Hanging Plant Headboard

by jessyratfink

14K11523

Intro: Hanging Plant Headboard

Now that my partner and I own a house, I've been filling it with houseplants. Our living room and my office have officially hit max plant capacity, so I really had to stop putting off getting my "plant headboard" hung!

Our bedroom is fairly large with tall ceilings and I wanted to find something that could fill the space without darkening it. The headboards I checked out were expensive and boring and I didn't really feel like building another. I had an idea to create a "living" wall, but that amount of soil and water above our heads seemed like a bad idea. Instead, I went with the idea of hanging plants above the bed from a wooden rod.

And so I ordered an eight foot closet rod and some hanging brackets, and promptly let them sit in my office for about a year. Whoops.

BUT I DID IT. I DID THE THING TODAY. And now I'll show you how to install a hanging plant headboard and add a little color and life to your bedroom. :D

STEP 1: Tools + Materials

Here's what I used to hang the closet rod:

  • 8 foot closet rod
  • 2 x closet rod brackets
  • cabinet screws
  • rare earth magnet (for finding studs)
  • drill + drill bits
  • pencil
  • painter's tape
  • level
  • tape measure + quilting ruler
  • stepstool

More than anything, you'll want an hour or so to get it hung right. The closet rod should be screwed firmly into studs and level as you can get it, which can take a little time. :)

STEP 2: Get Marking and Find Your Studs

I put small pieces of painter's tape at every foot up the sides of the wall to help me visualize where the rod would hang from. Six feet seemed too low to hang it, so I added another six inches.

Then I measured in from the corners of the walls. My wall is 12 feet wide and the rod is 8 feet long, so I had originally wanted to place the hanging brackets in three feet from every corner.

But then the battle of the studs began. I don't know what's going on in this wall but it is not the normal studs at 16 or 24 inches apart! Curse this stupid wall for real.

I used a rare earth magnet to find the studs and the horizontal tape across the wall to mark the drilling spots and keep things level.

If nothing else, mark a level horizontal line across your wall and then mark all the studs you can find. Hopefully you'll find a pair that make things look even enough. :D

STEP 3: Hang the Closet Rod Brackets

I used painter's tape and the level to make sure the brackets didn't go up crooked or wonky in any way.

I drilled small pilot holes for the cabinet screws for the top bracket holes, hung the brackets, and then put in the bottom screws.

(Gotta remind you again: make sure you're hanging these in studs! Plants are heavy - wet plants are even more heavy. And considering they'll be above your head, you really don't want the rod ripping out of the wall.)

STEP 4: Check the Closet Rod for Levelness

This is the last step!! YESSSSS

Place your level on the top of the closet rod and see how you went. I was very relieved to see it worked out. :D

STEP 5: Add Plants and Enjoy!

Last but not least, hang some plants! I've chosen a philodendron brasil, a marble queen photos, a neon pothos, and a pearls and jade pothos.

The plant pots I have these hanging in are my favorite, too - so let me plug them really quick. These planters have a small reservoir for water and a rubber plug on the bottom of the pot.

It's so wonderful to be able to water them thoroughly and not have to worry about drips. Instead, water them, wait a while, and then unplug the bottom of the pot over a glass and the excess water will drain super quick.

Once I make some more plant hangers I'll be adding some smaller hoya and spiderwort plants, I think. All I know for now is that I absolutely love my new plant headboard. :D

17 Comments

Jaapio 4 years ago

Hi Jessy, I just wanted to neat instructable also cool to see that you are still around on instructables (I remember your plushy instructables robot instructable from long ago).

awisner1 5 years ago

Gave me an idea for my big window wall! I could shift the bed over there too.

davidhpridmore 5 years ago

This is the worst idea I have ever seen. It seems common sense to not place anything over your head while you sleep (#1). But, add on to that you are putting living things that could have other living things within it (#2). Then, add on to that the potential mess with watering and plant droppings (#3). Then, think about all the decorating philosophies (like Feng Shui), they would 'roll over in their grave'. I'm not trying to be personal, but had to be the voice of reason here since this is an idea site.

jessyratfink 5 years ago

All fair points, but also things that I've taken into consideration while building it. I can definitely see why people wouldn't want to do this, but it works for me!

