New Project Reveal! Our High-Tech Headboard

Back when I was young and naive, I decorated my house like a person who DOESN'T own cats. I used loose-weave fabrics and cushy floor rugs and velvet-backed frames with abandon, y'all. ABANDON. (Seriously, what monster decided black velvet was good on frames?!)

Now that I am older and wiser, though, pretty much every design choice in our house has the following criteria:

- How much cat hair will stick to it?

- How easy is it to remove said cat hair?

Aaaand that's about it. 

Now, for our latest project, let's step into my bedroom, if you please.  ::WINK::

Nearly six years ago John and I completely remodeled our bedroom to look like this:

I'mma spoil this for you right now: it still looks like this.  

Here's a photo I took yesterday:

 

I don't like a lot of change. What.

What you're not seeing, though, is how our headboard just got a huge upgrade. And I'm so excited about it, there is major Kermit flailage going on. Major.

 First let me explain the problems with the old headboard:

PROBLEM 1: (Brace yourself)


The headboard fabric was basically Velcro for cat hair. And of course - OF COURSE - both of our new girls love sitting up there. This was both super gross and making our allergies go nuts.

PROBLEM #2: This is what my bedside floor has looked like for the past few years:



Wires EVERYWHERE. Believe it or not, that's all for my phone; there's an extension cord, a headphone adapter, and a pillow speaker I need for my sleep app. (The speaker was then forever falling on the floor.)

John also had a cord and headphones on his side of the bed. We both kept our phones on our nightstands, so the cords fell on the floor during the day (where they turned into dust traps) and tangled around our arms and torsos at night. I can't tell you how frustrating it was just trying to roll over; I'd invariably snag my speaker wire with my arm, which would yank the phone off the nightstand, which would clatter to the floor like a gunshot, which would wake up John. Worst game of Mouse Trap ever.

Plus it looked terrible, white wires covered in dust all over the dark wood floor. Vacuuming was a perpetual game of Chicken.

Ahh, but I had a dream, my friends. A dream... OF A HIGH-TECH HEADBOARD.

First we ripped off the old fabric:

 

 And burned it.

(I kid.)

We kept the foam to re-use, though.

Next we added a laminated shelf top ($12 at Home Depot) and John cut a square into the face of the headboard frame:

This is hard to describe, but next we essentially created a new cushion piece - using the old foam on a new piece of wood - to stick ON this frame. So only the very front of the headboard is padded.

Here we're lining up the new vinyl fabric:

 

And stapling it in place:

We made the foam overhang the edges, so when we stapled the vinyl in place it created a rounded, padded edge. This was essential because I often sleep sitting up, and that edge hits right around my neck/head level.

 Quick Suki break, who assured us we could take our time washing the sheets; she had everything under control.

"ALL SYSTEMS OPERATING UNDER NORMAL PARAMETERS, CAP'N."

 Meanwhile, John painted the sides and front edges of the headboard frame to match the new vinyl:

He also built this custom cubby to slide into the frame:

He drilled holes in the back of this cubby for all the wires.

 Ready to see the magic coming together?

BEHOLD

Finally, John screwed the cushion top in place (with Eva's help):

 ... and re-installed the headboard.

Now, let me explain this gloriousness:

During the day, the headboard looks exactly the same, minus all the cat hair: 

 

 The laminated shelf top is easy to wipe clean, and the vinyl padded front is super comfy when I lean against it. The padded edge means I can still sleep sitting up, too.

  John built these light switches in before, so they were already there, but lemme tell you: SO USEFUL.

(We could have used black switches & plates to make them invisible, but they're low enough that you can't see them from any other angle in the room.)

 Our pendant lights (which I made myself - here's that tutorial) are wired to come out at the bottom of the wall, then up through the hollow headboard to these switches. They're dimmer switches, so I can set mine low to read while John's asleep. We've used these babies every day for six years, and I still can't take them for granted - it's just that cool, being able to kill the lights while you're snuggled up in bed.

Now let's talk about that magic cubby:

 

 Again, during the day it's completely invisible, covered by our top pillows.

When we turn down the covers at night, though, you see this:

All the wires come through the top of the cubby, so there's no risk of them falling through and down to the floor.

The cubby is deep enough to hold our phones, my huge mess of wires, John's headphones - EVERYTHING.

The cubby is low enough that I don't bump the edges when I'm sitting up; I have plenty of padded area on my side.

The only way this would be better is if I had retractable wires for all the excess, since that still tangles up. Having the cords in the middle of the bed, though, means no more knocking my phone onto the floor! No more getting lassoed when I get out of bed or roll over! And everything is hidden and tucked away during the day, so no more giant dust traps that I can't vacuum!

YASSSS.

I hope you guys find some inspiration here, even though it's not the most exciting Before & After. I love problem-solving through decor, and now every night when I come to bed and see that clean spot of floor at my bedside, I get the biggest smile. Ahhhhhh.

Oh! I should mention my original plans involved building a speaker into my side of the headboard, for when I'm sleeping sitting up, but since that's only 20% of the time I nixed it. It'd be a great addition, though, if you're like me and listen to something to help you fall sleep. (Right now I'm using the app My Sleep Button with my pillow speaker. [Not sponsored.] It takes a lot of focus, but definitely helps if I can keep my mind on it.)

Right, your turn! Tell me your best home decor solution: how you hid something ugly, organized your storage, or just plain made a space work better for you.

Or, if you don't have a success story, tell me what you want to fix! Maybe we can crowd-source some solutions here, I love a good challenge.

*****

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