Archive for the ‘DIY’ category

Changing The Ambiance Of Your Bedroom

November 14th, 2009

An average person usually stays in the bedroom for continuous number of hours than any other place.  Ideally, doctors recommend eight hours of sleep.  But of course, this does not happen all the time.  With people working long hours and having more than one job, would on average get 6 hours sleep and sometime less.  To alleviate stress and fatigue, the atmosphere inside your bedroom should be relaxing.

There are several ways to give your bedroom a make-over.  If you don’t have issues with budget, you can easily redecorate and change everything.  But this is really not realistic so making the most of what you already have is the best way to go with this.  However you can start your re-decoration with the bed.

The easiest facet of the bed to refurbish would be the headboard.  There are several ways to give your headboard a new and fresh look.  If you have a wooden headboard, you can try to repaint it.  Another option would be with the use of fabric or making a tufted headboard.  The fabric must compliment the room colour and design.  In case you really want to achieve a brand new look, then you can entirely change your headboard.  You can easily achieve a vintage look by using an antique door or table and convert it to a headboard.   Another option would be to make it multifunctional like having a built-in book shelf where you can store your bedside reading materials and conveniently install a lamp as well.

There are endless possibilities here and a chance to express your creativeness as well.

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Posted in DIY, headboard

Fresh Headboard Idea

November 12th, 2009

The headboard is one of the most versatile furniture in your bedroom since it has the ability to take lead set the ambiance of the whole room.  One of the new ideas that we came across with is the Three-Sided Upholstered Headboard Frame.  With this type of headboard, you can mix and match bold and bright fabrics in making this classical-shaped headboard.

Materials that you will need includes two pieces of ½” sheet of MDF (medium density fiberboard), some batting, fabric and decorative trim, tempered hardboard, 2×4, staple gun, powerdrill, table saw and a jigsaw.  In addition to these, you will also require some wood screw, measuring tape and miter saw.  First of all, you will need to create the top frame cutting the 2×4s into 2 pieces of 13 ½” long, 2 pieces of 10” long, two pieces of 5” long, one piece of 30” long and last piece with 60” length.  Next step is to connect the 5” pieces with screws to the 60” piece.  From each edge of the 60” wood, you will need to measure 15” toward the center to the wood where you will attach the two 10” pieces.  This should leave a 30” gap between the two pieces and this is where the 30” piece goes as an attachment on top of the two 10” pieces.  Immediately after you will need to prepare 1 ½” wide strips of the hardboard fixing these strips to the top side of the middle rectangle while bending the same to create the curve and repeat this procedure for the next side.  You need to finish off the frame with the MDF pieces.

Now to the cover, you will need a staple gun to hold the batting and the fabric wrapping the side pieces, fixing them in place with screws.  After which you can finalize the look with decorative trims to cover the seams and staples.  Soon after you now have a new three-sided upholstered headboard frame that would surely catch attention in your bedroom.

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Posted in DIY, fabric, headboard

Do-It-Yourself Tufted Headboard

October 30th, 2009

headboard_11Tufting is traditionally a skill that requires the use of very long and strong needles, each of them passing through the entire thickness of a mattress with each stitch secures tufts on both surfaces that creates an even filling and in place throughout the life of the mattress. In the process the fillings are secured to the interior springs, thus guaranteeing minimum wear and maximum durability. Originally used on bedspreads and mattresses, tufting has been adapted to other furniture as well particularly headboards.

Tufting headboards is a do-it-yourself project that anyone can basically do which adds style, elegance and personality to your headboard while providing a padded protected surface. This project can take approximately half a day and total cost of materials ranging from about $50 to $100. You can create your own tufted headboard by using your old wooden headboard provided that you drill one or two holes reserved for tufting. To start off, you need to choose and purchase the fabric, batting and buttons to be used for tufting. Remember that the fabric must be strong to stand up to wear without compromising design and that you would use approximately 3 to 4 bags of batting to make a soft headboard. Cover the headboard with ample layers of batting, extending the material about 1 foot over the edge. Staple the batting to the wood with a staple gun and trim the edges to about 4 inches. Drape the headboard with your chosen fabric while tucking the edges and then turn the headboard with the front facing down. Trim the material so that it wraps all of the batting – making the latter invisible – pulling it tight while stapling it to the wood. Use a needle with a fishing line or a heavy thread, running the needle through a large button, pushing it from the back to the front of the hole pulling it tight.

To create a tufted look, you will need to thread the needle back through the same hole. Fix a nail across the back and loop the thread on this nail before going back through the same hole again. You need to repeat this step several times as you desire and then tie off the thread to the nail. To pull the button down into the fabric, twist the nail to draw it to your desired depth. One tip to give a cleaner finish is to glue some of the fabric onto the button so that it will match the headboard.

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Posted in DIY, tufted headboard

Make Your Own Tufted Headboard

October 30th, 2009

headboard_07Making your own tufted headboard is not complicated at all. However you need to have some needlework skills of sorts and some patience when creating one. Here are some simple instructions that you can follow to create your very own tufted headboard.

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the plywood, cutting it to your desired shape and size dependent on the size of the bed.

Step 2: Drill small holes that would be big enough where the tufts would be to allow upholstery needle to go through and not making them bigger than the size of the plain buttons that will be used to hold the tufts at the back. But before doing so, you must ascertain the spacing and placement of each tuft.

Step 3:  Glue the foam to wood using adhesive spray and trim the excess foam.

Step 4:  Batting should be placed on top of the foam, stapling them to the back of the wood with an edge of about 2 inches from the edge.

Step 5:  The outer fabric or cover should be placed on top of the batting, stapled to the back of the plywood. Start stapling in the top middle, bottom middle, right middle and then left middle before continuing the edge. Fold and staple the corners and trim excess fabric.

Step 6:  Using an upholstery needle, you will need to stitch through the holes and going through the covered button before going back to the back. Thread through a hole in a plain button and pull tightly to create the tuft. Repeat the same step until you finish all tufts.

Materials needed are:
• Plywood (1/2-inch thick) – Width dependent on the bed size
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Electric drill
• Spray adhesive
• Foam padding (3-inch thickness)
• Electric knife
• Quilt batting
• Staple gun and staples
• Decorative fabric
• Upholstery thread
• Upholstery needle
• Covered buttons
• Plain buttons
• Scissors

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Posted in DIY