Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Master Bedroom Progress: Easy Headboard Under $20

If you've been following along, you'll know that right now we are deep in the throes of a Master Bedroom Remodel (read about how we remodeled and doubled our closet space on the cheap right here, how we painted the walls and decided on a layout right here, and how we installed crown molding here).

So far we've gone from this:


To this:


But something was seriously missing. The room had come along way already, but it needed something dramatic, a focal point, something relaxing and soft and that added depth to the room.

Enter our super-easy DIY headboard.

The Idea

The idea was to create floor-to-ceiling fabric that hung just behind the bed, obscuring the wacky wall-angle by essentially creating the feeling that a wall was back there, and adding some serious eye-candy to the room.

Oh, and on the cheap. That requirement was a must.

And apparently lots of fabric hung drapery-stype is quite in, at the moment, too.



Um, yes, please!

Hanging the Fabric

This part was pretty tricky. Because our bed was at such an odd angle, we had some serious issues to work out. First we tried drapery rods - no luck. We couldn't hang them normally because of the odd angles of the walls, and hanging them from the ceiling wasn't going to work. Plus, then you could see all the hardware. Which was not cool.

So we ran out to our trusty store that's never let us down yet - Target, and bought a cheapo-deapo curtain rod for just $3.50.


 Score!

We ran home with our cheapo-deapo loot and promptly began to void the manufacturer's warranty. Yup, that's right, us crazy rebels intentionally broke our brand-new curtain rod!


The only way to get the rod to hang at the odd angles was if we managed to bend the metal hanging piece to fit the slope of the wall exactly. So, we placed the metal pieces in a clamp and carefully bent the metal with pliers until we thought the angle was about right. Then we held up the rod in place where we wanted to hang it - and tada! It worked like a charm.

Creating the Curtain

Fabric isn't cheap. But thanks to all the inventive and creative folks out there in blogland, I knew that the cheapest and most heavy-duty option out there is painter's dropclothes. Yes, Tom was skeptical. Very skeptical, because he knows me and my "sewing skills". But I assured him (as I always do at the beginning of a new project) that it would be awesome once we were done (which is always true - it's the "doing" part that isn't always so awesome!).

He still didn't believe me.

So we measured the width of the bed and bought some canvases that would fit. They were too tall, but we didn't mind since you wouldn't see the extra fabric behind the bed, anyways. We took them home and inspected them. Turns out that the cheaper dropcloth wasn't finished on the edges and was frayed. Plus, ours had a hole in it. Not cool. So a word of caution: if you're going to try and do this, spend the extra couple of dollars for the heavy premium dropcloth.


After the winning dropcloth was washed and dried it and then it was ready for the next step: making a sleeve for the rod.

I had stopped by the craft store and picked up a no-sew iron-on tape for this project, which ran us $3. I was worried that it wouldn't work on a heavy-duty painter's dropcloth, but luckily it worked like a charm!


I just laid out the fabric on an ironing board, and tried to get it as level and even as possible. Then I set the tape on the fabric with the paper side up.


I ironed it on, holding the iron down for 3 seconds on each part of the tape.


Then I removed the paper and folded over the top part of the fabric...



And simply ironed over it again, this time pressing and holding down the iron for a good 10 seconds (6-8 is recommended, but since the dropcloth was so heavy-duty I did it for a little while longer).

And ta-da! An instant curtain/drape.

The Result

Then we slid the brand-new curtain over our modified curtain rod and hung it up.



And then we stepped back and admired it. How cool is this? It makes a huge impact, and cost less than 20 buckaroos!


Sa-weet.

Did I mention it only took us 30 minutes to actually do the project? Not bad, huh?

But there was still something missing...

So we went shopping - in our house. There was a very cool big woven bowl that my mom had given to us awhile ago from Z Gallerie, and we knew it would be the perfect focal point for the space.

But the problem - how to hang it?

We simply safety-pinned it to the fabric. No wires, no fishing lines, and no holes in the ceiling! It's perfect.


Then we proceeded to hang up and install some plug-in swing arm lamps we ordered off of Amazon.com (hiding the cords behind the curtain), to really finish it off.


Want to know my favorite part? When Tom's eye-rolling belief that this project wouldn't work turned into stunned amazement and then rejoicing and jumping-up-and-down in celebration. Yup, then we both proceeded to step back and admire our handywork.



What a difference! We love it!

So what do you guys think? Are you a fan of the fabric? Would you ever consider doing something like this? Stay tuned because next we'll cover how we've utilized our new fabric headboard and our easy and affordable solution for bedside tables!


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35 comments:

  1. gotta love the disbelieving eye-rolling support they give us. :)

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  2. Love it! I wanted to do the same thing in my room at my parent's house, but since this will probably be my last summer living with them, I thought I'd waste my money. I want to hang some fabric behind a bed in a future space, though, and am glad I can live vicariously through you two for a while to tide myself over! :)

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  3. Relax, sooner or later Tom will realize that his efforts to thwart you are futile and he'll just mindlessly follow you as you triumphantly create with unparalleled brilliance. And least that's how it works at my house.

