I recently repainted my teenage son’s bedroom and was looking for a new headboard.

The walls are Black Magic by Sherwin Williams. I wanted to bring in some texture and earth tones to warm it up a bit.

I found a woven leather headboard that I loved but not that price tag. I thought maybe I could build a frame and weave strips of faux leather for a fraction of the price…and I did.

Supplies for the queen frame- (2) 2x2x8 furring strips, 4 wood screws, stain, brush, saw, drill, drill bit, measuring tape, sander or sandpaper

I built a frame 60” long and 25” high. A queen bed is 60” wide but you can adjust to 38” for a twin or 76”for a king. 25” high is perfect no matter which size bed you have.

I bought (2) 2x2x8 furring strips. I cut the corners at a 45 degree angle to secure like a picture frame. If you don’t have a miter saw you can use straight cuts. Lowe’s will cut for you as well!

I’ve had my compact miter saw for ages. It makes straight or angled cuts. It’s basic enough not to seem overly complicated or intimidating. This one is very similar to my own https://amzn.to/3pKiU3R

Sand the edges and any rough areas. A piece of sandpaper works but a sander is faster! I love my Ryobi orbit sander. If you don’t have a palm sander the speed and convenience is well worth it. Here’s my link for this one https://amzn.to/3pzYWZJ

Predrill the corners before securing them with a screw. If you don’t predrill you risk splitting the wood.

Give the frame some wood stain in any color of your choice. I prefer disposable foam brushes to a paint brush. I’m not a fan of cleaning stain off my brush with paint thinner. I always keep a stock pile of foam brushes like these at home https://amzn.to/44EjGy2

You will want the stained wood to dry outside for 24 hours.

Now let’s talk about the woven fabric details!

Supplies for the woven detail- 2 yards of faux leather, rotary cutter, cutting mat, ruler, staple gun, staples, hammer

Real leather would be very costly so I went with a faux leather vinyl. Same look for much less and it’s vegan friendly. You can check the local fabric stores or purchase by the yard on Amazon like this one https://amzn.to/3PLvTNp

I cut 9 strips 2” wide and 70” long. These were the long horizontal pieces. The faux vinyl is a bit stretchy so 70” is more than enough length to work with. If you don’t have these tools you could use a ruler to mark measurements on the back then cut with very sharp scissors.

I use these 3 tools all the time for fabric to wallpaper! Couldn’t be without my rotary cutter https://amzn.to/46EbgZs. I use this mat to measure or face down to protect my table or counter when painting https://amzn.to/44hZmTy. Lastly an acrylic ruler to cut along makes precision easy https://amzn.to/3rkNf9B

I cut 30 strips at 2” wide and 35 inches long for my vertical strips. This took me a hot minute!

I decided to work on my island so I covered the surface with a drop cloth. Brought in my frame, hammer, rubber mallet ( hammer worked better) and electric staple gun.

For years I used a manual staple gun so an electric staple gun was life changing! I have one like this https://amzn.to/3JPSIeR

Lay out your long horizontal straps face down on your work surface.

Place your frame stain side down ( if you didn’t stain both sides). Measure (or eye ball) to evenly space the strips with the first and last resting right up with the corner. Once happy with spacing use 2 staples per strap to secure. Don’t hammer flush until the end**

Measure to evenly space on the other end. Pull snug and staple. Again don’t hammer staples flush yet

Next evenly space the shorter vertical strips. I put these closer together than the horizontal- whatever you do prefer. Lay strips face up and secure.

I stood the frame up to detangle then weave.

Start from one side and alternate. Don’t secure until you’ve woven all and verify it’s correct. Staple away!

If you need to tighten or adjust any straps use a flathead or butter knife to remove staples. Once happy trim excess and hammer staples flush.

I hung the headboard using a French cleat. One piece screws to the headboard and the other to the wall for a secure hold. You can find these at your hardware store or here https://amzn.to/3NIFwKc

Hope this tutorial was helpful and empowers you to make your own headboard.

All my best – Kristen