Making a Headboard for $130 Part 1

I think I've mentioned this before, but our king-size bed is the only thing we've bought for our new house at a "real" store (not Ikea, TJ Maxx, Homegoods, or any other discount store). When we first got married we had a full-size bed, and it was just fine for us. My cat, Maggie, slept with us and things got a little tight sometimes (why do cats always think they get half the bed?), so we knew that when we moved into our next apartment or house we wanted to upgrade to a queen-size bed. Well, the next place we lived was Will's parents' house, and they have a queen bed and told us we could just trade them the full-size for the queen-size when we moved.

Maggie passed away last year, and a few months after that one of my in-law's dogs had to be put down. That left Boomer, who was obviously going through a rough period with losing his friend. Since Boomer had always been drawn to me and we planned on taking him with us when we moved (at this point we knew we would be going to Houston), we let him start sleeping with us.

Let me tell you: a cat takes up much less space than a dog, even a small dog. I've always had issues sleeping, and I really need my own little bubble to sleep well. Adding a dog who likes to snuggle and move around a lot during the night is not conducive to good sleep. We talked about getting a king-size bed when we moved, but I think after several weeks of dealing with me after I had very little sleep finally convinced Will it would be worth saving our relationship to just get a dang king-size bed.

It is the best thing we've ever purchased. I sleep so incredibly well, and Boomer also has all the room he needs.

The problem with king-size beds, though, is everything you need for them is crazy expensive. Sheets, comforters, bedskirts, pillows- they all cost way more than what we were used to paying for our little full-size bed. When they asked us if we wanted to pay $80 for the metal bed frame, we knew that's what we were going to have to do because we're poor cheap on a budget.

But I dreamed of having a big, plush upholstered headboard that I could lean against while reading in bed.

Cue Pinterest.

I saw several inspiration photos that made me think we could build a headboard and save $$$ while still getting the look I wanted. Here are some of my favorite:

Lots of people probably recognize this one from Centsational Girl. I liked the brightness and the shape of this headboard, and I really fell in love with the nailhead trim. Unfortunately, Will doesn't have a lot of experience with a jig-saw and was a little weary of trying to cut out this kind of shape. He was willing to try, but wasn't sure how the execution would come out.

This one is from Classy Clutter. I really like the tufted look and I seriously considered it for several weeks. At the end of the day, though, I knew this would be a project I really needed my mom's help with and she wouldn't be visiting for at least several months, and I just wanted to get it done.

Then I saw this picture from Running from the Law.  Still had the nailhead trim, still was light, but it was a much simpler shape that Will felt a lot more comfortable with. Sold.

Next I'll tell you how we made our own headboard for less than $130.