Hey Ya'll!
Happy Turkey Week! So, I have been MIA for about the last week, whoops. But, I have a reason I promise, I have finished the guest room! With the exception of a few knick-knacks it's basically finished. Since I gave myself a time crunch to finish the room, I still wanted to be as frugal as possible. I went to the Antique stores, bought clearance items and gave items a fresh coat of paint to match the room. Paint really gives a new out look to out dated pieces.
Through out the next few posts I will be sharing how and where I came up with the DIY pieces in the guest room. But, for now I want to show you the whole room and how we made the head board. After, searching Craigslist and making my rounds to the antique stores, I stumbled across the perfect fireplace mantle. The captain and I went the following weekend and picked up the mantle.
I started with giving the room a new coat of paint to warm it up. I had an idea on what color I wanted, but needed a little push. With Valspar being my go to brand of paint, I jumped on Pinterest and searched Valspar paint colors. Scrolling through I came upon a perfect mix of grey and brown, Magic Spell. When I went into Lowes to look at the paint chip card for the color I couldn't find it, so I asked the paint mixer guy.....lol what is their real title? Anyways, he informed me that it was an older color and they didn't have the card anymore. Even though they didn't have the card it was still in the system and he could mix me up a sample. So, I grabbed 3 samples of Magic Spell, Hopsac, and a color with more brown undertones. I was definitely sold on Magic spell after painting a small section next to the others. Just check out the difference between the colors and the big change after the new paint!
Hopsac is at the top with the brown being in the middle and Magic Spell on the bottom of the paint sampling. Hopsac is a great color and I'm looking at using it in the guest bathroom soon. It's just a little bit darker than the builder-grade paint and will hold up more than the builders paint. Below you can really see the difference in the room.
I started painting the room a few days before we got the fireplace mantle so I wouldn't be distracted and could finish painting within a couple days. When I purchased the paint for the room I also grabbed paint for the mantle and accent pieces. I chose Antique White, also by Valspar.
DIY Fireplace Mantle Headboard
Fireplace Mantle Before:
The Mantle started out pretty rough with a few old coats of paint and it was chipping pretty bad. The place we got it from had it nailed into the wall with massive nails and left holes. Nothing a little wood filler wouldn't fix!
Before I started giving the mantle a facelift, we needed to measure the height and the plywood for the tufted inlay. We measured the height of our master bedroom headboard here, we used it as a guide height for the mantle. Our headboard is 65" tall and I wanted the mantle to be at least that tall. Bryan started out with 2 - 2x4's and screwed them to the legs to make the top of the mantle stand at 65" tall. We then carried the mantle in to check the height of it behind the bed and it ended up working out perfectly.
After attaching the legs at the correct height, Bryan measured out the plywood. We made the plywood overlap behind the opening on the back by 4 inches. This would gives us enough room to be able to screw the plywood to the back after it was tufted. Here in the picture you can see that we didn't go all the way to the bottom of the mantle with the plywood, but it went far enough behind the mattress that you couldn't tell and it saved on fabric. :) Next, we measured and drilled for the button holes.
Here's a diagram on the measurements between the buttons:
Bryan's job was finished for now. It was my turn now to beautify the mantle. I started out with filling the holes with wood filler and letting it set for 30 minutes. Once it was done setting I began sanding the mantle to strip away the old paint the was chipping off and sanding down the wood filler. When I was sanding, I left some rough spots and a couple holes to leave some character.
Next, it was time for two coats of paint, in Antique White!
Fabulous!
While the mantle was drying it was time to make the tufted inlay to attach in the middle. I began with covering the buttons. I purchased the aluminum buttons from my local craft store. On the back of the box is a pattern that I traced and cut out as a guide for the size. I traced out 8 circles for the buttons and cut those out of the same fabric as the headboard fabric. I took the rounded button piece and wrapped the fabric circle around it with a dot of hot glue in the center. I then pushed in the flat piece with the metal button loop on the outside. ( I used a screw driver to push it in to the rounded button piece)
After the buttons were finished, I started on the plywood piece. When we measured out the plywood we traced the opening in the middle of the mantle to mark where the foam needed to go. The measurements were 4" all the way around from the edge of the plywood, with the exception of the bottom. I used 1" foam for this headboard and glued it to the plywood with hot glue. After attaching the foam I stapled the batting just around the edges of the foam. Leaving the rest of the batting to be stapled with the fabric after the tufting.
Next, it was time for the tufting. I began by threading the buttons with upholstery thread. I first made a loop and stuck that through the loop on the buttons. Taking the opposite ends I put those through the loop making a knot. See picture below to see how I did this...I repeated this process at least 3 times.
Before tufting the fabric, I stapled the top edge of the batting and the fabric to the back of the headboard to help keep it in place. I always ask Bryan for assistance on this part so we can work from both sides. We use a long upholstery needle for the process. Bryan sticks the needle through the back hole to the front side and I thread the ends of the button strings through needle. He then pulls the needle back to his side, pulling the ends of the button thread to his side to staple. As he's pulling on the thread tight, I push on the button to make sure it's pulled as tight as possible. (To see his stapling technique click here)
After all the buttons are in, I finished it up by pulling and smoothing out the fabric and stapling it on the backside of the plywood. Eeeek, almost done!
Check out the baby feet!
Last step, we attached the plywood piece to the mantle by screwing it to the back. Queue in Bryan and the screw gun! When we attached the 2x4 legs they were right against the plywood. With the plywood now covered in batting and fabric it was a snug fit, but with a little elbow grease we fit it right in place.
Here is a photo of what the whole headboard looks like with the legs:
Here it is behind the bed before décor and new bedding:
With a little DIY and paint it's amazing the transformations you will get. Every time I walk by the guest room it makes me smile. I kind of want to use it as my reading room! It feels cozy and I want to curl up in the bed myself. Here is a little before and after picture...
There are just a few finishing touches, but for now I am really happy with the room. I hope you find the instructions helpful and if you have any questions about anything in the room or the headboard feel free to ask!
Stay tuned for more DIYs that I did in this room!
Until next time,
Ciao!
