When Dave and I bought this house about two and a half years ago, we were surprised when our bed didn't fit into our 3rd floor bedroom. Being new homeowners and thusly, broke as all get out, I went to Ikea and purchased the cheapest bed I could find, thinking that we could take the boxes up the stairs and put the bed together. We really wanted a nice, upholstered headboard, but everything we liked was at least several hundred dollars. Here's how we got exactly what we wanted for about $150.
Step 1: Cut & attach fiberboard and foam
We started with the DALSELV bed, which retails at $99 for the Queen size frame.
Dave sawed off the tips of wood that jut out at the top of the frame so we'd have a neat, rectangular shape to start with. Then he took a piece of plain ol' fiberboard and cut it the same size as the headboard so I'd have something to upholster over. A mist of spray-mount holds the foam in place.
Dave sawed off the tips of wood that jut out at the top of the frame so we'd have a neat, rectangular shape to start with. Then he took a piece of plain ol' fiberboard and cut it the same size as the headboard so I'd have something to upholster over. A mist of spray-mount holds the foam in place.
Step 2: Add the layers of foam and batting
A layer of foam over the fiberboard is then covered with another layer of batting to smooth out the edges. My budget-saver with these projects is to buy a twin-size foam mattress pad from Target for $10 instead of paying for cut foam at the fabric store, which can run upwards of $50 or even higher. Not super-high quality, but hey, it's a budget hack.
A layer of batting, also spray-mounted to the foam layer underneath to keep things from shifting around.
A layer of batting, also spray-mounted to the foam layer underneath to keep things from shifting around.
Step 3: Pulling the fabric over the frame
I picked this fabric up at The Needle Shop in Bucktown. If you select fabric with a large repeating pattern, get a couple of extra feet to work with so you can center the design.
When you pull the batting and fabric over the frame, pull firmly but not so tight that the foam gets lumpy or the pattern distorts. Start from the middle and work your way out, top, bottom, then sides. A bazillion staples later... Just trim away the excess on the back of the headboard. I have another piece of fiberboard that will get screwed onto the back side to keep the dust from collecting inside the frame.
When you pull the batting and fabric over the frame, pull firmly but not so tight that the foam gets lumpy or the pattern distorts. Start from the middle and work your way out, top, bottom, then sides. A bazillion staples later... Just trim away the excess on the back of the headboard. I have another piece of fiberboard that will get screwed onto the back side to keep the dust from collecting inside the frame.
Step 4: Handling the corners
I trimmed the batting at the corners so it didn't bunch up under the hospital corners that were folded under and stapled on the back of the frame within an inch of their life.
Step 5: Voila!
Clearly I'm not an "iron my sheets" kind of gal. But there you have it...My happy, cheap-o upholstered headboard Ikea DALSELV hack.
Super easy, great for beginners, nothing to be intimidated by.
Good luck!
Super easy, great for beginners, nothing to be intimidated by.
Good luck!
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Love it. Very stylish and obviously you know how to change it again if you wish. Very elegent.
As for the slats in our current frame and the frame itself; held for 10 years, had 3 or more kids jumping on it on at any given time in addition to us lying in bed, they haven't fallen, shifted, or broken. The bed frame is VERY solid, dead quiet, and would probably last another 10 years or more BUT...I'm just tired of it visually.
It's time for a change....now to convince my husband.
http://www.casasugar.com/Before-After-Bedroom-Beautiful-1595865
L
L
I live in Montréal, Québec, Canada -- the only province/state in North American where French is the official (and legal) language. Approximately 75% of Québec's population is francophone; I'm one of them. French is my mother tongue, but I have a facility with languages and learned English and Russian as a child. I have a B.A. in literature from a French university and an M.A. in literature from McGill University, which you might have heard of. So I'm both French and a teacher AND a teacher of French. I've just retired, though, so now I'm just doing a bit of tutoring.
L
(Yes I've heard of McGill)
L
I've got a question about this bed. What set of slats did you get for it? I've read some not-too-positive reports about Ikea slats shifting, bending and even breaking, and I've got a heavy pillowtop mattress. I'm also not the smallest person -- the photo of my cat Darcy is rather misleading!
Ikea has different levels of slats. We got the ones that bend upwards and adjust with rubber sleeves in the center.
My husband is 6'5" and we've been pretty comfy with no problems so far. I think the hitch is to splurge on their best slats.
-Alana
We'd love to see pictures and hear how it worked out for you.