How to Make a Channel Headboard

I recently turned our third floor into the nursery, but when we first moved into the house it was our guest room. We had a bed frame, but no headboard. I wanted to make the room look a little more put together without buying a whole new bed frame so I decided to make a channel headboard.

How to Make a Channel Headboard | The Process

I used 1x6 pieces of wood, and measured them to the height I wanted, which was about 6 ft. I then cut foam strips so they were the same width and length as the boards. I wrapped both the foam and the wood in batting which secured them together. At this point, I realized I didn't have enough boards to get the width I wanted for this headboard. I didn't have enough foam either, but I figured out you can use foam scraps and staple them together and then double them up to get the same foam feeling and look. It worked perfectly and you can't even tell which boards have the stapled on foam and which don't!

I found a velvety light brown/camel colored fabric I liked and once I was done with securing the boards, I wrapped each of the boards in the fabric. I cut each piece to the right width and the right length so I could then use an upholstery stapler and staple the fabric to the boards already wrapped with the foam and the batting. Pro tip: if you can't find batting or you have a ton of left over felt it can also be used as batting. I used felt on multiple boards because I was trying not to spend too much money on this project and you really can't tell the difference between them.

Next, I lined all the boards up to make sure they were all even, had enough of them for the width of the headboard, and they were all in the right position. I started connecting the boards together to make a cohesive headboard. I took some 1x4 boards and screwed them into the backs of these boards to make sure they all stayed together. This was super easy to do, I just had to make sure everything was straight as I was doing it.

Lastly, I secured the finished headboard to the wall with some brackets and pushed the metal bed frame up against it. I love that it was a pretty simple and inexpensive project that made a big impact on the room.

How to Make a Channel Headboard | Shop