DIY Drop Cloth Tufted Headboard

Y'all... I am on a rolllllll lately with DIY projects turning out better than expected! I will not lie that I have had my doubts about every single design aspect of this $100 Room Challenge. I saved the hardest for last... re-upholstering my headboard. I was sure I would mess it up or it wouldn't go as planned but it was easier than I expected! Best part? I made it using a DROP CLOTH as the fabric!

If you are just tuning in to this challenge you can catch up below!

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Reveal (next week)

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Back in the day we DIY'd this plain ol' upholstered headboard. It was a fun DIY for the hubby and I to start our R&R adventures but it's a bit outdated. With the design of this room for the $100 Room Challenge, I decided it was time this headboard got a major facelift. The goal of this makeover was to brighten the space and this big dark headboard was the biggest eyesore that needed to be brightened up. With a strict budget I knew I couldn't spend too much on fabric so I settled on using a drop cloth. You are not going to believe this transformation!

The first thing I did was remove the old nailhead trim.

This headboard had one layer of foam, some batting and fabric so I decided in order to get a deep tufting look I would add one more layer of foam using a foam mattress pad (cheaper than buying foam at the craft store).

I used a staple gun to pull it to the edges and stapled in place (you will want a 'heavy duty' stapler for this job- good thing to have on hand for any crafter!).

Once the foam was in place it was time to measure out where I want my tufts. I knew I wanted the first row to be five inches down from the top of the headboard and to have 8 buttons, the second to have 9, third 8, etc. So I measured the foam across (79 inches) and divided by 8 and marked at each interval.

I did this same pattern down the headboard to create the tufted pattern I wanted.

Then, I used sharp scissors to create holes at each mark (stay with me- it will all make sense).

Once all the holes were made I covered the headboard with my dropcloth. I felt around with my finger to find the holes and using a roofing nail and washer, I nailed into the headboard to create the tuft.

I started with the three rows of 8 and then did the 2 rows of 9.

Once I had all the nails in, it was time to tighten the rest of the fabric around the headboard. I really had to rhythm for this other than making it as tight as I could and stapling every few inches.

No one will see the back so I'm not really worried about it but here's a quick glimpse.

The final touch for this headboard was adding custom buttons using the leftover drop cloth. I found a button making kit on Amazon and used the leftover drop cloth fabric I had to make 42 buttons.

Then, I simply used liquid stitch to attach the buttons to the places the nail heads were showing.

Voila! A BRAND NEW HEADBOARD!

 You can see a little sneak peek of some DIY artwork I've been working on!

I was so relieved when this project was complete. I know that's silly but it was the last large project of this challenge and it had me stressing! I am beyond excited with how this turned out!

If you would like a video tutorial for this headboard head on over to my Instagram and I have the full process saved in my highlights!

Updated To-Do list:

• New Window Treatments $48 
• Blinds- $38
• Curtain Rod- $10 (Could have gotten one for $5 but didn't want to drive to another store)
• Curtains- Free (already had)
• Paint side tables Free (had paint and supplies on hand)
• Re-upholster headboard $38 
• Drop Cloth- $12
• Foam Mattress Topper- $14
• Button Cover Kit- $10
• Hardware- $2
• Add budget friendly accessories

Be sure to check out all of the other bloggers participating in this challenge below!

An InLinkz Link-up

As always, Thank you for visiting R&R at home!