I have been wanting a headboard in our room for so long. For some reason it was just never something high on the priority list. I also never really found one I was in love with – that wasn’t $1,000+
The other day, I was searching for something on Google and came across this amazing blog and saw that she did an incredible tufted headboard and tutorial. So I thought, why not give it a try!
Let me first start off by saying that this wasn’t complicated or hard to do, but just takes time! Clay & I did this over a weekend, but you could stretch it out over the week.
The headboard took about 2 days from start to finish. We followed Little Green Notebook’s tutorial exactly.
After doing this myself, I came up with a lot of tips for you, which I will share throughout this post.
Home Depot
- Pegboard from Home Depot, cut to size. We measured our bed (King size) and had them cut the pegboard 40 inches high x 76 inches wide
- Spray adhesive
- Staple gun & staples
- Mounting hardware to attach headboard to the wall behind the bed
Joann’s Fabric Store
- 3 inch thick upholstery foam
**Huge Tip** Download the Joann’s app on your smartphone for a 50% off coupon. They have coupons every month for 50% off a single item, plus 20% off your entire purchase. For some reason these pieces of foam are extremely expensive – we would have paid $120 just for the foam!
- High loft batting
- 3 1/2 yards (less if your bed is smaller than king size) of whatever fabric you like. Originally I wanted a more velvet blush pink fabric, but we found a light blush pink satin fabric for 50% off, making it only $4.99 a yard!
Here was my inspiration photo
- 4 inch upholstery needle
- Waxed button thread
**Tip** I highly recommend using waxed upholstery grade thread, don’t use non-waxed. Half way through the tufting, we ran out of thread, so I went to a different fabric store that was closer to our house. They only had non-waxed thread. It was IMPOSSIBLE to work with. We ending up having to go back to Joann’s to get the waxed stuff anyway. The wax sticks to the fabric and makes it much easier for making knots as well – more on that later.
- Button making kit + refills 5/8 inch size – enough to make 58 buttons. You can do less if you plan on having less tufts or if you have a smaller headboard.
Total cost $150 – not bad for an upholstered king headboard
Now that you have all your supplies let’s begin!!
First you will need to figure out your tufting pattern – we decided on rows of 11 and 10 buttons, alternating each row
circle where you will make your holes with chalk
then take a sharpie and make dots through the chalk marked holes.
Take the pegboard off and now you have your pattern.
Take a pairing knife and cut out your tuft holes
Now that all your holes are done, use your spray adhesive and glue the foam to the pegboard. Now all the holes will match up and you’re ready for tufting.
**Tip** make sure to let the foam hang off a 1/2 over the pegboard on the top and sides. This will make the edges more cushy and soft looking when you go to staple the fabric around the edges.
Then make your buttons with your kit
This part wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating.. we watched some Oprah & Real Housewives + we had this fatty to keep us company 🙂
Once all your buttons are done
Lay your pegboard, foam, batting & fabric down – in that order
Take your needle, waxed thread & button
and poke it through your first hole
Pull it through and staple a couple of times. Triple knot the thread around the staple to ensure it doesn’t come loose
And there’s your first tuft! Yeee!
I am so thankful the Little Green Notebook said to start in the middle of all rows and work your way out with the tufts & save the edge tufts for last.
Knowing us, we would have totally botched this part if not for her advice!
After all your tufts are done, staple at the bottom on the foam slightly pushing up when stapling so that your staples aren’t visible.
Then just simply pull fabric tight around all edges and staple to the back!
Attach your mounting hardware & attach to your wall behind your bed & there you go!!
What a difference this pretty headboard makes in our room!
Notice how the tufting starts right at the top of our mattress and the rest hides behind the bed perfectly
Our headboard kind of reminds me of this Pottery Barn one – I think ours is way cuter though and we didn’t have to spend $800 Yay!
What do you think? Are you thinking about making one??
It really makes our bedroom feel so romantic & chic. What do you think of the color?
The best part is, I was about to buy something identical to this headboard for $600 about a year ago. With everything said and done, we spent a total of $150!
Hope you like our headboard as much as we do!
Xo, Melissa
Love it girl!!! Very inspired by this! I don’t think I would ever have the patience. I really like how your man helped on this project too! Can’t wait to see it in person this weekend! Woop!
Awwwww thx girly!! Can’t wait to see you this weekend! xoxxo
LOVE IT!!! I have a few questions though 1) how did you know where the holes were for the buttons, once you covered the foam with batting and then the fabric? 2) how did you keep the fabric from sliding off when you were putting the first row of buttons on? 3) do you think it would work with a stiffer fabric?
Thanks so much!!!! You did an amazing job!
Thank you Lindsay!
1) Basically after it was covered with the foam, batting & fabric we just felt around for the holes. You kind of start knowing where the holes are going to be once you have the first row done. The other thing you could do (which we obvi did not think of!) is to glue the foam to the pegboard, leaving the chalk marked side on the back.. that way when you go to make the tufts, the holes are circled for you on the back side.
2) We just draped the fabric over the top. We didn’t have a problem keeping it in place while we did the first tuft. I’m sure the batting underneath probably kept it from sliding too ??
3) Yes, I do think it would work with a thicker fabric. Honestly making the diamond design was a little tricky with my fabric, so a thicker fab would work perfect I think.
Good Luck!! & Thx for reading my post 🙂
Xo, Melissa
You are tempting me to take a stab at making one.. Maybe in a mint green velvet fabric.
Funny thing is.. I have the exact same headboard, but I paid a great deal for it. Damn it! You did a really good job on this. It looks so professional. I like how your hubby helped out too; mine would never. Good work!
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could you please provide a link (or a name) of a button maker? i’ve been researching, and all i seem to find are the fancy-pants expensive ones. thanks!
Hi Leslie, these are the buttons we bought from Joann’s: http://www.joann.com/dritz-decorative-pearl-snap-fasteners/prd11249/ You will need a button making kit to go with it to make the fabric buttons. I suggest going to the store to buy the buttons & button making kit since their site is limited. Watch out though, that store is addicting!!
Hope this helps. XO, Melissa
Oh my goodness! Absolutely adorable! I definitely plan on making one. I have a question (I’m 16 so if this is stupid I’m sorry haha!) In your photo above the button making photo the foam is only covering about half of the pegboard. Is it supposed to be like this or is it not on the pegboard yet? And if it is supposed to be blank pegboard for half of it, why so??
Also this is random; but is that bedding from Anthropologie? I love it!
WOW looks AMAZING and totally professional! I love the color and fabric you chose, did you uses the satiny shiny side of the fabric or the more muted back side? I’m assuming this is a satin type fabric not cotton, am I right? It looks amazing, GREAT JOB!
Thank you! Ya, I used the shiny satin side of the fabric 🙂
How much did the foam cost you?
And whats the purpose of the batting?
This is such a simple but chic headboards, i like it so much. PS: I love the pillow behind the dog too:))
Looks so pretty and your tutorial makes it look easy.