Improved IKEA bed with easy DIY tufted headboard

I am an interior designer and I love to do things by myself and very often I use IKEA products.

This time, I made a tufted headboard for the bed in my son’s room. We moved to new apartment and I had to furnish the rooms for all of my three kids.

I wanted nice interiors for all of them, but at the same time we could not spend too much. Also I dislike wasting things that could be used or reused if slightly changed. So this IKEA hack merged the best of my abilities.

Materials for tufted headboard:

  • IKEA FJELLSE bed frame (discontinued in some countries)
  • Table top
  • Curtain fabric
  • Denim fabric
  • Water based paint
  • Spray on adhesive
FJELLSE bed frame | IKEA.com

I bought IKEA bedframe FJELLSE, second hand, so it was half price (app. 48 USD). We had our own mattress. Assemble the bed according to IKEA instructions.

IKEA FJELLSE bed frame

Making the headboard

First, I painted the bed frame with water based paint. Set aside and let it dry.

Then, I moved on to the headboard. I used a table top to form the base of the headboard.

On the table top, I drilled holes where I wanted the buttons. After that, I sprayed adhesive onto the desk and glued on the foam. This helps so that it does not move while working on it.

My plan was to wrap it with a grey Manchester curtain fabric, which was previously used in my dining room.

How to tuft the headboard

Materials for Tufted headboard
Making the buttons with old denim
Buttons covered with old denim

For the tufting, I made my own buttons from denim. The denim was cut off from the old jeans of my younger son. I always do shorts when they make holes on the knees 🙂

What I did was to first spread the fabric over the headboard. Then I started attaching the denim buttons, through the holes I had previously drilled.

Poke needle through the upholstery
Tufted headboard for IKEA FJELLSE bed

After they were in place I started to slightly pull and staple the fabric onto the back of the desk to get the shape.

Staple the fabric
Tufted headboard for IKEA FJELLSE bed
Tufted headboard for IKEA FJELLSE bed

When the tufted headboard is done, I attached it to the FJELLSE frame. The tufted headboard slots snug between the frame and the mattress.

I hope you like my IKEA FJELLSE headboard hack 🙂

Tufted headboard for IKEA FJELLSE bed
Tufted headboard for IKEA FJELLSE bed

~ by Tereza Scarlett. Follow me on Facebook.