I see many homes with shelving over beds, so I figure this is not any worse. I hung from the bar and it was sturdy, and I know the planters themselves are very sturdy, too. I don't have any fear of it falling, and I live in Colorado where I don't need to fear earthquakes. :)

As far as bugs and other things, I'm not worried about that! I have over 70 houseplants and they're all healthy and bug-free. We don't have much but earwigs here and they stay in our basement.

The planters protect from watering mess due to the way they're built and I'd like to think I'm a professional waterer as far as spillage goes. ;) I trim my plants frequently too, so I'm not worried about dead leaves and other bits falling onto the pillow.

I know nothing about Feng Shui so I have no rebuttal to that hahah - I probably am committing several decorating sins but hey, I like it :D

Christyeh 5 years ago

It’s your bedroom and if you like it, as do I , to hell with the rest!!

ebell1 5 years ago

LOVE.LOVE.LOVE the headboard! I think I would have to paint the wooden rod a bright, fun color. Thanks for the detailed, easy to do tutorial. You make this project doable with great pics and instructions. Be blessed.

Christyeh 5 years ago

I absolutely love the idea and thank you for such detailed instructions! I love the suggestion of painting the rod, and since teal is my fav color... love it!

jessyratfink 5 years ago

Painting the rod is a great idea! I was thinking of doing a white or grey stain on it, but a teal would look lovely too :D

pgs070947 5 years ago

Could lead to some interesting night-time surprises.
Creepy crawlies and the effects of over-watering.
My mother, going back a bit, always used to say that plants were removed from bedrooms at night. This also applied to hospital wards where bunches of flowers were removed.
If there is any scientific reason, it might be to do with plant respiration. In daylight, plant cells give out oxygen - good - in darkness, plants give out carbon dioxide - bad.
Carbon dioxide is denser than air, so unless you have some good ventilation, you might get more than you bargained for.
As a practical scientist, I have to say, I think the risk is small, but it's worth a mention. The odd worm might be more of a problem.

jessyratfink 5 years ago

Thankfully where I live I am able to avoid most insects! We don't have many and my houseplants are pest free too :)

As far as sleeping near plants - plants emit far less CO2 at night than pets or people, so it's not something I'm worried about! I figure if I've survived in a bedroom with two huge dogs and my partner for years we'll be okay haha

Though I do wonder how the myth about plants being harmful at night started! I see it mentioned quite often with many reasons given, ranging from CO2 to family tradition. I am curious if there would be any medical reasons, though!

pgs070947 5 years ago

Ref the taking plants out of bedrooms and hospital wards, I'm quite certain that this is just a very old wives tale, but if my mother said it's what happened, them it must be true. It's as plausible as sanatoriums for curing TB.
I'm a retired environmental scientist and specialized in CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The current level of 400-ppm is certainly higher than the levels I encountered in 1972 of 320-ppm, but I would have no concerns about plants in reasonable numbers being in any room in a house. If there is any science behind it, then you would have to look at plant respiration and photosynthesis and possibly the ratio of oxygen to CO2 does change slightly in situations like intensive greenhouse horticulture. Given a certain amount of natural ventilation, there shouldn't be a problem. 400-ppm is 0.04%. The main problem with raised CO2 levels is that it reduces the oxygen (partial pressure), but it only becomes a problem when oxygen the "normal" level of 20.9% drops to something like 16%. Very high levels of CO2 cause asphyxiation and death, but are only encountered in special situations like wells and breweries. I don't think you have anything to worry about

rayp1511 5 years ago

Creative and Unique, well done.

kempkeith 5 years ago

Thank you for doing this! I've been planning something like this for years, glad I found you. Plant headboard is interesting-I've always heard it described as a hanging plant bar. Will be great for my philodendrons!

WeTeachThemSTEM 5 years ago

It looks amazing! I love how the plants frame the bed! :)

Mimikry 5 years ago

sweet!
I guess the plants will improve air quality significant around the headsection of the bed - maybe good for all who suffer from allergies.
i have to come up with another setup though - the ceiling is to low above our bed.

thanks for the inspiration!