It's so easy to make a DIY Channel Tufted Headboard in any size! Get our full tutorial and save money and cozy up your bedroom at the same time!
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I’m super excited because my house is finally becoming a reflection of my personal style. I mean, it’s only taken me almost 3 years :) but after I dolled up my kitchen and turned it into a room I just love I became addicted to the idea of having a house that is just so perfectly me! And one room at a time, I’m getting there!

In the past my homes have always reflected a pair of aesthetics and I more often than not found myself accepting things my partner liked even if I didn’t. But one of the truly liberating things about the single life is the ability to make my own decisions about everything. No more trying to figure out where to hang that ugly picture or convincing myself that I love living in a crayon box :) And while my grandmother keeps pushing me to “meet a man” I keep telling her I love being just me right now. Well me and my girls…

Though I’m the only human in my house, I do share my space with a trio of furry ones. Sadly, Ollie is no longer with us having lost his battle with rapidly spreading cancer in April. But I still have my main gal Carlita the Gordita, Carly for short, a Boston Terrier Mix and Maybe, my sometimes nice but often not pastel calico kitty. After several months of a sad and lonely Carly moping around the house I finally decided to get her her own puppy.

Say hi to our new gal Opal!

It's so easy to make a DIY Channel Tufted Headboard in any size! Get our full tutorial and save money and cozy up your bedroom at the same time!

Ever since I was a little girl I have always wanted a Boston terrier and now I have my first! She’s a ball of energy and she loves sleeping human-style under the covers. And she also loves getting all up in my business so I hope you enjoy a little a pup crafting assistant getting into most of these shots :)

While Ollie was sick my house was kind of a mess. My platform bed frame was on its side junking up the guest room and my mattress was directly on the floor. He’d had 5 surgeries in a little over a year and I didn’t have to stress about him pulling out stitches jumping on the bed if he could just walk right onto it. After he passed even though I hated having my mattress directly on the floor (dang that I never got used to it being so much lower to the ground and I’d fall into bed in the middle of the night after a bathroom run and startle myself truly awake!) I kept it there for a while because I was sad.

After I got Ollie’s ashes back it was like something clicked and I started putting things back into place. I washed all of his favorite toys and grabbed his collar and put them away as keepsakes. His old crate was donated to my parents for their surprisingly large and constantly getting larger Aussie-doodle puppy. And my bed was lifted back up off of the floor, its frame no longer taking up a good chunk of my guest room.

It's so easy to make a DIY Channel Tufted Headboard in any size! Get our full tutorial and save money and cozy up your bedroom at the same time!

And I decided It was High Time for a Master Bedroom Makeover

Because up until this point I had been putting all of my effort and design budget into the common rooms. You know, the places where you most often have company like the kitchen, living room, and guest room. But I finally decided it was okay to beautify a room that only I use and got really excited about taking on the project. The room was just a mishmash of things I had previously had. Nightstands purchased on clearance, two old dressers that I had started to repaint but couldn’t decide if I liked the direction they were going, and the wall color that was already there when I moved in.

Ready to tackle the change, earlier this year I dragged my old dresser to the curb and put together a wall of wardrobes to hold all of my linens and throw pillows and the like. Then I repainted the walls and ceiling with a slightly darker than before shade of greige for a nice ,cozy, and tucked in feeling. I put a new dresser in front of my bed, replaced my broken faux wood blinds with a cellular blackout shade, added some new and totally amazing blackout curtains, switched out my lamps, and finally hung up a few new pictures.

Dressed bed before hanging my new, DIY channel tufted headboard.
A quick look at the master bedroom, bed all dressed but looking unfinished before its new area rug and DIY channel tufted headboard.

Now I really have a thing with comfy bedding so I already had lots quilts, duvets, matlasses, and several sets of buttery soft sheets and I swapped out my duvet and got a new pair of throw pillows and dressed up my bed in a new way. But something was still missing. It felt nice but not really as cozy as I had been going for.

I Decided to Soften Things Up with a New Area Rug and an Upholstered Headboard

I put down my new deliciously neutral area rug just last week and finally, this week I made and installed a new channel tufted upholstered headboard. And even though I have such a hard time with change, I’m super pleased because I love everything about my new bedroom that even this much change back to back didn’t stress me out even one little iota. So cool!

