DIY weekend idea: headboards

I remember when I used to watch Trading Spaces (in 2003 or something, is that show even on anymore??) one thing almost every show had in common was the do-it-yourself headboard. Need to make a bedroom look better? Make a headboard! But the problem I always had was that the headboards were usually staple-gunned into the wall, creating a potentially problematic situation when it's time to move out. Instead, I decided to use photo frames to create our DIY headboard.

Here's what it looks like from a distance (note the symmetry of the end tables and matching lamps...those were Crate and Barrel wedding registry items)

And here's what it looks like from closer up

 

The frames are all exactly the same. Although I am a huge fan of the wall frame collage where you piece together frames of different sizes like a puzzle, I intentionally wanted these frames to be exactly the same size, shape and color to create the illusion of the headboard.

To keep up with at least one principle of feng shui, I have kept photos of other people away from our bedroom. Apparently by having photos of your family and friends in your bedroom you bring them into your relationship, and we clearly don't want that. So, these photos are taken from memorable locations and memorable moments: a trip to Costa Rica, our honeymoon in Maui, our college campus (or dare I say Grounds), the spot where we got engaged, wine tasting in California, and the St. Louis arch (which is architecturally interesting but not particularly sentimental for us). I need to add a photo or two from our cross country trip, and I will no doubt add a photo or two after this summer's vacation.

We have high ceilings that form a trapezoidal shape, so our headboard is framed underneath the trapezoid to lead the eye up the wall.

If you don't have a headboard, consider making one this way rather than the old-fashioned Trading Spaces way. It's more fun and more personal.