    The dropcloth is perfect, and that basket is exactly what it needed. I'm looking forward to the table solution!

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  4. I LOVE the bowl! It just adds the finishing touch! The room looks totally different now. Can't wait to see the table solution!

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  5. This turned out great - Good luck on your remodel - it is so hard, but so worth it!

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  6. This turned out awesome. Great work! Love the creativity!

    Thanks for sharing!

    xoxo,
    Caitlin @ That House on the Corner

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  7. Thanks for the wonderful comments, everyone! :) They totally make my day. For sure.

    Oh, just wait to see what else we've done to the room... ;)

    Thanks for dropping in!
    ~Chelsea

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  8. This does look fantastic! I love the basket. The curtains add a wonderful dimension to your beautiful room. Great job!

    I'd love for you to stop by my blog for a fun giveaway! alittleknickknack.blogspot.com

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  9. love it! definitely makes the bed more of a focal piece. love your pillows too.

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  10. What a creative and easy solution! It looks great, and I can't wait to see what else you guys do in the room. I love the wall lamps by the bed, too! Those are a great touch.

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  11. Great idea. I swear, there is nothing that can't be done with those amazing drop cloths. Thanks for sharing!

    Brittany
    http://www.prettyhandygirl.com

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  12. that looks great! what a fab solution, and fun focal point!

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  13. Absolutely incredible! You are such superstars! Great work and I am totally excited to see more! The swing arm lamps are fantastical as well as is using the woven basket as a focal point!

    xoxo,
    Jen

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  14. Thanks for the wonderful comments, everyone! :)

    ~Chelsea

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  15. I love the drop cloths they look great! Thanks for the tip about the cheaper ones I would have bought those because... well, I am cheap :)

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  16. Love what you did! I absolutely love using drop cloths for all sorts of fabric projects. Such a great deal, and so durable!

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  17. Great job on your room! I love your headboard solution! :o)

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  18. Wow! This made such a huge difference in your master bedroom. I'm pretty impressed!

    Thanks for linking to Transform Tuesday. I can't wait to see what you link up next week.

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  19. It looks fantastic! I really like that you were able to safety pin the bowl. Awesome.and nice pillows.

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  20. this came out so great! thanks for sharing, i LOVE it :)

    -Jackie
    http://jaclyndesigns.blogspot.com/

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  21. This is SUCH a great idea! I love how you did a fantastic project on the cheap priced side. :) It turned out just wonderful! You did a great job!!

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  22. Loved viewing the progression...came out great!

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  23. It looks fantastic! I love that you added the basket also.

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  24. Thanks so much, everyone! We're pleased as punch about the results, and couldn't be happier with our on-the-cheap solution (that doesn't really look it!).

    Thanks for dropping by!
    ~Chelsea

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  25. I love that you used a drop cloth! This weekend I'm going to turn one into a skirt for the bottom half of my bookshelves - I hope I have as much luck as you did!

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  26. Oh, everything looks wonderful!
    Thank you for sharing!
    Leticia

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  27. excellent! easy + 10min-ish + something really sophisticated as a result. you did great with this bedroom decor project and we love this formula.

    so, i'm inviting you:
    do come link it up at our site so that our readers can find this and your other wonderful ideas:
    http://www.finecraftguild.com/diy-tutorial-linky-party-8/

    (new party every wednesday, findable at our home page)

    we look forward to featuring your work!

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  28. Oh wow, this is gorgeous! As much as I lurk around DIY blogs, I think yours is the first I've ever read about using dropcloths as drapes. Hmmmm... maybe I've been spacing out ;) Anyway, your master headboard backdrop looks amazing! You mutilating the curtain rod into a way that worked for you had me chuckling. Great job!

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  29. What a fantastic solution. I love drop cloths!

    Thanks for linking up to the “Cheap Thrills Thursday” party at Black Kats Design. I hope you had fun and will join in again next Thursday!
    Kat
    www.BlackKatsDesign.blogspot.com

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  30. I have been planning to put up these drop cloth curtains in my livingroom for some time know becasue I am tired of messing with the blinds.

    It looks great behind your bed.


    I am visiting from Frugalicious Friday.

    Have a great weekend!

    ~Makalani
    Makaz Home

    I am having a halloween link party
    here.
    Feel free to join in until tomorrow.

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  31. I love it! The change in phenominal!
    Thanks for linking up!
    ~Liz

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  32. What a smart idea!! We appreciate you joining us this week for Anything Related!
    {Rebekah}

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  33. I love it too! It is the perfect touch to an amazing bedroom! Thanks for linking up to Hoo's got talent!

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  34. popped in here from the Linky party by Shabby Nest. I just HAD to tell you how much I love the new 'headboard' from a painters cloth...LOVE.IT.

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  35. Wow it turned out so good, love the hanging in the middle!

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