Upholstered Velvet Nailhead Headboard

My son Robert switched rooms in December to what use to be the nursery. This room has looked mostly the same for the last 7 years. Same paint, same curtains, same dresser. The only thing that changed was the 3 three babies swapping in and out as needed. Now that the space is officially his I was ready to start tweaking the space for him. A new headboard was first on the to do list. Headboards are really very simple to make. All that was needed was:

5/8 Underlayment Particle Board ($20 but enough for 2 headboards)
Egg Crate Foam ($12)
Batting ($6)
Fabric 1.5 yds (velvet $17 per yard so $26)
Staple Gun, Staples
Yardstick, Hammer, Nail
Nailheads ($7)
Total if purchasing all materials except gun and staples $62 - Not Bad!

Most supplies were already on hand from previous projects like the kid friendly gray Sunbrella velvet leftover from recovering a sofa. The only purchases were $6 for batting and $7 for nailheads. First Mike cut the particle board to my measurements of 30" x 41".

Egg crate foam was cut to 39" x 29" to leave a 1" foam free edge along the sides and top.

The batting was laid smooth on the ground, then the foam followed with the particle board. I took some extra time to make sure the foam was lined up correctly with the board. The batting was stapled all around paying close attention to the corners ensuring a smooth fit.

Next the fabric was placed wrong side up on the floor followed with my newly "batted" board. The fabric was then cut leaving a 3" border all the way around.

Using the staple gun again, I attached the fabric with 3 staples in the center portion of each side. Then I kept on stapling, alternating opposite sides. The key for this step was ensuring a tight fit, flipping the board over frequently to check my work.

That was the easy part. I really wanted nailhead trim thinking it would no problem. Well it is pretty easy...if you like crooked lines and lots of bent nails that need to be discarded. I thought I could just measure the holes and tap my upholstery nails in. The particle board was so hard that many of the nails went in totally crooked. So I did what any normal person would do - stopped the project and felt guilty for the next three months while the headboard sat unfinished.

Finally this week I bit the bullet and completed it yeah! All I needed to do was hammer in a regular nail a bit into the board then remove it so the decorative nailhead would sink properly into the headboard. Using a yardstick I marked a small dot every 3/4" and proceeded with adding the nailheads.

Finally it is behind my son's bed. A few nailheads are missing on the side because I ran out from throwing away so many in the beginning. The next trip to the store will remedy that problem. Currently he's digging Star Wars but I think this headboard would complement whatever phase he's into next.

Since we're in his room here are a few other shots of the space.

The large painting was my husband's as a young boy and Mike's mom painted the top picture. I love seeing them hanging in my son's room. The wood ceiling circles are original to the house and the large corkboard was only $2 at a thrift store. The camouflage pillow was sewed per special request from my son. He doesn't ask for much when it comes to his room so if he wants a camo pillow, a camo pillow is what he'll get! Eventually the glider will be replaced with a desk but for now it works.