4 Men 1 Lady

a lifestyle blog about the persuit of bringing beauty to a house full of men.

DIY Upholstered Headboard w/ "damn-it" tacks..

by |

Catchy title, huh? Let me explain.
My dad is an avid sailor. Preparing the boat to sail includes hoisting the mast. While my dad was standing there using all his strength to hold the mast my job was to thread the awkward pin that held everything up. I would often drop it while my dad was sweating bullets trying to hold the mast. Later my dad told me that sailors named it the “damn-it” pin because it was such a pain. Upholstery tacks are much the same.
7D1D6666cprf with logo upholstered headboard
7D1D6672cprf with logo 8

I started with a piece of pressboard from Home Depot which they cut for free to your dimensions. Mine is 59 in X 40 in.

I then borrowed this saw from a neighbor to cut out my design on the two corners.

I normally like to use a thick piece of foam but because I knew I would be nailing tacks in it I wanted it to be thin. Instead I purchased this 3/4 X 1-1/2 wood and cut it down with a hand saw to my dimensions. I simply glued it to the back of my headboard with wood glue so when I wrapped the material around it, it looked more substantial and thick.

I don’t have any fancy clamps to secure the glued boards in place but I discovered that food storage cans full of wheat and rice do the same job nicely.


I started by adhering foam to the front of my headboard cut to size.

Found it at Hancock Fabric (don’t forget your 40% off coupon).

I used spray adhesive to attach the foam to the board.


Cut it to the same size as your board.


After the foam is secure wrap the entire front of foam and board with batting.
Secure it with staples on the other side.
Should look like this.

Here’s the back side with staples.

 

This in not the same headboard but I’ve had so many questions about how I attached the headboard to the wall I thought I’d show you an example of a different headboard I’ve done before.

I attached two 1X2’s to the back of the head board as legs. It leans against the wall sandwiched between the wall and the bed.
Now for the “damn-it” tacks.
This is tricky. I know there are tack strips that you can use but I like the look of these better (and I like to torture myself).
It took me about 50 tacks before I started to get the hang of it.
Start in an area that people won’t see (I learned this the hard way).
This is about 1/4th of my mistakes.

7D1D6702cprf with logo

7D1D6694cprf with logo
7D1D6666cprf with logo1
7D1D6713cprf with logo 5

 

Comments

  2. wow! I am duly impressed by all of your work! It is beautiful! The entire room is beautiful! Great job and thanks for sharing.

  4. Absolutely gorgeous, like all of your projects! I was just telling my son last night that my grandpa used to cus all the time because he had to cus at the mules when he was planting his garden back in the day. I had to laugh when I saw your title!
    Have a fabulous day!
    Jenn
    {www.redberrybarn.blogspot.com}

  7. Thanks for the tutorial! It’s so beautiful. Great job!

    And I’m loving that color…when I was 13, I had my room painted a Chartreuse very similar to that. haha!

  22. Thanks for the DIY — I absolutely adore all these upholstered headboards, but not the price especially since it seems like you could get a similar look for a fraction of the cost by doing it yourself. Thanks for helping me screw up my courage to give it a go!

  24. Great job! It looks like something out of Trading Spaces. I love the old look of those tacks, I will have to look around for a piece I can upholster… thanks for the tips!

  25. I just found your blog yesterday and I have to tell you that you have totally helped me out of my non-creative rut. I have a ton of projects and not very much time to do them, which left me feeling sad. The weather is warming up here in Colorado & I am ready to finish some of those projects! Thank you!!!

  26. I’m confused. Did you lay a single layer of 1/2″ foam over both the wood edging and the field or did you build up the interior so that you have two layers–one inside the edging and one covering all the way to the outside edges?
    Thanks!

  27. I’m a new follower as of today but I can already tell that you will be a daily read. I absolutely love the color and style of your headboard. I def want to try this out!

    leeanderin.blogspot.com

  32. Michelle..absolutely fantastic job! You should feel very proud…oh and the patience involved with those tack..my my…youve got a good hand thats all I can say. Looks fanatastic! x

  34. Thank you so much for taking the time to show us how you make all of this stuff! I’m going to give this one a go 🙂

  45. love the tutorial. i would love to make a headboard someday. if i do, i will for SURE follow your instructions.
    your guest room really is AWESOME!
    great to see food storage being put to good use! ya know–besides taking up space in the basement…
    🙂

  46. As I was reading this post I was going to suggest you have a look at my most recent post where I used continuous nailhead strip for my dining chairs,(They came up a treat) but then I read that you were aware these were available and preferred the look you have gone with. The headboard looks absolutely fabulous, your hard work has paid off!!
    Angex

  50. Thanks for the great how-to! Bookmarked for future reference. I just love what you’ve done with this room – the pattern particularly. It’s somehow delightfully unisex too – anyone could feel comfortable!

