1970's Headboard Gets an Upholstered Refinish

Susan Owens
by Susan Owens
Easy
An old Thomasville headboard that I updated for our college-age daughter! It had been from my husband's first bedroom set purchase in the late 70's and had been sitting in our basement for over 20 years. I painted it and covered the panels in padding and fabric!
Finished project waiting to be attached to the bed frame!
The Thomasville headboard in it's original condition, which was excellent, just not very up to date!
I sanded and primed it with two coats, then painted on two coats of Rustoleum Satin Espresso!
Regular foam padding is VERY expensive so I used a twin sized foam mattress pad that cost maybe $13.99. I used a spray adhesive (outside!) to attach it to the panel and added an extra layer for extra cushion. Could have just used double sided tape though. I DID trim up any foam overhanging the edges to shape it up a bit!
The first fabric layer was from a cheap twin sized flat sheet, edges folded over to keep it all neat, and attached with an electric staple gun.
Finished rear view of one of the panels, with edges of the pretty fabric folded under and stapled. The white pencil marks are to remind me where the pre-drilled holes are for attaching it back to the headboard frame.
The completed panels! Fabric was purchased from JoAnn's Fabrics.
Wish I had a better camera than just my cell phone to take pictures with so you could see how pretty the frame turned out painted but I absolutely love the finished project!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 10 comments
  • Juliet Juliet on Apr 04, 2021

    Genius idea for the foam! I am going to use your idea because I priced foam for my headboard project last week and you're right, it's darn expensive!

  • Happy Days Hometalker Happy Days Hometalker on Jan 25, 2023

    Extremely cost friendly and looks easy enough to put together.

Next