so about a week an a half ago i decided that i needed a headboard for my bed. the struggle of getting my bedroom together has been ongoing for well over a year and a half. (i’ve been super trifling) i bought a mattress and boxspring, but not a headboard or even a bed frame. (so yes, my bed is currently chilling on the floor ha!) i love looking up DIY projects, but never get around to it. so i have finally committed to starting. first up was my headboard. in this post i will give step by step instructions on how to make your own headboard for under $100. yes you read that right! UNDER $100 wahoo! 🙂Â
step 1. enlist a friend. this is most definitely not what we wore to build the headboard (bahaha!) but we didn’t take a picture the day of and all the screenshots from the videos i took look TURRIBLE.Â
step 2. make a list of all materials needed.

step 3. head to your local home depot to get your plywood. i have a queen size bed so the measurements i have are based off that. i bought a 4X8 piece of plywood for about $16 and had it cut to 4X5. if you were to go by my exact measurements of 3X5 then you would need to mount your headboard on the wall. because i simply have my headboard leaning against the wall behind my bed in addition to my decorative pillows, i needed the extra foot in height.

now originally (as seen on my supply list) i wanted my headboard cut in either the belgrave or eccleston style. however, at home depot they will only cut straight lines & with me have ZERO experience in cutting wood i had to make the executive decision of having a rectangular headboard lol.
step 4. take your tail to a fabric store! this was a super overwhelming experience so make sure you go in with at least a color scheme in mind. i went to Forsyth Fabrics 1190 Foster St. NW, Atlanta, Ga 30318 (404)351-6050. they have soooo many beautiful fabrics to choose from. here are four of my favorites. i bought 3 yards of fabric. this was the highest purchase of the day coming in at $36.
step 5. get ice cream 🙂 i mean hey…just getting the wood and fabric took up a solid 3 hours haha. jeni’s is located about 6 minutes from forsyth fabrics, so if you decide to go there be sure to stop in and get some yummy ice cream or sorbet.
step 6. get batting and nailhead trim from an arts & crafts store. i chose to go to joann. at first i was going to pad my headboard with mattress foam, but decided to cut costs and just buy double the batting. measurements for the batting 72X90 (the batting ran me about $7 a bag. i bought two bags) the nailhead trim was also a bit more pricey than i thought. it was $21.
step 7. take it all to the house and get started! 🙂 the first picture is the materials laid out. second is after stapling on the batting, and the third is after stapling the fabric on top of the batting. i didn’t take a picture of the back because it looked an absolute hot mess lol but who cares? no one is going to see the back anyway! if you are wanting to use the nailhead trim be careful…it takes a lot of patience. from far away you can’t tell as much that my trim is a bit crooked, but if you get closer you’ll see it looks pretty similar to an EKG monitor 😦
here is the final! TA-DAAA!!
breakdown of costs:
plywood: $16
fabric: $36
batting: $14
nailhead trim: $21
total cost: $87 !!! 🙂
next i am wanted to figure out some kind of way to make a  bed frame, but for now i am more than satisfied with my headboard. if you have any DIY projects that you have done comment below! i would love to try it!