DIY Upholstered Headboard

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Hello friends! We have finally made it to the final project that completes this Murphy Bed: a headboard! I knew that this space wasn’t fully finished until I added this special detail, and I feel like it pulls everything together perfectly. (I’m pretty sure my pups think this bed was made specifically for them!)

When we decided to build a murphy bed into this space, my biggest caviat was the appearance of the structure. This addition needed to be a part of this house, and I still wanted to give a cozy, homey vibe while maintaining the multi- function purpose of this room. I think we have done a pretty stellar job achieving that goal, but when I pulled the bed down, the space just looked…unfinished. So I decided to DIY a beautiful, soft, comfortable headboard! Here’s how I did it:

You can find real-time projects and updates on my Instagram: @theroostingplace

Materials:

  • 1 sheet 3/4″ plywood (If you want a sturdier headboard, use 1″ plywood. I opted for the thinner so it fit inside the folded bed)
  • 2 rolls of 24″x72″x1″ project foam (you can also use thicker foam and buy it by the yard if you want, I found this was cheapest)
  • Quilt Batting
  • 2 yards upholstery fabric of choice*
  • Staple Gun + 3/4″ staples
  • 29 buttons of choice
  • Super Strong Fabric Glue (Aleene’s or E-6000 work great)
  • 1/2″ hooks
  • Hanging wire or D-ring hangers

The Process

Determine the desired shape of headboard, then draw it out on the plywood. A standard queen headboard should be 62-65″ wide, depending on the amount of hangover. (As for height, I made my headboard 3 feet tall at the highest point, which I feel is pretty standard. You can make yours taller, just keep in mind that the amount of extra material you may have to buy.)

I opted for the “cleveland” style. To draw out a rounded top, use a pencil and attach a piece of string to it. Hold the other end of the string, and pulling taut, use the pencil to create an even arch. I then used a bowl to get the extra curves on my edges. Using a jigsaw, cut out the drawn shape.

Next, lay out and stack batting, then foam, then plywood. Mark out the edges of the headboard giving an additional 2″-this will ensure enough material to wrap over the top of the board and be stapled to the back.

First, staple the foam by pulling the pieces tight over the edges. Start at the “break” between the 2 pieces of foam and staple the sides first to prevent a split in your foam. Then pull the edged tight and staple all the way around. Repeat the process with the batting. (Batting diminishes the appearance of the split in the foam. You can double the batting up if you wish.) Even with my goof split, my batting hid it and paired with the upholstered divets, this isn’t noticable at all.

To create the upholstered look, flip the headboard over to the front, then lay the material over the top. It is important to not attach the edges first to ensure there is enough slack for the divets. Meausure out placement for the first divet- I chose 12″ apart and eyeballed my first placement. Use the stapler to make an X and create a divet. Measure 12″ over and down and repeat until there are enough to make you happy.

Once all the divets are made, flip the headboard back over and staple the fabric around the edged and to the back, pulling the fabric tight to avoid unwanted wrinkles. *(tip: when picking your fabric, check out the sale fabric section! I got 2.5 yards of fabric for 50% off the original price plus most places will give an additional discount for buying the end of bolt*

While you are back here, attach your hangers! Use a level and a measuring tape to screw your hangers of choice into the back of the headboard. ** (I used wire and screws because I didn’t want to go back to the store, but you can also use d-rings to make your life simpler.)

Flip the headboard over again and use the glue to attach buttons. Let the adhesive dry before moving the headboard to a vertical postion to ensure best adhesion. While the glue dries, let’s attach our hooks to the wall!

Because my support board for the murphy bed was a few inches off the wall, I used a stud finder to locate studs and screwed a 2X4 into the wall as an “extender” so the headboard could sit flush. Using a drill bit, first make a small pilot hole, then screw the hooks into the wall. Make sure to measure out the distance of your hangers then place your screws. If you are attaching directly to the wall, skip the 2×4 step and simply insert your hooks directly into studs. **Also, if you aren’t attaching to a 2×4, you will want to locate studs first before attaching the hangers to your headboard.**

Last step is to hang it up and to stare blissfully at your beautiful creation! The end! Mine sits perfectly when we fold and unfold the bed, and gives such an elegant final touch to this space. While it has it imperfections, I’m overall super pleased with the look and cozy feel it brought to this room! Now my guests have a place to comfortably rest, and I hope gives them a home-away-from-home comfort.

