Bed headboard plan

[NathalieBou]

Hello,

I'm looking to add a headboard to my current bed to change the decor, and I thought of something very massive and perhaps velvet, or with a flamboyant color, in short something fabric that would give a lot of presence my very ordinary base. I would like to take inspiration from this bed (in blue). Have you ever done or did you know someone who would have done this kind of project?

 

[zannej]

I don't know about here, but there is a site called ana-white.com where she built some custom beds and has the diagrams and cut sheets for them. She also allows other people to post their "brag posts" if they used her plans to build something and they often make modifications or even combine elements from different plans. Here's one example- although probably not as grand as you are seeking. http://www.ana-white.com/2013/08/framed-and-tufted-upholstered-headboard
There's also this one http://www.ana-white.com/2012/01/diamond-tufted-headboard-nailhead-trim-and-matching-bed-frame
and this http://www.ana-white.com/2011/11/diy-tufted-headboard-tutorial
There is also a tutorial on how to do a wingback headboard here: https://www.allthingsthrifty.com/diy-wingback-headboard-tutorial-with-free-pattern/
And here http://www.lovepomegranatehouse.com/diy-tufted-wingback-headboard/
here: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/diy-wingback-upholstered-headboard/

There is a video on how to make a wingback tufted upholstered headboard


And


And one on just how to do an upholstered wingback headboard (I personally like the curve at the top rather than having it be straight across)


I hope this helps!

 

[Flyover]

I can't figure out why headboards are so commonly designed to be positioned at a right angle to the plain of the mattress. I like mine a lot because it has about a 10-degree slant toward the wall, which is way more ergonomic for sitting up and reading or watching Youtube or whatever. One of the big projects my wife wants me to do in the next few years is build a huge integrated headboard and built-in bookshelf for the wall behind our bed and I insisted (and she agreed) the new headboard should retain that slight angle.

Are headboards typically positioned straight up and down because it's just easier to build them that way, or is there some other reason?

 

[bud16415]

I can't figure out why headboards are so commonly designed to be positioned at a right angle to the plain of the mattress. I like mine a lot because it has about a 10-degree slant toward the wall, which is way more ergonomic for sitting up and reading or watching Youtube or whatever. One of the big projects my wife wants me to do in the next few years is build a huge integrated headboard and built-in bookshelf for the wall behind our bed and I insisted (and she agreed) the new headboard should retain that slight angle.

Are headboards typically positioned straight up and down because it's just easier to build them that way, or is there some other reason?

Headboards go back 1000’s of years to Egyptians or before and main use was to keep drafts off the sleepers head due to poor construction. They evolved as a status symbol and also served as part of the construction of the bed.


Like 100s of things in modern life today they have no use except decorative or maybe a place to store things in your bed. Some have mirrors built in, I assume to watch yourself sleep? Haha.


I like your idea for using the headboard as a back rest for watching TV etc. I doubt the Egyptians had TV. The only problem I see with that is it places your bottom exactly where your face will end up after the Tonight Show is over.


Just something to think about.


I always found it more logical to make the bed backwards and place your head in the middle of the room, then take advantage of area of the headboard for a 65” 4k TV. So far I haven’t found any women that agree with that idea.

 

[Flyover]

Well, not exactly where your face will end up...not if you use a pillow. But, point taken. Maybe don't use this configuration if you've eaten a lot of beans for dinner.

 

[zannej]

I like the idea of a headboard that goes at an angle to be leaned on. I do think that it is harder to achieve & there is a fear they might break off if leaned on too hard, but I always thought it was odd that headboards are usually hard & not at a good angle to lean on while reading- but I think that is where various pillows come in. It would still be cool.

I like the idea of having a tall footboard with a TV. I could have sworn I saw somewhere one that would rise up from the foot of the bed to be used and then go back down out of the way while they slept so it wouldn't accidentally get kicked.

Flyover, the Ana-White site also has plans for making headboards with storage shelves.

