pieces of pegboard together with some extra pieces of pegboard!

And while Chad applied the first coat of General Finishes Java Stain (the same color we used on our kitchen cabinets), I worked on making the buttons.  
(This was by far the most painful process.) 

Then we laid down the peg board, spray glued the mattress pad down then wrapped it all with the batting (using the staple gun to secure the batting down).  We didn't wrap the edges because we wanted to attach the frame to the edge of the pegboard once the canvas was down.  

Then we stapled the canvas to the edges as tight as we could get them..
Starting in the middle (on the top and bottom and both sides) and working our way around


Using the pegboard (and the marks Chad and Everleigh had made earlier, I used the needle (and upholstery thread) to start from the back.. thread my way to the front, loop the button and go from front to back with the needle.  
** (If you're serious about doing this project, ask me how we secured the thread in the back. While Chad was wrangling Everleigh, and I was working on the buttons, I forgot to take a picture of this step.  It was a game changer though.. Ask me about it ;) 


After the buttons were done, Chad attached the frame to the pegboard by screwing from the back to the front.  We then wrapped the canvas and secured it to the back which gave it a nice clean edge. 

BAM!  DONE!  Best DIY project to date :) 

I'm so proud of us!  ;)