Bearing a pretty silhouette, gorgeous fabric, intricate details, or all three, a headboard adds a certain flourish to your bedroom. Whether you make your own or purchase a piece, introducing a headboard to your bedroom is an instant update guaranteed to wow.

Create a custom headboard that rises to the occasion by covering an inexpensive artist's canvas with fabric. Just pull the fabric tightly across the frame and secure with a staple gun. Then prop the canvas behind your bed no power tools required. When it's time to change out your bedding, simply re-cover the canvas with new coordinating fabric for a fresh look .


Inexpensive photo frames can be found at garage sales or thrift shops and make a magnificent headboard. Remove the glass from the frames and cut batting the same size as the frame back. Cut fabric to size, adding 3 inches on each side. Lay the batting on the frame back and cover it with the fabric, wrapping excess over the back. Pull taut and fasten with duct tape. Insert the back into the frame. Hang three frames side by side for a picture-perfect headboard


Revamp an old wooden headboard with a new treatment. Try sanding off the existing stain and refinishing the headboard with a glaze or whitewash.


Give old closet doors a new purpose as a headboard. Two closet doors mounted on the wall behind the bed create a sleek focal point in this midcentury-modern bedroom. Plus, the tall headboard gives the room a sense of height.

For less than $100, you can make a headboard out of basics from your local home center. On a piece of medium-density fiberboard (MDF), draw a design that's as wide as the mattress and about 40 inches tall; cut out. Use wood glue to cover the MDF with a piece of beaded board cut into the same shape. Glue strips of veneer over the rough edges. Glue or screw trim to the top edge and a finial in the cutout. Paint the entire piece. When dry, mount the headboard to the wall with 1 1/2-inch spacers

Scout out a large picture frame from a flea market or secondhand shop and repurpose it as a headboard. Paint the frame to match your decor. Cut a wallpaper piece to fit inside the frame. Apply the paper to the frame backing following the manufacturer's instructions.


Spice up a bedroom by creating a framed headboard from a graphic print. Stretch the fabric over heavy cardboard or foam-core board and secure on the back. Insert the panels into two inexpensive poster frames spray-painted a coordinating color.


Create a one-of-a-kind headboard with built-in storage using old dresser drawers. Search salvage shops and secondhand stores for cast-off drawers and old dressers. Plan your layout on the floor, using fillers (such as storage cubes) and leaving spaces where the wall can show through. Once you've perfected your design, secure the pieces together with screws. (We also cut plywood doors to fit a few openings and secured them with hinges.) To embellish your headboard, give it a few coats of paint and wallpaper the drawer backs and doors. Hang the headboard on the wall using a few 1x4-inch cleats


Add a vintage country look to your bedroom with a feed-sack-covered headboard. A large feed sack provides enough fabric to cover a twin-size headboard. Staple two layers of batting over the front side of a piece of plywood, and then staple the feed sack on top of the batting. Pull the fabric taut as you add staples to the center of each side and then as you work your way to the corners. For a stunning finish, nail a piece of architectural salvage to the top of the upholstered headboard.