Gain scented Febreeze can take care of things if you've had a lot of beans.

 

[Flyover]

My headboard is supported by metal braces that are manufactured to keep it fixed at that angle. Each brace is about 2 inches wide and half an inch thick; I have no worries about them breaking. I plan to reuse those parts when I rebuild everything.

So Zannej, are you suggesting that on bean night, shove the business end of the Febreeze can right into the mattress where your butt goes while seated, and where your head goes while laying down, and fire point blank (really, a "contact shot")? I don't think that's good for your lungs or skin!

 

[zannej]

LOL! No. Just use some of the febreeze fabric spray on the spot where your butt was after getting up to pee (bc usually you have to pee before going to sleep or else you get up in the middle of the night) and when you come back, the bean night residue should be gone. Although during the effects of bean night, you can spray the air freshener type in to the air if you don't have charcoal mattress pad underneath you.
But your description is pretty funny.

If you want any inspiration pics for your headboard, there was a place called furniture traditions that went out of business, but they made some awesome stuff. Hidden compartments, storage headboards, built-in power outlets for lamps. I think their catalogs might still be preserved online.

If I were to design my own headboard, I would have it be padded/upholstered and slope back a little to make sitting comfortable, maybe even with a lumbar curve. Shelving would be above head level so you wouldn't hit your head and there would be a light mounted to the bottom of the shelf for reading. On the side supports for the shelves above the upholstered part I would have small shelves for small items as well as electrical outlets for a phone or something.

The one featured in this video has a grommet hole for cords of things on shelves. (check out the features on the night stand as well)


There's also this one:

 

[bud16415]

This is the one I like.

 

[Flyover]

Bud, I can't tell if you're being serious. I see some obvious design flaws there...

Zannej, there go those mirrors again! Your design idea is right in line with mine though: slanting ergonomic headboard, shelves up above head level, lights mounted under those shelves, small shelves on the sides with electrical outlets. Perfect.

 

[zannej]

I forgot to mention the designs would be good without mirrors. I didn't care for the mirrors on those. Those sliding doors on the furniture traditions headboard thing would have been better with some padding on them so people could lean against them while in bed. But, I personally like the style of headboard closer to the wall and have the shelves overhanging.

Furniture Traditions had an entertainment center with a hidden gun compartment.

 

[Flyover]

I agree but I'll add: I don't like the sliding doors on the headboards. I'd rather just let the headboard be a simple headboard and come up with other places to store things. Here's why, since nobody asked me for my stupid opinion in the first place:

Accessing the storage back there is really inconvenient if you're sitting in bed unless you're one of those people for whom it's very easy to twist 180˚ from the hip in a seated position. (In which case you probably work for the circus and travel too much to get enough use out of a fancy bedroom set like this to justify the investment.) I just tried and I think I can twist about 50˚ or 60˚ before it starts to feel uncomfortable. Because remember, you're not just twisting and releasing immediately, you're twisting and then holding that position while you slide the door over and rummage around blindly for your phone or gun or syringes or Kleenex or whatever else. So either you have to get out of bed and then access the storage and then get back into bed, or remember to access it before or after you're in bed. And meanwhile your bed is sticking a foot or so further out into your bedroom taking up space on that end. So, you're better off doing what Zannej and I recommended, as usual.

 

[zannej]

Flyover, I agree the sliding door things are not ideal. If they had to be there, I'd want them padded-- but I'd prefer for them to not be there or to be up higher (for people who have cats & don't want things knocked down on their heads). But, I don't think they are really necessary. I do like hidden compartments though. None of the furniture traditions videos showed the hidden storage in the very top of the unit. The top looks decorative but it opens up to reveal a hidden compartment. The nightstands also had small hidden drawers at the bottom where the decorative trim on the front bottom was. They had an armoire that could hold a flat screen TV on a panel that swung out to reveal gun compartments & stuff behind.