Headboard Finale

Headboard was finished and hung last night, and I slept like a rock! When my husband called to say good morning I was confused and the blankets had not even shifted as much as an inch! If you have been having trouble sleeping, just make a headboard and tucker yourself out :-) It was also a very nice reward to wake up to the headboard and see the fruits of my labor first thing.

OK so where we left off: finish stapling fabric pulling it taught; but not too tight as I left room to hammer in the nail-heads without ripping it so I could have a step-like trim around the perimeter (as I saw in the blog I mentioned before; that you can reference here).

I found a great product at Joann's that was a huge time and money saver: metal nail-head trim. It comes in a thin metal roll like a ribbon and you just hammer one nail in every 4 faux nails. It retails for $20 but Joann's honors competitors coupons and I had a 50% off single item from Michael's! Score! I only needed the 5 yard version (they make a 10 yard version for about $35 but don't quote me on that). I bought extra nail-heads which I didn't end up needing so they will go back.

It also makes it easier to keep a straight line with the trim versus hammering each individual nail. I straightened out the amount of trim I needed for each side and started at the bottom. I had to put a couple staples underneath here and there as certain places proved more difficult to nail than others.

Miss Midge checking out my progress

Sorry that it's a little hard to see in the picture as I had such a light fabric and used silver nail-heads, but you can get a little idea.
Next I straightened out all of the crooked parts since sometimes the nails bent a little on the way in. All I did for that was smack it with the hammer in the direction I wanted it to be since the nails are not weight bearing and it doesn't matter what they look like underneath. I also didn't make the trim go all around the bottom of the board but just about 6-8 inches on each side. I hung the board so that the bottom 2-3 inches were behind the mattress so this part does not show.

What I learned from the guys in the lumber department at Home Depot was that plywood bends and over time it will continue to warp if you do not 'frame it out' with something on the back side to keep it straight. So I just grabbed a furring strip (11/16" x 3/8" x 8') for 75 cents and had them cut it into 3 foot pieces and used whatever was left for the center, creating a horizontal 'H' on the back side. Drilled it straight across using a level and 2 screws in each piece. The level is key here because I used the top piece to hang the whole thing on the wall later. I trimmed the excess fabric all around before this so it wouldn't be in the way.
*Note about plywood: you may want to use some utility gloves or it will bite you! I thought I had gotten all of my splinters out, but this morning at pilates my fingertip was red and swollen and throbbing! I went home and pulled out a super slim almost impossible to see 1/2 inch long flimsy splinter out of my finger and now have a hole, but I feel tons better! I also have little scratches all over my fingers... lesson learned! :-)

Then I was ready to hang it! Measured, put some anchors in place, a couple heavy-duty screws and voila!!! A home made headboard that I can be proud of for years to come!

Sorry for the slight blur, it was 10 pm by this time and I was ready to shower and climb into that bed!

Totals
plywood & furring strip: $13.75 (free to cut)
carpet padding: $9
fabric: $18
nail-head trim: $10
free items:
Used blanket for padding, borrowed staple gun w/ staples (Thanks D!)
Moral support from one cute husband and one fun girlfriend (beers and frozen pizza not included in the budget, but equally as effective as the rest of the tools... right Andria?)

(tax included and rounded) THAT MAKES A $55.00 HEADBOARD!!!

Check out these beautifully manufactured headboards for $600+
Crate & Barrel  Pottery Barn  or even this one from Target on sale for $343!
Feeling pretty smug with my $55 upholstered headboard right about now, not going to lie :-)