Is your bedroom crying out for a headboard for your bed? Have you searched the stores for headboards and found them to be too expensive? Here are some ideas you can use to make a quick, easy, inexpensive headboard.

Create a headboard for a garden themed room by placing a section of picket fence at the top of the bed. You can use a distressed, found piece of fence that you have cleaned up, or purchase a brand new plastic length of fence from the hardware store. Have it cut to the width of the bed or have it cover the entire wall so you can put both the bed and side tables in front of it.

Use a wedding or garden gazebo as a canopy headboard. The piece will arch over the top part of the bed and you can hang fabric from it to form the headboard and canopy drape. Adorn it with flowers and place a picket fence bench at the foot of the bed to complete the look.

A hockey goal is the perfect size and shape to use in the place of a headboard in a boys room. Just place it as-is at the top of the bed. With it facing inward, it will gently curve around the top of the bed. With it facing the wall, it will give you a somewhat sturdy headboard on which you can lean your pillows. You can add buttons with hockey sayings onto the netting to finish the look, or your child can borrow it to take outside and play and then put back in place when finished. Using hockey sticks for curtain rods would complete the look.

Bi-fold doors and standing screens also make excellent headboards. You can upholster them with fabric and batting or if they are see-through, you can staple (or glue of the item is metal) fabric to the backside. You can attach it to the wall with a couple of screws at the top.

A cork wall would double as a great place to hang posters and notes as well as a neat headboard for a teen’s room. Just purchase cork squares or rolls and install according to the manufacturers instructions. You can then paint, stamp, or leave the cork wall in its natural state. Add special decorative pushpins in floral or sports shapes to finish off the look. You can also cut the corkboard into shapes before installing on the wall.

Shutters are also a great substitute for a headboard. You can transform it with a distressed paint finish and mount them on the wall. You will need two shutters for a twin bed, and four for a king sized bed.

A fireplace mantel either found in the attic or purchased new, also makes a great headboard. Just attach fabric-covered plywood to the opening and place behind the head of the bed.

For a quick headboard for a king sized bed, turn a door on its side and mount on the wall. Alternatively, you can choose to build a frame for it with legs so you can stand it on the floor. The door can be plain, painted, carved, or upholstered.

Written by ANDREA HERMITT - © 2002 Pagewise