10.17.2015

diy faux tufted headboad

Headboards can be super expensive to buy (for some reason I've yet to figure out...), so I knew I'd be DIY-ing ours as part of our bedroom makeover. I love the tufted look, but hate the tufting process. Well, I've never actually tried it, truth be told, but anything with a needle and thread and I'm instantly turned off. Blegh. Fortunately this is FAUX tufted using only a staple gun and hot glue. YEEESSSSS. My kinda project.

Did I mention it was only about $80 to do? Best part.
 

Materials:
(My measurements are for a queen size bed)

-Plywood cut to 38"x60" (it's sold in 4 ft x 8 ft sheets, but the hardware store will cut it for free for you!)
-1 piece of 1x2x8 board, cut in half
-Memory foam mattress topper (upholstery foam is pricey! mattress toppers are a much cheaper alternative. I got mine for $25 from Amazon here)
-2 yards of batting*
-2 yards of fabric (I used suit fabric at JoAnn's because it's sturdier than cotton but not as expensive as upholstery fabric)*
-Staple gun (the one pictured is electric, but I actually ended up just using a heavy duty manual staple gun-it worked like a charm!)
-3/8" staples
-Four 1 1/4 inch wood screws 
-Button kit (I got this one from JoAnn's)
-Hot glue gun/heavy duty hot glue

*Use 40% off coupons to get it cheaper! JoAnn's accepts Hobby Lobby's 40% coupon they have posted on their website 24/7. Score! I bought the batting when it was on sale, and used the coupon for the fabric.

Putting it together is SUPER simple. Promise. You basically just layer everything and staple it all together- plywood, foam, batting, then fabric.

So first, lay your foam on the floor with the plywood on top. Trace around your plywood and cut the foam to the same size as the wood. 

Next, lift that up and put a layer of batting (or two) on the ground. You'll want about 4-6 inches of overhang around the perimeter of the wood. Put your foam on top, then your plywood. Pull the batting taut and staple it every few inches to the plywood, pulling as you go to make sure it's nice and snug. 

Then put your fabric on the ground, and your foam/board piece on top. I put my board off center on my fabric piece and trimmed about 6-8 inches off one of the sides of the fabric to use for the legs and buttons, which still gave me plenty to cover the board. Again, pull the fabric taut and staple every few inches. I did the top and bottom first, then the side portions.

When I got to the corners, I basically just folded it over and stapled all around it to hold everything down. 

Now it's time for the buttons! This is by far the most time consuming part. The kit you buy comes with instructions for these, but I thought those were some kind of voodoo black magic because I could NOT get it to work. I ended up using hot glue to attach the fabric to the top portion of the button, then more hot glue to attach the back of the button. Hot glue for the win. I used 22 buttons total.


Decide how you want the layout of your tufts, then measure and mark each button location with a piece of chalk or fabric pen.

My buttons are 10 inches apart, and each row is 8 inches apart. I basically just started laying them out until I got the general idea of where I liked them, then measured and marked everything so it would be all nice and even.

Once you have all of your marks, use the staple gun to put a staple on each mark, which will create the faux tuft. You'll want to push hard with the staple gun to make sure it's all the way into the board. I was expecting this part to be a lot harder, but it wasn't! 

It may look a little uneven once you get your staples in, but the buttons are the great equalizers and really cleans everything up. Once I got to this phase, I thought it looked pretty lumpy and crooked...but the buttons make it all pretty, so hang in there.

Now on to the legs! I wanted this headboard to be freestanding, where I wouldn't have to attach it to the wall to be held up. 

Cover your 1x2 boards with batting and staple it on. I measured from my floor to the top of my mattress to see how far down the legs would need to go in order for the headboard to sit where I wanted it to (which was 26"). I wanted mine to go just slightly behind the bed. You'll only need to cover that much of your board pieces (since the rest will be hiding behind the headboard). Just wrap it around and staple down the board, kind of like you're wrapping a present.


 And REALLY since you can't see the legs once your headboard is behind your bed, you don't actually have to cover the legs at all if you don't want to (though I'd suggest at least covering it with batting so the wood doesn't scratch or damage your wall).

Now attach your legs to the headboard using the four wood screws. I used two screws in each board. (Make sure your screws aren't too long or they'll go right through the headboard! Mine were 1 1/4 inches).

Stand your headboard up and prop it against the wall- it's button attachin' time!

I put a glob of hot glue over a staple and attached a little fluff of batting, just to give the button something a little more to grab onto. I covered the whole back of the button with hot glue and pushed it down hard onto the piece of batting, holding it for about 20 seconds. If it starts to lift when you let go of it, just push it down for a few more seconds.

And wah-lah! Your headboard is done! 


It's super comfy and I love what it does for our room! I probably spent 3-4 hours on it total. And seriously...$80?! Can't beat it.

Now all that's left is to do in our room is add new bedding/pillows, a bench, and some accessories! 

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