Eight Hundred Sq. Ft.: headboard

Good morning Small Space Dwellers! Thank you for all the love on the Single Girl Bachelor Apartment Project. I am overjoyed by your response. I figured we could take a closer look at one of the projects I worked on. Come along the journey with me as I go through my process of creating the simple picture frame headboard.

Step 1 - Choosing the Frame

My favourite thrift shop tends to get last season's displays from various reputable retail stores around the city, so it is always a delight to go there and scour through the second hand goodies when new shipments come in. Great quality items for a fraction of the cost.

They have this amazing collection of display frames from the Gap and American Apparel so it was just a matter of choosing the frame that would work best in Ashley's bedroom. Here are some of the options I was working with.

My Choice:

I decided to go with this frame because of the dimensions. Just one of these frames on it's side is about the width of a queen sized bed, so it would work perfectly without any further tweaking.

Step 2 - Choosing the Fabric

The colour scheme that Ashely was keen on was a collection of greys, purples, and browns, so I wanted to work with a fabric that had interest but worked well with the colour scheme. One thing I also had to take into consideration was how the fabric was going to work with the bedding.

My Choice:

I decided to go with the scripted 'Britten Nummer' fabric because it added a sense of whimsy to the bedroom area with out competing with the bedding. It also did a great job of drawing the eye into the space.

Step 3 - Putting it Together

Once the choices were made putting the headboard together was a simple. I started by distressing the frame a bit just to give it a little something extra. Then I lined up the fabric in the frame adjusting it to make sure that the script was straight. I cut off the extra and staples the fabric to the back of the picture frame insert. You may also want to add a bit of glue (from a hot glue gun) to secure the fabric as well.

Putting the headboard up was as simple as hanging a frame. You want to make sure you secure the frame well because REMEMBER this is acting as a headboard. You don't want it moving around on you in certain bed rocking situations. ;)

Voilà - Picture Frame Headboard

Happy DIYing Small Space Dwellers! Have a great weekend!

XOXO

When I first moved into my place, I bought one of those wooden box-like headboards from Ikea where the side table slides in and out from the side. It served me well, but I found that it took up too much valuable square-footage. So when I decided that it was time to freshen up my room, I knew my headboard was the first thing I wanted to tackle.

I've always wanted one of those plush tufted headboards but couldn't bring myself to coughing up the dough for it. They just seem way too expensive. So take a guess at what I decided to do.... you all are beginning to know me way too well. I figure it should be simple enough to make one. Plywood cut to size, the fabric of my choice, foam, buttons and a staple-gun. I knew I could do it!

Take a look and what came out of it. Note: If you are going to tackle a project like this be sure to tuft the fabric before stapling the fabric to the back of the plywood. It is easier to find where the holes are to string the buttons through; I learned this the hard way!