It's so easy to make a DIY Channel Tufted Headboard in any size! Get our full tutorial and save money and cozy up your bedroom at the same time!

Oooh, and if you’re wondering what the blanket (with the little black tag) on top of my duvet is it’s actually a waterproof blanket. Since I do have a new puppy and she’s started this thing called “excitement urination” where she goes absolutely insane for no good reason and sometimes releases a tiny tinkle, it’s keeping my down comforter nice and safe! If you have a puppy or an older dog I really, really love this blanket because I can still have a nicely dressed bed. Just wash it in cool water, toss it around in the drum and run an extra few drain and spin cycles to get out as much water as possible and then dry on low.  Full disclosure… it takes forever and ever to dry so I have an extra all ready to go in my linen cabinet. But, I seriously LOVE this thing.

But let’s get over the gab and start to make this gorgeously cozy DIY channel tufted headboard, shall we?

Master bedroom before and after big changes.
Master bedroom before and after its DIY makeover.

Tools Needed for this DIY:

Opal the most gorgeous Boston Terrier crafting assistant ever!

Supplies Needed to Make Your Own Channel Tufted Headboard:

The Cost of DIY is High Right Now, but Still Cheaper than Buying New Furniture…

I have really wanted a channel tufted headboard for ages, now. While shopping around for furniture this year I found several I loved. But dang if furniture isn’t super expensive right now. Eventually I found a really pretty tufted headboard by Studio McGee at Target much more reasonably priced, but at almost $380 with tax it was more than I wanted to spend. Plus I really wanted a very tall headboard to take up some of the space on my very high bedroom walls. Because what’s the point in having a pretty headboard if you can’t see it for your bed pillows? In the end, my much taller king-sized channel tufted headboard cost me only $151.48 with tax.

I also really liked the idea of DIY because if I decide to change over my bedroom décor, yet again, I can simply take the headboard apart and reupholster it with new fabric.

It's so easy to make a DIY Channel Tufted Headboard in any size! Get our full tutorial and save money and cozy up your bedroom at the same time!

Shopping Around…

Because the cost of supplies have gone through the roof I  acquired my materials over a couple months’ time. On the upholstery foam alone I saved a considerably amount of money by keeping an eye out for sales. I purchased 3 rolls for $30.57 (a cost of only $10.19 a roll!) The exact same foam is currently selling for $35.97 per roll and would cost me $107.91 for a whopping $77.34 more spent for the exact same material. In an effort to use less foam in general, I cut out two smaller pieces of foam to attach to each panel rather than cutting one perfectly sized piece and wasting a lot of foam.

Moral of this story, I shopped around and waited for good deals or got items from family they were getting rid of anyway to keep costs on this project as low as possible.

Quilt batting

is one of those things I have been able to find at thrift stores quite regularly. Often still in the original packaging you can pick up the batting for a fraction of the cost at the store. I didn’t pay for mine, I was able to get pull mine free from my mother’s donation pile. Just be sure that anything you buy second hand doesn’t have any unpleasant smells. I prefer high-loft batting because it gives you the puffiest and softest surface, but use whatever loft you prefer.

It's so easy to make a DIY Channel Tufted Headboard in any size! Get our full tutorial and save money and cozy up your bedroom at the same time!

Upholstery fabric

is the way to go with this project, rather than something thinner, like quilting cotton. Upholstery fabric is thicker and will wear better over time though the quality can vary between brands/retailers. My upholstery fabric is another item I really shopped around. I was able to get this 54″ wide upholstery fabric  for only $8.90 a yard though if you purchase right now it’s currently costs $10.98 a yard.

Because I very specifically wanted the weave of the fabric to run a certain way, I had to purchase 5 yards to have enough to cover all of my 5 panels. Had I been less picky, I could have gotten away with only needing 3 yards of fabric. For my supply lists, I’m using the dimension for the least amount of fabric you can get away with. If you want to cut the fabric in a different direction, you’ll need more.

It is also a good idea to buy a bit more than suggested in the event of mistakes in cuts or defects in the fabric (I encountered 2 large defects in my 5 yards).

