Decorating is very personal, or is it really? Consider what your personal decorating style is today. Does decorating mean gathering up a collection of products and materials and combining them into room decor you find pleasing? It's fun and relatively safe when someone else makes most of the decisions about the colors and designs used in the fabrics, wallpapers, etc that we use to decorate our homes.
Do you like to start with a blank slate and create something unique?
Some people find it hard picking paint colors while others step outside the box and mix their own colors. It's hard to think outside the box and it takes practice. One way to get more creative is to open your mind to new ideas. You'll soon realize you're seeing more ideas, things you like that are out of the ordinary like this wonderful headboard.
Create Versus Buy
Most people assume the way you get a headboard is to buy one. We define headboards by the types you can buy but wait … who's in charge here? Headboards are one of the easiest bedroom features to build yourself as they don't provide any structural support for the bed. They're simply decorating with a pre-determined place to sit.
Thanks to Vanessa Brunner for inspiring this article with the photo above, a unique use of blackboard paint … and the creative shape used for the headboard. Surprisingly, her article was How to Take Beautiful Home Photos, so of course she used photos to tell her story.
Here's a list of ideas to get you thinking about creating your new headboard, to let your personality shine through. If you're more visual, you'll also want to check out Becky Harris' article, Creative Headboard (or lack thereof) Ideas, for some great photos.
- Make your own headboard. Plywood can be cut in any shape you like, padded and covered with many different types of fabric.
- Create a visual headboard on the wall. Through out the rules as you don't really need a physical headboard when it doesn't provide any function. You can paint the wall or cover it with interesting materials from cork squares to wallpaper, fabric or a combination of materials. If you want to be able to take your creation with you, consider hanging it like a curtain so that it's easy to move to your next home.
- Recycle furniture for a headboard. Have you got an old bookcase in need of a new home? Maybe a console table that isn't being used or a broken coffee table where you can salvage the table top?
- Challenge the need for a headboard, and simply decorate the wall space. There aren't any rules that say the wall behind the bed must be decorated from the floor up. Just like a sofa, you can place one large or an assortment of wall hangings above your bed to provide the visual look and feel you want.
Remember your first apartment where you likely had a bed frame and mattress but no headboard. How did you decorate when you had no money? For my first apartment, I painted a fun, 3 foot tall stripe across my living room wall with a coordinating bulls eye off center. It was very cost effective until the landlord refused to return my security deposit (I painted 3 coats of what over it but guess it didn't work). When we moved to Tokyo I bought obis at the flea market and draped them on the walls for decoration.
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