Let me know if you make one and if this method works for you!

Talk soon,

xx, Lanna

Murphy Bed: Chasing the Rainbow

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Choosing a paint color

If you’ve been following along on our Instagram, you’ve already seen what we picked for our Murphy Bed color, but for those of you joining us here, I cannot wait to reveal this BEAUTIFUL color to you! I was deciding between 20 different colors (I know, I had no clue what direction I wanted to head.) But this beautiful blue is the perfect compliment to this space!

For more updates and projects, follow my Instagram: @theroostingplace

When I first started out with this project, I planned on leaving the bed and shelving units white. However, after living with them, I felt that the space needed something more! Break out the paint swatches! After collecting 20 swatches, I narrowed it down to the ones below.

My rug is from boutiquerugs.com and I absouletly love it! The colors are beautiful and the texture is so soft! I would reccomend adding a rug pad if you like thick rugs.

I finally I bought sample sizes of 6 colors to test on the bed. I highly suggest testing any paint contenders in the space they will go. Colors can look different in all lighting, as well as the time of day so by physically placing the color where you want it, this garuntees you love the choice you make! I opted out of the pink mainly because I wanted this room to flow with the other greens and blues of the house scheme…but you better believe I will be using Pressed Flower in the future because WOW. Every single one of these colors would have complimented this rug beautifully…so let the testing begin…

Once I decided on a color, we taped off the front of the murphy bed so that we could spray using our WagnerFlexio 590 paint sprayer. I love this sprayer because it is lightweight, has 2 different spraying direction options and multiple spray settings. Great for beginner projects! By using a sprayer, I was able to get into all those small seams of the murphy bed front design, and get an even coating. Had I not decoupaged the shelves, I would have sprayed everywhere, however we had to roll and cut in by hand our shelving units to make sure we were precise.

I forgot to mention that we also added crown molding to our shelving units, and painted after we had caulked all the seams to give a uniform “built in” finish to the whole piece. But for the moment you all have read to find out: my final color choice was Smoky Blue by Sherwin Williams. We used a satin finish in their Duration paint to ensure a tough coat since this piece will get a lot of wear and tear over the years.

Overall, I love that I decided to add color into this room. It typically is difficult for me to go bold in color when it comes to large, permanent pieces, but in this little house, I am learning to trust color! This room calms me down and allows me to escape from the hectic chaos that fills these walls, the blue just makes me happy! Next week, I’m going to fill you in on how to make a super easy “upholstered” headboard like the one I added inside the Murphy Bed!

Tell me, what do you think of using bold colors? What holds you back from trying out new things? For me it’s the fear of the unknown…but we are getting braver every day!

Talk soon,

xx, Lanna

Decoupaging Shelves: Mod Podge vs Elmer’s Glue

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Decoupaging is a simple way to add personality to any surface, and when I heard of a “cheaper” way to apply paper via glue I knew I had to test it out. Keep reading to see which method I found to work best for me and my Murphy Bed Shelving Back project!

You can find this and other DIY projects on my Instagram @theroostingplace.

de·cou·page /dāko͞oˈpäZH/ the art of decorating surfaces by applying cutouts (as of paper) and then coating with usually several layers of finish (such as lacquer or varnish)

Merriam-webster dictionary

How to Decoupage

The process of decoupage is a fairly simple art:

  1. First, apply a layer of glue (typically Mod Podge) which can be slightly watered down for smoother application to the surface of desired project.
  2. Then apply a layer of glue to the back of chosen paper.
  3. Place paper on surface and smooth with hand carefully to avoid ripping the paper.
  4. Coat exterior of paper with another layer of glue to seal and protect the applied paper from damage.

Mod Podge Vs. Elmer’s Glue

Mod Podge can be directly applied to paper with or without dilution via water, and is the more popular choice for decoupaging. The ingredients of Mod Podge are made up mainly of water and polyvinyl acetate, a common ingredient in most white glues. The main difference between this and other crafting glues is that Mod Podge goes an extra step beyone other glues and adds ingredients make this glue superior for glueing, sealing, and finishing—regular craft glues typically are only typically good for gluing.

But Modge Podge can get expensive, especailly when applying to a large surface area, so when I heard about the cheaper hack that uses a watered down Elmer’s Glue I knew I needed to try it.