Connecting Your Panels… Mending Plates vs. Furring Strips

King-Sized Channel Tufted Headboard Materials Required

There is no doubt that connecting your channel tufted headboard panels to form your headboard using furring strips is going to be the cheapest way to go. Initially I had planned to do that but my master bedroom itself isn’t super long. That is to say that between the foot of my bed and my dresser there is exactly 36″ of space. I worried that even only an inch or two thicker of a headboard would make that passthrough feel cramped. Doing the math, I had spent $8.57 on the wood furring strips to connect the headboard panels. Switching to mending plates I purchased online was far more expensive, at a cost of $39.43. But at the end of the day, I’d do it again…

One of the issues I had with this project is that I would be building a huge 80″ wide headboard completely by myself. When I found these sliding mending plates I realized that it would be so much easier to make sure my panels butt up against each other with absolutely no gaps. With the mending plates I could attach 2 panels at a time, remove one of the panels and then attach it to the next in line. At any given time I was only having to use the force of my knees to hold 2 panels at a time together.

In the end I decided to go with the mending plates

even with the additional $30+ of material cost so that I could make my headboard as thin as possible, with the back of it flush with the wall (mostly, more on that later) and so that my 36″ of passthrough space didn’t become 34″ or 33″. In all honesty, if I had any help I probably would have gone with the furring strips just because it is such a large difference in cost.

The directions here in this tutorial will explain how to use the mending plates to attach your panels. If using the wood furring strips, simply using the appropriately sized wood screws, attach the panels together with the strips running the width of the headboard as seen above. Be sure to push the panels together as tightly as possible to ensure no gaps are visible between the panels. Reading through the full tutorial will give you a few tips for making

How to Make Any Size Channel Tufted Headboard

The dimensions for our headboards are all 48″ tall, however, you can easily make the headboard shorter by cutting along the long, 8′ length of the sheet. If you want a headboard that is only 36″ tall, simply cut a foot off of the 8 foot side of your plywood before cutting your sheet into individual panels.

And good news… most big box hardware/lumber stores will cut plywood down to size for you for a small fee (and often even for free). This is great if you don’t have the means to lug a 4′ x 8′ wide piece of wood home or if you just don’t feel comfortable cutting the panels yourself. Just be sure to clearly explain (or show with a diagram) exactly how you need your wood cut.

Materials Needed for a King-Size Channel Tufted Headboard

Our king sized headboard plans perfectly matches the typical 80″ headboard width.

You will need:

Materials Needed for a Queen-Size Channel Tufted Headboard

Our queen sized headboard is 2″ wider than the typical 62″ coming in at 64″ wide.

You will need:

Materials Needed for a Full-Size Channel Tufted Headboard

This full-sized channel tufted headboard perfectly matches the typical full headboard width at 56″ wide.

You will need:

Materials Needed for a Twin-Size Channel Tufted Headboard

A twin headboard is typically 41″ but our plans are an inch wider at 42″.

You will need:

How to Make Any Size Channel Tufted Headboard

How to Attach Upholstery Foam to Wood

Gather your plywood panels that have been cut to size.

Gather your plywood panels that have been cut to size.

Trim 2 pieces of upholstery foam for each board that is roughly 2 inches wider than the 14" or 16" panel width.

Trim 2 pieces of upholstery foam for each board that is roughly 2 inches wider than the 14″ or 16″ panel width. (psst – that thing keeping Opal mostly out of my business work is an Everlasting Bento Ball and man do they keep dogs busy!)

Apply a line of brown Gorilla glue on the bottom edge of the first foam piece.

Apply brown Gorilla glue on the back side of the first foam piece. Do not apply much glue to the edges to prevent glue from seeping out. A thin squiggle of glue is all you really need. Gently mist a small amount of water in a spray bottle onto the glue to activate it. Repeat for the second piece of foam. *Quick Tip – If your upholstery foam is straight off of the roll it will curve. Work with the curve by applying glue to the concaved side.

Place both foam pieces glue side down on a wooden panel. Use scrap wood and heavy weights (I used bricks) to keep the foam pieces in place as the glue dries.

Place both foam pieces glue side down on a wooden panel allowing a little bit of overhang on the sides, but matching up the edges of the foam to the top and bottom of the wood panel, and also in the middle where to two pieces of foam meet. Use scrap wood and heavy weights (I used bricks) to keep the foam pieces in place as the glue dries. Allow at least an hour for the glue to set before moving. Then allow the glue time to fully dry (overnight is best) before moving on to upholstery. Repeat these steps for all of your panels.