  52. I love the fabric you chose for the headboard. We have a duvet with that exact color green and have been looking for fabric to coordinate. Would you mind sharing where you found the fabric? What brand and color? Thanks!

  56. First of all, I love your makeover on this room. It’s beautiful and the headboard looks amazing. You are a far more patient woman than I. I would have totally gone the easy route, with the strips!

    Also, thank you for posting about your sis-in-law’s design business. I just got a makeover on my blog and I love it. Swing by some time and check it out if you get a chance!

    Lindsay

    {www.aisletoaloha.blogspot.com}

  59. This headboard looks amazing – the shot (I think in the other post) about your bedroom is so beautiful! I love the greens and the browns. I also love that they are dark but the room doesn’t seem weighed down at all.

  67. this is fabulous!! i’ve been looking for good instructions on how to make one — and yours is very straight forward and i love that you explained all the details and included pictures! i’m ready for the challenge! and of course i want to make these harder on myself because i really want to have a curvy top. thanks for sharing!! you really need to have your own show on HGTV!!!

  68. Hi, this is great, i have a friend who has been asking me for ages to help her make a padde head board, now i know how.

    a great idea, thank you.

    Susie from
    I Just Love That Fabric

  69. OMG what a lovely Headboard. I love the pin tacks in it, very elegant. I am going to put a link to your blog on my Blog, everyone should see this.

  71. Sorry in advance for the dumb question, but regarding the 1×2 boards on back, does that mean the headboard isn’t attached to the bed OR the wall? I’m probably missing something…!

  72. Marzetta,
    I don’t have my headboard attached to the wall. I find that it does just find sandwhiched between the bed and the wall. You absolutely could attach it to the wall if you wanted it sit higher or just wanted the added security.

  73. I am trying to make this headboard now. I have done all of the steps up to adding and stapling the batting. The problem I am having is making the fabric taught at the cutouts. How do you do that without having it gather or pucker. I had 3 people helping me and none of us can figure it out. Did you have to cut it and sew????? I am going crazy! Thank you in advance for your advice!!!!

  74. Mitch,
    So sorry you are struggling. I nearly tore all my hair out trying to figure that darn headboard out too. I actually ended up having to sew a little flap of fabric on one each of the edges in order to make it wrap around. Hope that helps. Good luck and please share pictures when you complete your project…I’d love to see how it turns out!

  77. Beautiful fabric, and thanks for the clear, concise steps! I’d love to try this with some leftover upholstery fabrics. Thanks for sharing!

  78. I know this post is pretty old, but I’ve had it saved on my computer to do since you posted it (can you believe that’s how long I’ve been procrastinating LOL)! Just wondering how many inches you left from the edge of the headboard to the nails?

  79. i am doing the same shape headboard and was wondering how you did the fabric in the L corners. when i attached my batting i couldn’t figure out how to cut and staple without leaving a hole. thanks!!!

  81. I am on a strict budget with two little kiddos and I am dying to start redoing my whole house with your inspiration! Starting with your headboard ideas. oh yeah and I also happen to be carting around a 100 pound vacuum that barely sucks up dirt (circa 1980)and was graciously donated by mother in law after ours broke down. So yes I never win anything but I would desperately like a lightweight effective Dyson before Christmas when I will ask for a new vacuum lol.

  82. Great job on the headboard. I have read that it’s tough to hammer those nail tacks through the foam to the wood. My headboard is already made with thick foam right to the edges. Would I have trouble getting those tacks to stay in? Thanks,
    Magilligan

    • It actually wasn’t that hard to hammer the tacks in through the foam and wood. The part that was the most difficult was trying to line them up straight. I had to pull out and re-hammer several in straight. There is definitely a learning curve to it. 🙂 Michelle

It is nice to meet you!

Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!

read more