According to a basic google search, the ratio to create “home made modge podge” from Elmer’s glue is 1/3 cup water for every 2/3 cups of Elmer’s glue. So I mixed some up and got to work to put it to the test

My Project

I decided to add paper to the back of my Murphy Bed shelves to give a fun contrast. (This was before I decided to paint them, but I love how the paper looks against my color choice). I used 12×12 sheets of scrapbooking paper, purchased from Hobby Lobby. I originally chose the more pink paper to the left, but after applying it I switched it out for the right. Not really relevant to this experiment, but notable nontheless.

Because I have two sets of shelving, Mod Podge was applied to the left, and the Elmer’s mixture was used to apply the right. I used the same technique as described above. After allowing both sides to fully dry, I was able to cut the excess paper with a box cuter knife to give relatively clean edges.

My Conclusion

I found the Elmers mixture a little frustrating to work with. It did not seem to stick as well, and left significantly more air bubbles between the surface of the shelf wall and my paper. Because this won’t get too much contact and wear, I think it will hold up alright, but definetly would have used the Mod Podge on both sides.

I think the Elmer’s mixture may work better with a less dilute ratio, and for me it did technically work, it just isn’t my favorite. The end result is still beautiful, and I love how easily this technique can transform a piece, but I guess I’ll be sticking with the real deal for now!

Talk soon,

xx, Lanna

Adding a Chevron Design to the Murphy Bed

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When we last left off with the Murphy Bed, I had teased with the rough concept drawing for my next plans: adding a design to the front. My plan was inspired off of a door I had seen on Pinterest, with angled wood pieces that had been laid in a “zig-zag” chevron pattern to create this fun, whimsical look and I knew I had to add this element into the Murphy bed. Keep reading to see how I did it!

You can also find this transformation and other real time DIY’s on my Instagram @theroostingplace.

Supplies

  • 2 in. finishing nails
  • Approx. 20 8’x1″x2″ Primed MDF boards (chances are you will make a wrong cut or two, buy some extra because they can always be returned)
  • Spacers (I used nickels)
  • Nail Gun
  • Miter Saw
  • Speed Square
Basic, assembled Murphy Bed, prior to any “facelifts”

The Process

The seam you see in the middle of the bed front is a result of the 2 plywood sheets that were attatched to hold the mattress inside the box of the Murphy Bed, but for me, this looked very unfinished. This is when I came accross a beautiful chevron style barn door by Distinctive Doors and I knew I had to try my hand at a take on this design. Here’s how I turned the following concept drawing into reality:

First begin by drawing out a reference edge about 1″ in from the edge of the face piece of the bed. This will be where the angled cuts end, and leaves room to later add a boarder piece to give the edges a clean, finished look. Next, measure and drew a line about halfway up, which will be the point where top and bottom boards meet to create the triangle point and “switch directions”.

Next, begin to cut angle pieces. This process took some time, as I found it most full-proof to measure each board one piece at a time. Begin on the longest top edge sloping down to give the point of the center triangle. If using a Miter Saw, cutting pieces at a 45-degree angle is relatively simple-just set your saw to the 45 degree mark on the correct side depending on which cut you are making. If there is not a Miter saw on hand, use a speed square to mark 45-degrees and cut using a circular hand saw.

PAY ATTENTION to which direction the angle cut needs to go, depending on where the board is sitting when it hits the reference marks. I found it best to cut the board close to the needed length, then physically place the board in it’s spot on the face and mark using a speed square the exact location of the angle. I did this for top and bottom edges.

To add the next piece, use a spacer (I used a nickle but you can also buy tile spacers) to ensure even gap placement. This part gets tricky and helps to have another set of hands, because you need to hold the board in place with the spacer, as well as mark the angle cuts at the appropriate locations/lengths.

Once correct cuts are made, realign with the spacers. Then use a nail gun to attach the board in place. Repeat for all boards.

*NOTE: To make the cuts a the corners, first cut your 45-degree angle as you had been, then turn your saw to the other direction 45-degree angle to make the side cut. This will give you a 90-degree corner.*

Once the initial triangle has been attatched, attach the shorter corner pieces next. To do this, line up a 90-degree (straight) edge of a MDF board with the edge of the triangle, then mark your outer edge cut. This was the simplest way I found to do these angles and give the look I wanted.