Trim the excess foam on the sides of your panels. Using a spare piece the same size will help you cut nice, straight edges for the foam.

Once the glue is dry, trim the excess foam on the sides of your panels using a sharp extendable blade utility knife so you can cut through all 2″ in one clean swipe. * Quick Note – If you have one extra piece cut to the same size as your panels, you can use that spare piece on top to sandwich the foam and help you cut nice, straight edges.

How to Upholster your Channel Tufted Headboard Panels

Cut pieces of batting and upholstery fabric large enough to cover the front all of the way to several inches around the tops and sides.

Cut pieces of batting and upholstery fabric large enough to cover the front all of the way to several inches around the tops and sides. If necessary use a steamer to remove any stubborn wrinkles.

Place a piece of quilt batting that is larger than the panel on top of your work surface. Place your panel foam side down onto the batting and flip everything over. Use your hands to smooth the batting. Next place a piece of upholstery fabric that is larger than the panel on top of the batting. Use your hands to smooth out and flip the entire piece over.

Place the quilt batting on top of your work surface. Place your panel foam side down onto the batting and flip everything over. Use your hands to smooth the batting. Next place the fabric on top of the batting. Use your hands to smooth out and flip the entire piece over.

Using a pair of sharp scissors cut away all of the excess batting at the top and bottom of the panel so flush with the foam (this helps a more boxy rather than rounded shape when upholstered). Trim the batting at angles on the corners to remove the bulk.

Pull the fabric to be taut…

…but not overstretched and tack down the fabric through the batting onto the back side of the panel in the middle for all 4 sides (this helps to distribute the fabric properly.) Go along each side working from the middle to corner pulling the fabric and tacking it down with a 1/4″ staple using a staple gun. Occasionally pull up the panel; and make sure that the edge is nice and smooth. Any areas where the fabric is too tight will be much more curved and will cause the sides of the piece to look wavy. Pull any staples and adjust as necessary.

At the top and bottom of the panels, pull the fabric more loosely to prevent from curving the foam so you can keep that boxy look. Continue attaching the fabric and batting to the back of the panel leaving the corners alone, we’ll tackle those a little bit later.

How to Attach the Mending Plates to Your Panels

Gather your panels together and place side by side. Pick out the two with the best and cleanest looking sides to be your first and last panel. Number the backside of the panels in the order they look best with a permanent marker.

Gather your panels together and place side by side. Pick out the two with the best and cleanest looking sides to be your first and last panel. Number the backside of the panels in the order they look best with a permanent marker.

Find a place in your home where you can lay your panels on the floor and push them together. I used a corner of a wall in my office along with a cube organizer that holds up my desk.

Find a place in your home where you can lay your panels on the floor and push together your headboard panels and have them stay nice and flush. I used a corner of a wall in my office along with a cube organizer that holds up my desk. 

On your first side panel lay it down on the the floor upholstered side down and place the next panel beside it pushing them both against the wall. Place the large sliding mending plates so that the middle is approximately even with where the two boards meet. Pull the fabric from the corners so that they are free and not sandwiched in between the panels. Screw 2 large mending plates into place on the panel against the wall, one a few inches from the top and one a few inches from the bottom.

Adjust the panels so the top and bottom are even and forming a nice, straight line. Use your knees to push the edge of a second panel firmly against the first. Attach the panels together by affixing the other side of the plate down while maintaining the tightest join you can on the two pieces. * Quick Note – if your screw heads are smaller than the slots on your mending plates, use a washer to prevent the screw heads from just slipping through.

If your panels have a gap in between, you'll need to make the fit more tight. Slightly unscrew the mending plate on the end closest to you. Use your knee, again, to push as much force as you can to make the two pieces flush. Tighten the screw to hold the two pieces together firmly.

If your panels have a gap in between, you’ll need to tighten them.

Slightly unscrew the mending plate on the panel closest to you. Straighten as necessary and push your knee into the panels against the wall with as much force as you can to eliminate any gaps. Tighten the screw to hold the two pieces together firmly.

Go along and add 3 smaller mending plates spaced out somewhat evenly and affix them for added strength.

Unscrew and remove the mending plate from the panel closest to you. If difficult to see, use a permanent marker to remind you where each screw hole is. Push the second panel against the wall and affix the second and third together, repeating the process you used for the first two. Continue attaching and removing the panels until all but one piece (the last piece) have mending plates in place.

