Our associate design editor shows you how to upholster your own headboard at home.

I did it. I finally made my upholstered headboard - and (surprisingly) it was easy! For anyone needing to add a little 'umph' to their bedroom decor, I highly suggest you give a DIY headboard a go. Here's mine - it really makes the bed more of a focal point in my farmhouse room. Click to read my steps for how I crafted this together. The room is almost complete - now it's just desperate for artwork!! So close to calling this project a wrap!



Steps
1. Gather your materials. I needed: - 1" thick MDF (cut accordingly - for my queen bed I made my headboard 5' x 3.5') - 2-3" thick foam cut to the same size. **TIP - When I went to my local fabric store to buy 2" foam, the associate suggested I head to my local Walmart to buy a Queen size pillow top mattress cover. It was genius! I bought something like this, and cut it to size. When I glued this piece to the MDF, I just made sure to have the smooth side facing out. - Batting (purchased at most fabric stores) - You need enough to cover the front and wrap around the MDF by about 6" - Fabric of choice - Staple Gun and Staples (TONS!) - Optional - spray glue

2. Attach foam to MDF. This step is technically optional. To be extra secure, I used spray glue to secure my foam to my MDF board. You can skip this step and just staple everything together later. It was an overcast day when my sister-in-law to be and I made our headboards - but you want to make sure you use spray glue in a well ventilated space. We set up camp outside for this step. Here's a pic of us making sure the foam was stuck to the MDF properly...aka we got a little tired and took a break.



3. Lay out your 'layers'. Lay out the fabric (iron it first!), then place the batting on top, followed by the MDF/foam piece (foam side down).

4. Start stapling! Pull the fabric tight and staple in a few preliminary staples to hold the fabric in place. Then lift the headboard to make sure your fabric is straight and positioned how you want it. Both Vanessa and I used relatively simply fabrics so we didn't need to be too precise. If the fabric is set to where you want it, continue to pull tight and staple the fabric to the back of the MDF along the perimeter. The corners are the 'hardest' part so just make sure you fold those areas extra tight. Don't be shy on staples, the more you use the more secure. Be careful using the staple gun! Take it from some who has stapled two fingers together...it's not fun!!

5. Hang your board! I bought a couple industrial hangers - sort of like a heave duty picture hook - to secure my headboard to the wall. You can also drill the headboard right into the wall - I just wanted to make sure I could easily take my board off in case I want to switch out the fabric in a year or so. Here is a closer look at my headboard. I got my fabric from Designer Fabric Outlet in Toronto.