Back again for round two!
***warning: this turned out to be a rrrreally long post - should have made three parts!***
At the end of part 1, I had just glued the frame to the back like so.
Next came adding the legs. I didn't really see any tutorials for adding legs so I winged it. Most of the DIY headboards I have seen online are mounted on the wall when finished, but I wanted mine to be screwed into the bed frame like a "real" headboard.
So again using some scrap pieces I had in the basement - this time from
the kitchen window framing adventure - I cut two 2' wooden "legs". Then I picked up two
mending plates at Home Depot (under $3 each), 12 bolts, locking washers and nuts (under $5 total) and screwed them onto the bottom of the headboard.
Ok you got me............that's not my thumb..........
Ed was around to help (thank God!) Lifting the headboard and flipping it over multiple times by myself would have been pretty entertaining for the neighbors.
Both mending plates attached.
Next I sanded the top of the headboard so the frame and back would match perfectly - not sure this step was necessary...once the batting and fabric is on, you probably wouldn't notice that they were uneven anyway. Oh well.
Next came the foam! And upholstery adhesive...
Foam = $20, adhesive (from Joann's) = $10
I laid it down and cut off the excess.
Then I figured I would double up the foam since I had enough leftover.
Even if it meant piecing it together like this...
The spray adhesive instructions said for a permanent bond, spray both sides, wait till it's slightly dry and tacky, then stick together. This stuff was strong and came out kind of like silly string. I definitely recommend keeping it outside.
This is actually when I stopped on the first day - the whole project took me three afternoons. At this point, the headboard had to be moved into the basement. The foam was static-y and picking up every loose blade of grass in the yard. Just what everyone wants right? Grass clippings, forever sealed in their headboard.
Moving the headboard into the basement seemed like the cleaner option, until I discovered that a certain someone liked my new headboard too.
I shouldn't have put the headboard right in front of the space heater where Peanut likes to bake herself.
Anyway, once I shooed away Pea, I laid down a clean sheet and then placed the batting on top of it.
Queen size medium loft batting from Joann's = $18
Side note: I have no idea what "loft" means...thickness? I went with the medium loft since I didn't know what it was.
Headboard, on top of batting, on top of sheet.
Then I started stapling.... and stapling.....aaaaaaand stapling some more...
First layer of batting.
After adding a second layer of batting, I added the fabric.
Fabric from G Street Fabrics, 2 yards = $30. They were having a big sale and I had a coupon.
Starting at the top...
Then stapling the bottom and sides...
And then all the way around.
As I went around with the staple gun, I pulled the fabric tight and then sat on the headboard to squish down the foam. This made the finished headboard smooth and lump free. Things got a little funky around the legs. I just trimmed off excess fabric as I went and tried to keep it as neat as possible.
Et voila!
I was a little nervous about the wrinkly curves...
but luckily the nailheads pinned them flat.
On to the final step- nailhead trim! (or second to final I guess - still have to attach the legs)
I was really nervous about this part. It's tough to put so much work into a project that can be messed up with the final step! Also, since there are nailhead trim kits, I already knew that hammering in the real thing was probably not very easy.
And guess what!?
It's not very easy.
At all.
Here are my tips:
- First and most important - don't stress! Unless you are a robot or superhero, there is no way the nails can be perfectly spaced. Once you have all the nails in, you won't notice small differences in spacing.
- Use a real hammer. Other bloggers said you have to use a rubber mallet because a regular hammer takes off all of the antique brass finish. So I went and bought one and it was awful to work with. I couldn't see exactly where I was hitting the nail so I ended up hitting it slightly off to one side or the other, causing the nail to go in crooked or even break. Also, in order to hold the nail under the mallet, you need needle-nose pliers... the whole operation was very cumbersome. I got frustrated and just tried a regular hammer, holding the nail with my fingers, and it worked great! The finish stayed on fine and I did not tap gently. Each time I successfully banged a nail in, I would give the last few nails in the line a satisfying thwack for good measure.
- Move around the piece of furniture so that you can hold down the fabric and nail with your left hand (if right handed) and staple with your right. This way the fabric and nail are held down tight and straight. On the left side of the bed I tried holding with my right hand and hammering with my left...yyyyeah not so much.
- Buy an extra box of nails. They break and bend often.... use needle-nose pliers to pull out nails after their heads break off....
First....nail....in....only 200+ to go!
1 box of 20 decorative nails = $1.30 = awesome!!
Then a few more...
(see...not perfect up close)
(but looks great when you step back!)
(please excuse the surrounding mess...and how did Peanut's snowman toy end up under the headboard??? ...weird)
Ok. Now we're at the final step. I promise. Is anyone still reading? Longest post EVER.
The legs.
Using the excess fabric I trimmed off of the headboard, I half-wrapped the legs and stapled the fabric in place.
(I half-wrapped them because I simply didn't have enough fabric to fully wrap them.)
And then drilled holes and attached the mending brackets to the legs.
At this point, the headboard is fully supported by the legs. If you want to attach it to your bed frame, slide the headboard behind your bed and mark where the bed frame headboard bracket screw holes are on the headboard legs using a marker. (I just poked the marker through the screw holes and made a mark on the headboard legs.) Then drill holes in the headboard legs and attach with nuts and bolts.
And finally....another pic of the finished headboard!
And the covered legs peeking out from the side (hopefully soon to be covered by a bed skirt anyway...)
Ok last one I promise...
.....aaaand yes I did carefully arrange the jewelry on the nightstand...blogger nerd!! At least Ed gets a kick out of it :)
Total cost = $102.....actually not under $100! I lied in part 1 :( Close enough.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions fire away!
