DIY Upholstered Headboard Using the Ikea Hopen Bed

A couple of years back, we decided to build an Ikea wardrobe in our room.  We actually covered a window, I know that is terrible, but we had no choice.  Our closets are tiny.  I will post a picture soon of our closets. We had been using my husbands furniture from before we got married. It was huge and with our new closet, they had to go.  We bought the Ikea Hopen Bed because of its low profile and small nightstands.  The set has turned out to be great.  Problem is, I don't want any more 'sets'.  After posting about my inspiration, I knew I could do this.  Here is a picture of our bed.

First step, after measuring the size of headboard that you want, lay out 3 layers of batting on the floor and cut the measurement leaving about 4 inches on each side to fold over.  

Staple all the way around pulling as tight as you can.

Next step, lay your fabric out and do the same.  Cut to size and leave about 4 inches all the way around.  Staple onto your plywood.  I started at the center and worked my way around.  Make sure you pull tight with every staple.  I used a leather like material {vinyl} that had a bunch of creases when I unfolded it.  Pulling it tight got rid of the creases. 

Next, you must take a little break to allow your niece to a take a nap on plywood. I'm a great aunt!

The final step in upholstering the board is the corners.  I found that working with the vinyl is a little bit tricky. This material is thick and harder than fabric.  I folded the corners in and stapled as cleanly as possible. It took a few tries it ended up coming out just right. The back side does not look great, but nobody is going to see that.

Once the entire board was covered, we sat it on our counter top and we were ready to apply the nailhead trim.  I ordered the Nickel Nailhead Trim kit online from DIY Upholstery Supply for about $17.00 plus $13.00 in shipping.  I figured this would be much easier than using individual nailheads.  Using the nailhead trim, you only have to hammer in every 5 nails.  It is also easier to keep a straight line.

My husband helped me with this part. He was awesome! He is a bit of a perfectionist and really knows his way around tools.  We had one small glitch and I think it had to do with our fabric choice.  You can see in the second nail in the picture below there a little bit of a tear.  When hammering in the nail with a mallet, it bent the nail causing it to dig into the vinyl.  It tore. I am planning on getting a vinyl repair kit at an auto parts store.

We decided to use a hammer instead of the mallet. The nailheads were just not going in. My husband put a few layers of tape on the head of the hammer and replaced every so often as he worked.  The idea of the mallet is to protect the head of the nail, but this worked just fine. Once, we got the hang of it, it went very smoothly.  We almost gave up after the tear above, but we prevailed.  As my husband hammered in, I applied pressure on both sides of the nail. This seemed to work best.

Done! It came out great.  As mentioned above we have the Ikea Hopen Bed. The headboard was super easy to take off. My husband just took off the screws that were attached to the bed.  Yes, that is dust you see there, gross, and great for the allergies.

Here is the bed without the headboard.

With the extra piece of plywood, my husband used the table saw to cut three boards just under the height of the headboard. We wanted them to reach the floor just for extra anchor.  He screwed these in, 4 screws total.  Two at the bottom, two at the top of the bed frame.

Next, my husband attached the headboard to the wood slats. He also used 4 screws here. I applied pressure from the front side, while he pushed in the back. We wanted this to be as sturdy as possible. 

The headboard rests on the bed frame perfectly. 

Here it is!  I love it! Our room looks so much better.  The color is perfect.  The leather like/vinyl was the perfect touch. It's just enough modern for my taste, but because of its soft texture and feel, it's not cold. I would be a little cautious in recommending this type of fabric because of the issue with the nailhead.  We should have practiced a bit before going full force into nailing them in. You learn as you go, right? Also, when choosing a vinyl, there are different qualities that also affect texture and sheen. I wanted something that looked and felt like leather, not plastic{y} or shiny.  Make sure you feel the different choices and look for sales so you can get a better quality one.  We wanted a rectangular headboard, it fits our style more. I would imagine doing anything curved with vinyl would be difficult.

Cost breakdown:
Vinyl Fabric in Whisper White-Joann's Fabric $20.00 on sale with extra 15% coupon (about 2 yards)
Batting 4oz weight 10 yard roll from Joann Fabrics $6.00 on sale with extra 15% coupon
Plywood scrap wood from Home Depot $4.00
Nailhead trim from DIY Upholstery $30.00 (due to shipping costs)

Total Cost $60.00 

This project was surprisingly simple. We could have finished it in an afternoon. We took a little longer just to get ourselves working.  My husband was awesome, no he is awesome.  I was so thankful and he didn't even complain about doing this little project.  Whew!  Only problem is, now I want to redo my room.  Why does this always happen.  What do you think?

I joined the following linky parties: House of Hepworths, Paisley Passions, Fireflies and Jelly Beans, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Shabby Nest, Remodelaholic, Freckled Laundry, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Simply Designing, Answer is Chocolate, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Thrify Decor Chic