Once all the diagonal cuts are in place, rip another MDF board into the desired width of the space between the edge of the boards and the bed front edge. Then attach with nails and viola, there you have it!

The End Result (and Lessons Learned)

Personally, I love how I was able to bring my vision to life and I hope y’all love it as much as I do! It did take some time due to the individual cuts required to minimalize wasted wood (trust me, I still made several bad cuts). Take your time, and if you are able, use a second set of hands. I ended up eye-balling my spacing at the end because my nickels kept rolling out, so my angles/spacing aren’t 100% perfect. BUT its very unoticable, especially after paint. I won’t lie, I feel pretty awesome knowing that I DID THIS with my own two hands!

But we aren’t done just yet! What’s up next: paint!

Talk soon,

xx, Lanna

Building a Murphy Bed + Shelves

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Hello! Last time we talked, we had loaded up the murphy bed frame and hauled it home until installation day… WELL INTALL DAY HAS ARRIVED Y’ALL (oh yes, I am a Texan through and through). If you’re just now joining us, check out Murphy Bed Pt. I , but if you’re all caught up, let’s just jump right in, shall we? I apologize for some lack of photos, I will try to explain the best I can without them!

Materials Used (shelves):

-3 sheets 3/4″ plywood

Yaaaaay shadows! Here is the painted plywood that be the base for the mattress .

-1 sheet 1/4″ plywood OR 1 sheet 1/8 hard board for backing

-nail gun

-kreg jig

-kreg jig screws

Day 2

. . .

Today we had to start bright and early, because yours truly put off painting all the wood…mainly due to cold weather conditions, but laziness was also responsble. The color of choice: Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore, paint matched at Sherwin Williams (because we personally like the quality of paint more). After rough sanding all our wood, a step I personally should have spent more time on to avoid roughness, we used our handy dandy Graco paint sprayer to prime all our wood pieces. ***IMPORTANT: always prime your wood***. I have a fun finishing touch in mind for the front of the murphy bed, but if you plan to leave this part as is, make sure to SAND SAND SAND to get a smooth finish.

Shelving unit prior to trim piece additions.

Once the primer was done, two coats of my beautiful Chantilly Lace white were sprayed on. I could write a whole post over my love for Chantilly Lace and how I think it is the perfect shade of interior white, but this post is about the murphy bed and not the fifty shades of white. Continuing on…

Using a nail gun to attacht shelving trim.

Now that all the pieces were sprayed and dry, it was time to begin assembling the shelving units. We have 8 ft ceilings, so these 2 units are each 94″ tall and 22″ wide to leave room for manipulation once inside the room. We are adding crown molding pieces later, so the gap between the shelf and ceiling will eventually be covered up. We started by using our trusty friend, the Kreg jig, and made pocket holes in each of the shelves, then attached the shelves one by one to each side, leveling as we went until all the shelves were in place. We also added a front trim piece to the bottom of the shelf to give an even look. The back panel was then attatched using a nail gun.

While the guys worked on building the next shelf unit, as well as the mattress frame (still using the plans purchased from DIY Tyler, I used the nail gun to attatch the front trim pieces. This gives the shelves a more finished look, and hide the rough, ugly plywood edge. Another option would be to edge band the sides, but adding a trim piece made these look a little more “professional”. Once the trim is attached, fill in the holes using a wood filler, sand down to even the surface, and paint.

Once the shelves were assembled, sanded, all trim was attached and painted, it was time to move them inside! I don’t have any photo evidence of these being moved in, but let me warn you: this is a two man job! Your shelving units and frame will be heavy, and a little difficult to manuver alone. Prior to fitting the shelving units and frame into their final resting place, use a stud finder and mark wall studs to secure your bed to, we don’t want this to fall on anyone! Once we found our studs and the shelves are in place, we used a jig saw to cut out holes for our electricity outlets, and reattached the outlet cover on the inner side of the shelf to give a seamless and built-in look. The shelving units were then attached to the frame (from the inside of the frame to avoid seeing screws on the shelving units) and the whole unit was secured to the wall via screws using pre-marked stud locations.

