See How a Trendy DIY Headboard Adds Personality to an "Uninspired" Bedroom

ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER

HOME TYPE: House

PROJECT TYPE: Bedroom

STYLE: Modern

SKILL LEVEL: DIY

RENTAL FRIENDLY: No

There are plenty of stylish DIY headboards you can make for your bed if you’re looking for something a little more one-of-a-kind than a standard headboard. From headboards made of doors to hand-upholstered beauties, there are lots of custom, statement-making options that won’t break the bank if you DIY them.

Take, for instance, homeowner Sasha Faiz’s burgundy wavy headboard, which was was a $600 DIY project. “This may sound like a lot,” Sasha says. “But for a headboard that spans the whole wall, with built-in side tables and built-in sconces, it was reasonable!”

Plus, it creates a focal point in the bedroom, which was once “dingy, uninspiring, and a place we only used for sleep,” as Sasha describes. She particularly disliked the overwhelmingly tan color scheme, the old window that didn’t open, and that there wasn’t a functioning closet. “The only thing we liked were the original floors; unfortunately, they had been sanded down one too many times and sinking, making them unsalvageable,” Sasha adds.

The new wood floors were a budget-friendly compromise.

Sasha and her partner, Andrew Ghose, started the bedroom redo with the floors. “We wanted the same floors as the main floor, but to cut on cost, we did a straight lay instead of the herringbone,” she says.

They also replaced the non-functioning window with a new one.

Next came the pink color scheme.

After laying the warm wooden floor, Sasha and Andrew wanted to find colors that would complement the flooring and the lighting in the space.

“I am an oddball who has Pinterest pages that are dedicated to paint colors I love, so I knew the pink I had to use was Farrow & Ball’s Sulking Room Pink,” Sasha says, adding that she loves a pink and deep red color combo; so the color she chose to pair with the pink is Benjamin Moore’s Cascabel Chile.

The wavy headboard is a DIY — with the help of big-box finds.

The wavy headboard in the room is painted the latter color and was inspired by a vintage dresser Sasha had spied. “I am not a carpenter … but knew I wouldn’t be able to find this shape in stores so went on the mission of making it myself,” Sasha says. 

She used plywood, a jigsaw (for the first time!), some pre-made floating nightstands, and paint to pull off the project. The headboard DIY is her favorite element — and accomplishment — in the room.

An IKEA PAX solved the closet problem.

Another thing Sasha is particularly proud of is the IKEA PAX closet system across the foot of the bed that she and her husband installed — and they were pleasantly surprised to find an option that went well with the colors of the wall because they wanted to look built-in. “In this case, we went with the REINSVOLL doors in gray-beige,” she says. “I had trim made around it and found a paint color that matched exactly to the doors by Benjamin Moore called Baja Dunes.”

Sasha and Andrew added wavy hardware to the doors to complement the wavy headboard, and the piece has changed the way their bedroom functions. “Organizing your belongings and not having to see them is a blessing!” Sasha says. “Most of the world loves a PAX wardrobe, and now, we do too!”

The biggest challenge in the whole project was getting the closet to sit level, and that was more of a quirky old home issue than anything else. “The cost of the room would have been less if the floors weren’t so crooked!” Sasha says. (The redo cost about $7,000.) “Leveling the closet was more expensive than the closet itself and took a lot of time and money,” she adds.

Still, the time, money, and DIY efforts have transformed the room into a “calm and inspired” space, as Sasha puts it. “Who knew pink could help us feel like we’re in our calm place?” she says.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.