It’s important for a bedroom to be a comfortable and relaxing space, not only in terms of layout and practicality but also from an aesthetic point of view.

There’s no need for a lot of furniture and accessories. In fact, the fewer the better. You can still personalize the room with elements such as a DIY headboard or some colorful bedding.

We have a lot of great ideas to share with you and we’ll start with some interesting headboard designs.

Cover it up with a pattern

You can’t really know how to build a headboard until you actually try to do it once. Don’t worry, it’s not that difficult. We can guide you every step of the way.

We suggest trying something simple at first…maybe a fabric-covered headboard with a plywood and foam structure.

Cut a piece of plywood to the desired shape and size, put foam on top of it and then staple fabric over it all. Don’t worry about the back side of the headboard. You’ll never see it since it will be mounted flush with the wall.

Related: Modern Bed Frames with Headboards – Excellent Additions To Your Bedroom

Take a rustic approach

The combination of rustic wood and teal is exquisite and the headboard is marvelous. It’s also pretty easy to put together and you can try this at home any time you want.

Here’s what you’ll need: plywood, pine furring strips, wood glue, sandpaper, stain, wall anchors and hanging hardware as well as a saw, a drill and a nailer. Check out the full tutorial on Eastcoastcreativeblog.

Try something light and airy

In case you prefer something less robust, perhaps you’d like a headboard that looks more like the one featured on Vintagerevivals. It has a certain sculptural appeal and there are plenty of ways to customize it and make it your own. You can even give it a different shape or use a different type of wood that better suits the room’s decor.

Repurpose some old shutters

Some DIY headboards require minimal effort, being made out of repurposed items such as vintage shutters.

Depending on how big the bed and the shutters are, figure out the proportions and decide how pieces you’ll need. In the version shown on Samathaelizabethblog four shutter panels were used. Two are tall and two are small and they’re all painted in a beautiful shade of light turquoise.

Make a pegboard headboard

Have you ever seen a pegboard headboard? It’s not a common idea but it is interesting. It’s also something you can easily craft yourself. This unusual idea comes from Designmyheartout.

The headboard that inspired us is made of two pegboard panels that were spray painted gold and then decorated with pink mason string. You can definitely choose other colors and even a different pattern.

Hang some tapestry on the wall

Hanging tapestry on walls is an old practice and, like a lot of other old things, it can be updated and given a modern twist. One idea is to hang tapestry, quilt or a rug above the bed, as an alternative to the headboard.

You can use a rod, as suggested on Apartmenttherapy. A similar idea is to hang curtains on the wall behind the bed. This will bring color and texture into the room, ensuring a cozy ambiance.

Paint a wooden headboard

Headboards are almost always made of wood. It’s the most common material for this type of accessory and it’s easy to procure and fashion into just about anything.

Building the actual headboard is only the first part of the project. Once you have that you can start customizing everything. The suggestion offered on Theweathereddoor is to use paint to create a colorful, geometric pattern.

Go with a simple design

Isn’t this headboard pretty? It’s made of plywood and it looks really chic and stylish. To make something just as beautiful you’ll need a few things such as a piece of plywood (obviously), some painter’s tape, and paint as well as some sandpaper.

The first thing you need to do is sand down the plywood and then to place the tape to create the desired pattern. On Abubblylife a two-tone diagonal pattern is shown. After that you simply have to paint one section and remove the tape.

Follow a theme

Upholstered headboards are awesome because they’re obviously very comfortable. They’re perfect if you like to read in bed. You can make your own soft and cozy headboard using a sheet of plywood, some fabric, a few pillows and a staple gun. Reaktionista offers a very cool customization idea. It involves plants and paint.

Use reclaimed wood

If you can get your hands on some reclaimed wood, maybe from an old barn or perhaps you could use the boards from a pallet. The older the wood is, the more character the headboard will have so don’t try to use matching boards. They can have different colors, widths and can even come from different sources. Check out Funkyjunkinteriors for more inspiration.

Paint a headboard on the wall

You can have a headboard without actually having a headboard in the traditional sense of the term. The idea is simple: instead of building one out of wood or some other materials, you paint one on the wall. On Ohohblog you can see how such a project can turn out if you also use tape to create a geometric pattern on the wall.

Repurpose an old door

By repurposing an old door into a headboard you give the whole room a unique look. You can even leave the knob on and use it as a hanger. Paint the door before you install it if you also want to add a bit of color to the decor, maybe match your new headboard to other existing features and accessories. {found on mysocaldlife}.

Make a headboard out of a pallet

You can do a lot of cool things with a wood pallet. If the slats are close together you can simply turn the pallet into a headboard. You just need to sand it down a bit and clean it. After that, attach it to the wall.

This can be a bit tricky so make sure you choose the right hardware for your type of wall. If you want you can even have fun decorating the pallet. On Catheywithane, for example, you can find a description of a pallet headboard decorated with birds on a wire.

Make a rustic headboard out of wood

Wood is the perfect material to use in your projects if you want to get a rustic or a sort of nature-inspired and organic feel. It’s also easy to manipulate and to work with which makes it great for a project such as a DIY headboard. In this tutorial shared by The Rehab Life you can learn what else it takes to build one.

Consider an upholstered headboard

Having an upholstered headboard is really nice especially if you enjoy reading in bed or just watching TV before you go to sleep.