Lastly, the mattress frame needed to be attatched to the wall frame. This step provided some trouble for us, and I will reccomend how to avoid the complication we faced in a little bit, so hang in there! The swivel bracket we used requires various bolts and screws to attach, and we ran into complications trying to attach one side, then not being able to get access to attatch the other side. ***face palm*** We actually ended up having to UNATTATCH our shelves and wall frame (start over) to get better angles to our swivel bracket and to avoid making holes visable through our shelves. Again, I apologize for the lack of photo evidence throughout this last part of the process. We honestly had to do a lot of problem solving, adjusting, and a little bit of rigging. My best advice: watch the DIY Tyler youtube video on tricks to get your bolts in little bitty places where fingers will not go no matter how ahrd you try! (He starts to talk about the swivel bracket around 9:00).

Murphy bed down without mattress
Murphy bed down with mattress

After lots of sweat (maybe a little blood and tears in there too) we got the whole bed put together and secured to the wall! Let me tell you this thing is worth it! Definitely watch all of the youtube before starting, we did not and faced some complications in the process, as you read above. The last step requires putting the mattress frame in its upright (stowed) position, and making holes through the shelfing unit through the mattress frame to insert the pins which will keep the bed safely upright. We used a 1/2″ drill bit, and then used a 2 1/2″ hitch pin to secure the bed in its upright postion.

There you have it! Was I clear as mud? Honestly, this is so worth it and I’m not even finished yet! Next up for our leading lady? Decoupage and a fun wood design that will knock your socks off!

Talk soon.

Xx, Lanna

Building a Murphy Bed (pt. I)

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Our disaster second bedroom

Our second bedroom is a nightmare! Ever since move in day, this back bedroom has become a homeless shelter for all the junk that doesn’t have a “spot”, or where all the “I’ll deal with it later” items go to die zone. And in 750 sq ft, we are not really allowed the luxury of having valuable space go to waste.

The end goal for this room was a functional office/workspace, that could easily accomodate for any guests that needed a place to sleep (without having to clear a floor space for an air mattress, because honestly, who like sleeping on those anyways?)

Cue Mr. Murphy bed.

We actually came up with the idea of putting in a Murphy bed back when we were renovating this house, but between construction of making the house “livable” and moving in, there wasn’t much time to make this idea come to life-until now! The plan was to make a queen sized bed with shelving on both sides, and to finish it out with crown molding to give a “built-in effect”. So we recruited my magic woodworking step-dad Todd (who graciously volunteered his Thanksgiving break) to help with some of the logistics, and got to work using plans purchased from DIY Tyler (https://www.diytyler.com/shop/cheap-hardware-murphy-bed-queen/).

Materials used (bed):

My super hero guys cutting our plywood down to provided measurments.

5) Sheets of 3/4″ Plywood for the bed.

1) 2x6x8

2) $10 Swivel Brackets

Various screws, nuts and bolts.

. . .

DAY 1:

We spent day one cutting out all of our wood pieces down to size using a table saw, and applied edge banding to any exposed edges.

During this step, its really important to use a hot iron, and really press the edge banding on the plywood to reduce any seperation and give that clean finish (we had some issues with this step, so when I say use a hot iron, use a HOT iron). Clean up your edges with an edge band trimmer, and sand down any rough places to give a smooth, seamless finish. I honestly LOVED the effect that using edge banding has, this simple (and relatively cheap) addition was a great alternative to using solid, expensive sheets of wood.

Next, using a Kreg jig (hahah moment, didn’t realize it wasn’t spelled CRAIG…who knew…) to drill pocket holes into our pre-cut pieces to make the frame. I’ve linked a big boy Kreg jig set, but you could also use a more basic Kreg jig, it just may take a little longer to get the job done. After you have your holes drilled, use Kreg screws and wood glue to attach the pieces together as instructed. The set of plans we purchased were very useful, however, I will admit I was glad Todd was experienced in reading them. Having a set of expeirienced eyes really made the process much smoother when it came to deciphering the plan drawings.

As day one drew to a close (sunset is around 4pm, thanks winter) we had an assembled frame! YAY! We sanded this baby down, and since we were at my parents house using the big boy tools, we loaded the frame up and brought it home with us until install day…to be covered soon! My husband did have to spend an extra afternoon with Todd cutting out the shelving pieces, as we had to wait and remeasure to make sure it would all fit, but we got mostly all the cuts, banding, and frame assembly done in about 4 hours, which is a win in my book!

That’s all for now, talk soon!

xx, Lanna