DIY: Tufted headboard

David and I have been married for 8.5 months now! It's hard to believe that a year ago at this time I was busy with wedding plans, working out, and basically eating/drinking/breathing all things wedding. 

The first major purchase that we made as newlyweds was a new bed. We had discussed before marriage that we would consider getting a Tempur-Pedic or some sort of memory foam mattress because of my sleeping habits. (I have suffered from insomnia and nocturia, both of which cause me to toss and turn.) We also discovered on our honeymoon that we love the size of a king-size mattress. Fortunately, our bedroom would accommodate one perfectly, and our friends/family were so generous in fulfilling all the bedding from our registry. We had no excuse not to get one!

The only thing we needed was a head board. After having a metal bed frame for the past 10 years, I wanted something a little more luxurious and plush: a tufted headboard. Unfortunately, the ones I found were way too expensive. I quickly decided I was going to have to make my own.

My Inspiration: Skyline Furniture Linen Nail Button Tufted Upholstered Head Board via Wayfair, Skyline Furniture Micro-Suede Tufted Headboard via AllModern, Thea Velvet Tufted Bed, Light Gray via One Kings Lane

After pouring over tutorials by Sarah (Thrifty Decor Chick), Jenny (Little Green Notebook), and Meghan (Involving the Senses), I collected all my supplies: peg board, 1"x3" and 1"x2" wood, corner braces, batting, foam, fabric, cover button kit, buttons, Decorator's Needles, waxed button thread, French cleat picture hanger, spray adhesive, staple gun, and staples.

Here is a very rough sketch of my design.
You can see how I laid out the frame with the wood. 

For our king size bed, I decided to make the headboard 72"L x 32"H, which is what I had the peg board cut to at the store. I then built a simple rectangular frame with the 1"x3" and 1"x2" wood pieces and the corner braces and screwed it to the pegboard. (The people at the home improvement store are generally very helpful and can cut everything to size for you.)

Note: I purchased peg board as Jenny did in her tutorial, but I quickly discovered that you cannot staple into peg board, which is why I ended up purchasing the 1"x3" and 1"x2" wood pieces and corner braces to build a frame. This ended up stabilizing the peg board as well, which can be flimsy. The idea of purchasing peg board is that it already has holes, so button placement is much easier. If you use MDF and drill your own holes, you should be able to staple into it with no problem. (See Meghan's tutorial for more info on building a frame.)

I then cut the foam to size. (Like Sarah, I found that it was cheaper to purchase a mattress foam topper than foam from the craft store.) I decided on a simple 2-row zig zag tufting pattern (though you may choose to be more adventurous), and circled the holes with a marker on the peg board. I pre-made the 9 buttons I used following the directions in the cover button kits. I glued the foam to the board, stapled the batting over it, and then stapled the (grey suiting) fabric on top. From the back of the board, I drilled through all the layers using the holes I pre-marked as a guide. This helped me with placement of the buttons on the front. 

Many people have asked how I get the "tufted" look where the buttons actually look regressed into the headboard. You can get complicated with the tufting (which includes tucking, making pleats, and usually involves a more complicated button pattern, like in Meghan's tutorial). Or, you can do something simpler, like I did (a 2-row zig zag pattern). To give the buttons that regressed look, I used a knife to cut out some of the foam from the holes so the buttons would "sink" into place (see Jenny's tutorial). I also followed Meghan's tutorial by using extra buttons I had on hand to "anchor" the threads into place on the back of the head board. (This is also helpful if you're using peg board, since you can't staple the threads in place.)

Bedding: DKNY & Kenneth Cole;  Frames & Night Stands: Ikea; Photos; Brian Mullins; Mirrors: Target

It took me between 4-5 hours to finish the project, and it ended up costing around $100 for supplies. I hung the headboard on the wall using a French cleat picture hanger and a couple extra nails, and it has stayed in place so far. Both the hubs and I are very pleased with how it turned out. It has really dressed up our room and bedding. Best of all, I saved so much money by doing it myself!

Luv,
the Bride