This DIY upholstered bed is everything I dreamed it would be! Having a fully upholstered bed really changes the feel of the room in the best way possible. This post is all about how to upholster the DIY bed frame we built in part 1.
The upholstery part of this bed took me the better part of three days to complete. So, if you’re planning to upholster an entire bed, just know it’s a longer process than doing just a headboard. However, I think it’s so worth it! The footboard and sides add such a finished look, and it has completely changed the feel of our bedroom. Just in time for our One Room Challenge Reveal coming up next week! I still have lots to finish up, but I’m getting excited to share the transformation this room has undergone over the past few weeks and months.
Catch up on our previous One Room Challenge Updates:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6
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How to Build a DIY Upholstered Bed Part 2: Upholstering a Bed Frame (California King)
For this project, I focused on using low-toxic products as a personal preference. It’s not perfect by any means, but I tried to choose cleaner products. It didn’t add much as far as cost, but definitely gave me more peace of mind. I did include some cheaper alternatives where it might impact budget, but most of what I used was quite affordable!
Materials Needed:
- Linen Fabric (or fabric of your choice) – about 8 yards for a California King bed (this will give you a little extra in case you need it)
- Cambric Fabric for back dust cover – about 8 yards for a California King bed (optional, but makes it feel more finished)
- Corner Brackets to attach sides and legs
- Headboard Brackets
- ½ Inch Staples – I used just under 2,000 staples, so get two packs to save yourself from running out mid-project like I did!
- 100% Cotton Batting – I used 3 of these bags
- Optional – 1″ mattress topper to pad headboard: Non-Toxic Option, Standard Foam
- Upholstery Tack Strip
Tools:
- Pneumatic Staple Gun
- (requires Air Compressor) or standard staple gun (don’t bother with an electric staple gun, I tried and they don’t even get into soft pine wood)
- Drill and/or Impact Driver
- Self-Centering Drill Bit
- Scissors – I highly recommend these sharp sewing scissors over regular scissors (they cut way more easily!)
- Hot Glue Gun
- Measuring Tape
- Pen or Pencil
DIY Upholstered Bed Frame Instructions:
1. Attach Padding to Your Headboard
Now that your DIY bed frame is built, it’s time to get to the upholstery! First up is your headboard padding. Now, there are many ways to do this – you could use a foam mattress topper, simply add multiple layers of batting, or use something else for some extra cushion. For example, I used the remnants from a felt rug pad. I can’t say I recommend this method, but I like to do weird things sometimes, so we’re just going to leave it at that!
First, cut your choice padding to the size of your hardboard (mine is 77.5” wide x 32” tall). Then, usually you would use upholstery spray adhesive to attach this. However, to avoid the fumes, I used a hot glue gun instead. This worked perfectly and didn’t require any dry time!
2. Wrap Each Piece in Cotton Batting
Next, lay out your cotton batting and cut it to fit over your padding and around to the back of your headboard. Wrap the batting around the top, bottom, and sides and staple it to the back of the headboard frame with a staple gun. I attached the top first, and then the sides and bottom.
For the corners, cut away the excess material to wrap the batting around without bunching. I held the excess straight up and cut it just slightly longer than the frame to wrap over the corner from each side.
Use as many layers of batting as desired to cushion your DIY headboard. I used 4 layers which gave me a nice amount of padding. If you’re using a foam pad, you should be able to get away with just two layers! I wrapped the legs of the headboard in two layers of batting as well.
Repeat this process for the footboard and side boards. I used just two layers of batting for these, but added an extra bit to just the top of the footboard since I wanted it to be slightly more cushioned.
3. Upholster Your DIY Bedframe in Your Chosen Fabric
If you’re following along on Instagram, then you know that I used some excess linen fabric from these oversized linen curtains I had. More on that in my previous blog post about how to dye linen and the secret to perfectly white sheets.
I cut my fabric roughly to size, leaving enough to wrap around the top, bottom, and sides. You’ll attach the fabric just like the cotton batting by stapling to the back of the frame. However, you’ll want to smooth it out and pull it tight as you go. I was impressed with how much this actually took the wrinkles out of the fabric as I went!
The corners were somewhat tricky, but I cut off the excess fabric, leaving a slight overlap over the corner. I stapled first layer of fabric close to the corner. Then, I folded the fabric of the second fabric layer to create a clean edge and cut off any excess that was in the way. Then I pulled it tight and stapled it to the back of the frame.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When you go to cut your fabric for your footboard, beware of the height and if or how much of the BACK of the footboard you might need covered. I didn’t think about this, so now I need to go back and figure out how to patch in some fabric for mine.
Add a Seam/Channels to Your DIY Upholstered Bed:
You’ll notice that my headboard has a seam in the middle. If you want to add a tufted seam or channels to your headboard, you have two options: 1) Build separate pieces and wrap them individually, then mount to your wall, or 2) Use upholstery tack strips to define your seam. I used the second option, and it was actually pretty easy!
