Headboard Ideas

I tend to use traditional bed frames in my rooms. I have too many cool antique beds that I absolutely adore to just make a funky headboard instead. However, it doesn’t keep me from dreaming. I fantasize about building a really cool bookshelf/cupboard/table around my mattress so I have room for all the books, magazines, tissue boxes notebooks and other stuff I realize I want after I am cozily tucked under the covers. Failing that, here are a few ideas for creating a headboard:

• Cutting a shape from plywood and upholstering it. So eighties, but I hear the clothes are back, so why not compound our bad judgment and bring back eighties decorating ideas, too? (If shoulder pads come back, I’m not doing it again. They were horrible the first time around. Do you know how stupid giant shoulders look on a short person? No? Take a look through my photo album.) Seriously, though, padded headboards are comfortable to lean against, so, as long as you aren’t incredibly allergic to dust mites, it isn’t the worst idea ever.
• Using a cool old door. This can really make a nice headboard, but do be sure you don’t choose a door with lead paint on it. An unfinished door or a door with a nice fresh coat of unchipped paint is a better choice than a door with an authentic distressed finish that includes paint from an unknown era.
• Hanging a piece of lattice or picket fence. Both of these things can give a bedroom a country garden feel and look cute with the right accessories.
• Cutting a shape from plywood and using faux painting techniques to create a memorable headboard for a child’s bedroom. Matt and Shari have a cute baseball glove headboard they made this way.

Photo Gail Rau/SXC