Ariella’s bedroom is finally being decorated after we moved in the beginning of August. In our previous home she would ask every person that stepped into our home if they wanted to see her room. (I let my husband and her pick the color of her previous room and got a painter to paint it…..it was PEPTO BISMOL PINK….so bad it was like you stepped into a time machine and ended up in a stomach….so this time I went with BM White Dove as the color) I will be doing a blog post on her finished room once I get all the decor elements completed. But for now here is the DIY upholstered headboard. It took me 4 hours total from start to finish.
**Please note that I am not a DIY blogger, I just wanted to share this easy bed frame upgrade. If you have any questions please comment below and I will happily reply.
We started with a super cheap Ikea Fjellse Bed Frame that was previously painted the same grey color as her french provincial bedroom furniture. We removed the headboard off the frame of the bed and attached leftover plywood and pegboard that we had in the garage to either side of the frame. I made the frame 50″ tall. (you can really adjust the size to whatever you desire)
You will notice that the plywood is on the wrong side. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make a tufted headboard or one with upholstery nails. This resulted in the wood pegs on the bottom of the frame being on the wrong side….in the end it didn’t matter. (Also the green “A” chalk is brought to you by our daughter….remember I said I wasn’t a professional DIY Blogger)
Once your frame is boarded up you will need to measure 2inches around making marks with a pen (the 1inch foam will be inside this line)
Cut foam to fit inside these lines. I used 1″ foam purchased from my local Fabricland store. (you can either use a few staples or glue to secure the foam onto the plywood)
Next you will flip your frame onto batting and get ready to staple it on to the frame.
When it comes to stapling do the centre of all four sides first (this will make sure you are getting an even flat surface without any wrinkles) then continue the staples all around the frame pulling it tight. But if you pull too tight it will cause wrinkles….do you get what i mean?! lol
Flipped over this is what your frame should look like. (I had to cut the batting around the legs so that the frame would still screw into place)
Lay your fabric “right side” down and place the headboard on top of it like so. (I purchased a nice thick suede fabric)
Just like the batting material start stapling in the centre of all four sides to insure no wrinkles and an even flat surface.
Continue the staples all around. The corners were a little tricky but just play around with them until you get the look you desire. Just make sure you replicate the same fold on both sides. When it came to the legs I had to cut and fold and then staple. Confusing….I KNOW! But just make sure the outside of the headboard looks good, but you won’t see the bottom once the mattress goes on. Also cut off any extra fabric at this time.
This is what the front should look like as this point. (nice and smooth)
Now for the part that took me the longest. The upholstery nails where purchased at my local Home Depot and do come in various colours. This is a antique brass finish. I measured for 2 nails every inch, so every .5″ i made a mark. 1.5″ from the edge of the frame. Using pliers to hold the nail in place so I didn’t squeeze my finger and could get a even finish. (these are not perfect but the end result is actually pretty good….for a beginner….not a professional by any means!)
See, when you look closely you can see that the upholstery nails are a bit uneven but it still looks okay all complete.
See not to shabby eh?! (so Canadian of me)
Now that the headboard is complete and the pictures are hung….I need to finish the rest of the room. I want to put some gold wall sconce above her bed and add a tent for reading. The fabric for the curtains is hung but needs to be hemmed and sewn properly. Here is what we’ve got so far. (please note…this is very unfinished) 
Shop some of the details found in Ariella’s Bedroom below.
