Introduction: Head Board With Hidden Cubbies

About: I just love island life! I wouldn't trade a day in paridise for all the gems in the world! Plus I share this island with the most amazing people :o) Even with all that said, Paridise ain't cheap! I was born a…
This was inspired by two things I saw. IKEA has a head board that has storage space in it, but... It was very plain and did not come in a king size. I also saw a DYI on YouTube of a headboard with a neat patterned fabric as the “center piece”. So my uncle and I scratched out some sketches together and went to Home Depot. Unfortunately... I do not have detailed instructions, but maybe my photos will inspire you to make something unique :)

Step 1: Construction

Sorry I forgot to take photos while we were building this... But I'll explain best I can.
Materials:
We use a sheet of ply wood for the front.
Two 1.5" x 4" as the flat top and bottom.
One 2" x 4" cut long ways at an angle (French bracket) mounted under the top board.
Then we used 1" x 3" to construct the shelves.
Two Strips of plywood to cover the back side, but only enough to cover the shelves.
White paint
Almost 4 yards of black fabric
Two pre cut swatches of printed fabric I really liked
Spray adhesive

We did not "cover" the back, since it will rest against the wall. Plus it was going to be heavy enough any way.
You will notice that we did not put the shelves all the way across, as I was worried things would get lost.

Step 2: Paint

Next, my sister and I painted all of the wood that would be visible. (no sense in wasting time and paint on stuff you won’t see) The shelving, the 1.5" X 4" that would be the outer frame and the 1" x .5" for the two smaller inner frames.

Step 3: Add Fabric

Next we ironed the fabric I was going to use. Then we sprayed the flat side of the plywood front (it is unpainted) with an all-stix adhesive. Then stretched the black fabric over. we then smoothed it out. Removing wrinkles and bubbles (time consuming!).
Next we attached the outer frame with nails and wood glue. Then trimmed the fabric with an exact-o knife.
Now, if you don’t want to do the two little windows... If you don't want to do the center frames, you can stop there and make the base support then mount it.

Step 4: Middle Frames

I used measuring tape and masking tape to figure out where I wanted the two window frames. We use the spray glue to fix the fabric down, then used wood glue to fix the frames. We had to put weight on them to keep them down while they dried.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

We used scrap wood to make short legs to rest it in the edge of the bed. That way the weight wasn’t entirely on the wall. I filled in the nail holes with leftover paint. We then took it upstairs to hang it. Mounted the French bracket on the wall and rested the bottom on the edge of the bed frame.
Woodworking Challenge

Participated in the
Woodworking Challenge