Look forward to sweet dreams tonight by creating a headboard—and a beautiful new look for $75 or less—in an afternoon.
Marry your love of crafting with an appreciation for contemporary design and you get a chevron-shape wall hanging that doubles as a headboard. Don’t worry; the only actual macramé skill you’ll need is making lark’s head knots to attach yarn to the rod.
What You’ll Need
- Gold curtain rod with glass finials
- Duct tape
- Yarn: cream, cobalt blue, turquoise, coral, raspberry, pink
- Fabric scissors
- Decorative knob
- Gold cord
STEP 1
Set the rod to the desired width, then tape the overlapping sections so they won’t shift.
STEP 2
Use a lark’s head knot (fold yarn in half, wrap the folded end over rod, draw the loose ends through the loop created by the fold, and pull to secure) to tie 48-inch-long lengths of yarn to the curtain rod. Start in the center with cream yarn, then create mirror-image sections of color on either side. After attaching the yarn, trim it to your desired shape.
TIP: You’ll find it easier to make the knots if you hang the rod from a support system. We used two pieces of looped twine to suspend ours from an installed curtain rod.
STEP 3
Attach a length of gold cord to the rod. Install the decorative knob in the wall, centering it above the bed and making sure it is high enough to accommodate the trimmed wall hanging.
Hang the ensemble from the knob.
For a coordinated look, pick out the patterned bedding first then, choose yarn colors for your wall hanging to match.
It doesn’t take a lot of work to turn a painted wall into a headboard. Just paint a white rectangle on the wall then, crown it with architectural trim painted the same shade. Find lots of old trim examples at a flea market or salvage shops. Prefer new? Visit a big-box store to find paintable polyurethane trim.
What You’ll Need
- Salvaged architectural trim (ours came from an old hutch)
- Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White
- Brush
- FrogTape painter’s tape
- Level
- Hanging hardware
STEP 1
Paint architectural trim white, and let dry.
STEP 2
Using painter’s tape, tape off a section of your wall to create a faux headboard. This section should be a little bit wider than your bed. Use a level to make sure the top line is exactly horizontal. Tape off vertical lines down to the floor molding, using a level to make sure the vertical lines are squared up. Our headboard is about 5 feet tall.
STEP 3
Apply Chalk Paint within the tape. Carefully pull up tape while paint is still wet; you should have a clean edge.
STEP 4
Hang the architectural trim at the top of the painted section to complete the headboard look and create a focal point.
Liven up your bed with a mix of patterned linens. Choose a large-scale floral like the kantha quilt, a small-scale pattern like the floral pillowcase and accent with a linear pattern such as this herringbone throw.
Consider these two practical matters before diving into your next DIY headboard project.
BED WIDTH A typical headboard is up to 3 inches wider than the bed frame. Add that to standard mattress widths to determine size. If you attach the headboard to the wall as most hotels do, use a large cleat like Rockler’s 18-inch steel cleat or their Z-Clips.
CEILING HEIGHT Standard headboard heights range from 14 to 29 inches above the top of the mattress. Don’t be afraid to deviate from the norm, though. The higher the ceiling, the taller—and more dramatic—your headboard can be. Not sure? Do a test run. Outline an imaginary headboard on the wall with painter’s tape, then stand back to evaluate.
See more headboard ideas in our upcoming posts!
Photography by Chris Hennessey
Produced by Katie Leporte
© Caruth Studio