Unscrew and remove the mending plate from the panel closest to you. If difficult to see the screw holes, use a permanent marker to remind you where each one is. Set the first panel aside and push the second panel against the wall. Affix the second and third panels together, repeating the process you used for the first two. Continue attaching and removing the panels until you get to the last two, which you will leave connected.

Connecting All of the Panels Together

Move your headboard pieces into the bedroom. Place the in order on the floor and attach the mending plates to connect them and form one piece.

Move your headboard pieces into the bedroom. * Quick Note – In order to make space to work on my headboard, I simply put my mattress and platform bed on its side.

Start with your two pieces already joined together and push the long edge flush against the wall upholstered side down. Double check that the two panels are very tightly placed together and there aren’t any gaps. Going in order, attach the panels together to form your one solid headboard piece. Use the screw holes that you’ve already made to line up the the mending plates and screw the two panels together tightly.

Check for gaps. If a gap is visible remove the small mending plates and loosen the screws on ONE side of the large sliding mending plates. Using your knee, push the board firmly into the headboard and tighten down the screws to hold in place. Continue until all of your pieces are connected.

Take care when handling your headboard. The mending plates will hold it together but it will be wobbly. If you allow the headboard to twist it might come undone. This is especially true the larger your headboard is.

Take care when handling your headboard. The mending plates will hold everything together but it will be wobbly. If you allow the headboard to twist it might come undone and damage the wood in the process. This is especially true the larger your headboard is and the reason why we put together the headboard in the room it will be used.

Finish the Top Edge of the Headboard Upholstery

Pull the first corner over onto the panel it buts up against and staple into place using 3/8" staples. Pull the second corner from over the first.

Pull the first corner over onto the panel it buts up against and staple into place using 3/8″ staples. Pull the second corner from over the first.

Pull and finagle the second corner to overlap while making the smallest possible crease.

Manipulate that second corner to overlap while making the smallest possible crease and staple into place. Folding one corner over the next helps to create a fairly level join of the two pieces making it look more like a single headboard rather than multiple pieces just tacked together (which it is). *Quick Note – I found this much easier to do while the headboard was standing. I placed the headboard on the wall and allowed the top to lean toward me, keeping the bottom firmly against the baseboard. I was able to push the top of the headboard away from and nearer to me to keep an eye on how my folds were working out.

How to Install Your DIY Channel Tufted Headboard.

Laying your headboard upholstered side down, attach D-Rings to the back of your headboard to hang it on the wall. Place them about 3 inches down, one on the first and last panels and another in the middle if the headboard is larger. Measure out the placement of your hooks and place monkey hooks in the wall at those locations where you will hang your headboard.

Laying your headboard upholstered side down, attach D-Rings to the back of your headboard to hang it on the wall. Place them about 3 inches down, one on the first and last panels about 3-4 inches from the sides and another in approximately the middle of the headboard. * Quick Note – on the twin-size, a third D-ring isn’t necessary.

Measure out the placement of your hooks on the wall and secure your monkey hooks in those locations. This step, honestly, is not shown in photos because my headboard was a bit unwieldy for one person and I got myself in a royal snit :) Oh, and since I placed one of my hooks about an inch the wrong direction, my headboard bubbles away from the wall making the center look like it is sagging and not level. Because I was in a snit I decided to wait until I have another pair of hands around to help me fix this and I’m pretending like it doesn’t bother me until then :)

If possible, use a second pair of hands to pull the headboard up and hook the d-rings onto the monkey hooks. If your headboard is slightly crooked you can gently tap the higher side with a rubber mallet or a small hammer to help straighten it out.

So I strongly recommend that if possible, use a second pair of hands to pull the headboard up and hook the d-rings onto the monkey hooks. With your mattress in place, if your headboard is slightly crooked you can gently tap the higher side with a rubber mallet or a small hammer to help straighten it out. * Quick Note – I placed the bottom of my headboard along the edge of my platform bed frame. Because I was installing this alone, it made it much easier to handle without the headboard twisting and potentially coming apart.

Once in Place, Dress Your Bed…

…and be prepared for the most comfortable sitting up in your bed of your life :)

It's so easy to make a DIY Channel Tufted Headboard in any size! Get our full tutorial and save money and cozy up your bedroom at the same time!

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