- Measure and mark where you want each seam. Since mine was in the middle, this was fairly simple to do.
- Cut your tack strip to the length of your headboard; you’ll need 3 for each seam. Line up one side of the cardboard with your seam line and staple to attach it to your headboard. You’ll use this piece as a guide so you know where to attach the fabric.
- Here is where I should have done things a bit differently. You’ll want to attach some scrap fabric over the seam at this point to disguise any possible gaps. I did not do this and am now figuring out the best way to hide the few gaps in my seams.
- Now it’s time to lay out your fabric. If your fabric has a front and back, make sure to lay it out with the front side facing down. I used a liner with my fabric, so that’s why the back is white! Line the edge of your fabric up with the seam line, then lay another cardboard strip on top of your fabric. This is what will give you a straight line once it’s attached.
- With your fabric face down, staple through the cardboard as close to the seam line and as often as possible. You should be able to feel the first cardboard strip through your fabric, and push the top strip into it to help you line it up.
- Once you’ve attached your fabric, flip it over to make sure it looks correct. At this point, I flipped my fabric back over and added two more layers of cotton batting to give it a little more fullness. Be careful if you staple it in to not go past the seam line!
- Next, you’ll attach the sides of the fabric, smoothing it from the seam outward. Then attach the top and bottom, pulling it straight up and down to smooth out any wrinkles.
You can use this same method to create seams anywhere you need or want them! I also used it to wrap the legs of my headboard with fabric, and considered this to add a seam along the top, but decided to keep it simple.
4. Optional – Add a Dust Cover to the Back of Your Bed Frame
Although you could skip this step, I think it’s such an important one! Adding a dust cover to the back of your DIY upholstered bed makes it feel professional and finished. Plus, it actually serves a purpose – to keep the dust and bugs out! For the footboard and sides, depending on the height, they also may sit up against your bed, and installing a dust cover helps to ensure your mattress and bedding don’t get hung up on anything. I also installed the dust cover to finish the inside and back of my headboard legs since I ran low on fabric.
How to Install a Dust Cover on the Back of Your Bed Frame:
- Lay it out, lining up the straight edge of the fabric with the top edge, just covering the staples for the fabric.
- Staple all along the top, then pull it tight and cut off the excess from the bottom (again, you just want enough to cover the staples along the bottom). I chose to cut the excess off and then staple it because it was much easier to cut a straight line this way.
- Once the excess fabric is cut off, start in the middle, pull it tight, and staple. Repeat this, working toward each side.
5. Attach Brackets to Connect Your DIY Upholstered Bed Frame Together
I used these corner brackets to attach my DIY upholstered bed frame, which made it nice and sturdy! Attach them to the side rails first, making sure the edge of the bracket is lined up with the edge of the side board. I used my self-centering drill bit to pre-drill the holes and then screwed them in. If you did a test fit of the bedframe before you upholstered it, then you should be able to find the previously drilled holes and drill through the fabric to attach the brackets.
Then, I attached it to the headboard. I stood it up so both pieces were flat on the ground (to do this, I leaned the headboard against my counter and put a chair in front of it to keep it from falling on me). Make sure the side is lined up straight, and then pre-drill your holes to attach it to the headboard. Repeat this for the other side and for the footboard. To move it into the bedroom, you’ll need to remove the brackets from the headboard and footboard only.
For the headboard, I also wanted it attached to the wall so that it wouldn’t hit the wall anytime we get in and out of bed. I used these mounting brackets and first attached the U bracket to the headboard (with the U facing down!). I waited until after I added the feet to attach the bracket to the wall so it would be the correct height. To install it, I lined up the circle with the U opening on the headboard, and then held the bracket there to mark the holes. I pre-drilled the holes and then used self-drilling drywall anchors (these ones are the BEST!) since there wasn’t a stud. Once the brackets were installed, I mounted one side of the headboard, then the other.
6. Optional – Add Feet To Lift Your Bed Off the Floor
I wanted to add short feet to the bottom of my bed to lift it off the floor. I cut some scrap 2x4s to 4 inches that I sanded, stained, and sealed. To install them, I simply lined them up where I wanted on the headboard and footboard. I have them inset by about an inch from the corner edges of the bed to avoid stubbing our toes. Then, I drilled a couple of offset countersunk holes into the bottom and used 2 inch screws to attach them. Since the feet are inset, the side boards actually sit on top of them a bit, which made it easy to install once I brought everything into the bedroom. I added furniture pads to the bottom of the two feet on my headboard before installing it since it sits on my wood floors and not the rug like the footboard.
7. Enjoy Your Newly Upholstered DIY Bed!
Once you assemble your DIY upholstered bedframe in your bedroom, step back and appreciate what you just built with your own two hands!
Be sure to check out the other room transformations on the One Room Challenge Blog!