It provides you with a comfortable surface to lean against and it also makes the room look nice and cozy in general. Making your own upholstered headboard from scratch is not as difficult as you may think. Check out the tutorial by The Daily DIYer to learn more about it.

How about a button-tufted headboard?

There’s just something about a button-tufted headboard that makes it look timeless. It’s a look that we associate with classic furniture and with elegance and style but it’s not necessarily a look that’s difficult to achieve. In fact, you could make your own tufted headboard at home and it would be fairly easy. Luckily, there’s tutorials like this one from Checking in With Chelsea that can teach you all the important elements about a project like this.

Turn a wooden pallet into a headboard

As you probably know, wooden pallets are incredibly versatile and can be used in lots of different contexts. Something you might be familiar with is pallet furniture and this headboard design shared by Therese Antonsen falls into the same category. With a little bit of effort and some creativity you can turn a simple pallet into a lovely headboard for your bedroom. Be sure to add your own touch to the design in the process.

Cover it in fabric

Most DIY projects that involve fabric usually require sewing as well but not this one. This is a no sew fabric-upholstered headboard which anyone can make. It has a very simple design which makes it perfect for bedrooms with a modern or a contemporary design but, as always, there’s room for customization.

Check out this tutorial by Home With Stefani to get a better idea of what it takes to make something like this from scratch.

Go with a boho design

If you’re in the market for a decorative headboard get ready to explore a world of interesting and clever designs like the one shared here by Mikah Marie. This is a bamboo trellis headboard which almost resembles a giant flower. It’s simple but at the same time it stands out and it has a lovely boho-chic vibe which you can definitely use to your advantage when decorating the rest of the room.

Try a shiplap headboard

Shiplap adds a cozy and farmhouse-inspired vibe to spaces and it’s not just for walls. For instance, this is a shiplap headboard and it looks really great. It’s simple but that’s part of its charm and the white finish helps to emphasize the style more than anything else, adding at the same time an airy vibe to the space around it. Check out Simple Life in the South for a tutorial.

Make the most of farmhouse simplicity

Since we mentioned farmhouse design earlier, let’s check out another DIY headboard project that fits the same theme. This tutorial is presented by Made by Mitch and it guide you through the entire process of building a wood farmhouse headboard from start to finish. It’s a pretty simple project and it’s quite inexpensive as well.

Add built-in lights to your headboard

It’s not just the headboard itself that matters, although it’s important for it to have a good structure to build upon. It’s also the details and accessories that you can attach to the headboard or display around it that help to give it character and to transform the entire room. Something as simple as integrating a couple of built-in sconces into your DIY headboard design can make a big difference.

Include an eye-catching pattern

Color and pattern are two powerful elements that you can choose to incorporate into your handmade headboard design. You can even choose to emphasize the aesthetics and to make a mainly decorative headboard. A nice source of inspiration can be the project featured on instructables which makes use od a classic chevron pattern and neutral colors.

Turn your old door into a headboard

If you happen to replace one of your doors and at the same time to have a need for a new headboard, that would work out perfectly. Transforming the door into a headboard is really easy.

Take out hinges and any other hardware, cut the door to size if needed, attach some molding with a trim at the top and then just either stain or paint the whole thing. You can find more details on instructables if needed.

Hang it on the wall

Is there even such a thing as a wall-mounted headboard? Of course there is and this is a very nice example. It’s a headboard that you can easily make from scratch and it mainly consists of two pillows hanging from a rod attached to the wall. You can definitely find the inspiration needed in this project from instructables to create your own unique version of a wall-mounted headboard.

Stick to classic designs

Sometimes the simplest of ideas can turn out to be the best ones. For instance if you want a headboard that stand out much but still makes the bedroom look and feels inviting and cozy, a simple one made out of wood would actually make a lot of sense. The design featured on instructables is perfect in that sense.

Add some mood lighting

The ambiance in a room is partially influenced by the lighting and that’s actually something that you can keep in mind when designing and building a DIY headboard or in case you’ve giving your existing one a makeover.

One idea that stands out is to attach LED lights to the back of the headboard. The result can be similar to this and you can check out this project on instructables for more details.

What about a herringbone headboard?

Some ideas can sound strange but can also make complete sense at the same time. With that in mind, check out this herringbone headboard design from sewmuchado.

It sure is interesting even though it’s based on a classic, old-school pattern. It can look especially nice in a simple boho-chic bedroom or in a décor with subtle farmhouse or rustic vibes.

A perfect tufted pattern

Ever wondered why the classic button-tufted furniture looks so nice? It’s partially because of the pattern and the way in which the buttons are spaced out as well as the negative space between them.

A perfect pattern is important and that requires planning. If you’re interested in making your own tufted headboard, take a look at some of the tips offered on juniperhome first.

Try a barn door-style headboard

The wooden barn door has become an iconic design element which we use in both rustic and modern décor and which has become a source of inspiration for a variety of other details. This headboard featured on shanty-2-chic definitely has that strong barn door type of feel. It’s quite robust but that suits it well.

Combine multiple materials

There’s no rule saying your have to build your headboard entirely out of wood or that it needs to be upholstered from top to bottom.

Some of the materials and the design strategies presented earlier or in other projects can be combined. This for example is a headboard that has a solid wood frame but also an upholstered section in the middle. You can check it out in more detail on thecraftpatchblog.