Upcycle An IKEA Billy Bookcase With This Showstopping Headboard DIY

Headboards can be a beautiful way to highlight your bed and create a dynamic focal point in your bedroom, in addition to more functional benefits like preventing head bumps and wayward pillows. Finding the perfect one can be a challenge, especially if you have a particular vision in mind or a limited budget. TikTok user @ashleyposkin recently showed Apartment Therapy how she created a beautiful floral padded headboard from a discarded set of bookshelves, which not only provides a fun DIY that saves money, but also keeps a piece of old furniture from cluttering up landfills. By using the horizontal shelves as a framework and adding batting, foam, and fabric, @ashleyposkin creates her dream headboard for a very low cost.

Using upcycled wood or particle board to create a DIY headboard can be a great way to save on lumber supplies, particularly if the wood or board will not be visible in the finished project. Flat-pack bookshelves, like Ikea's popular BILLY units, usually have uniformly cut shelves and lengths of board that are perfect for upcycling into other projects. They can often be found in thrift stores and secondhand markets at a bargain, or you might even have one sitting around in your own home. 

After obtaining her shelf set on Facebook Marketplace, @ashleyposkin begins by disassembling the shelves. While the sides are longer lengths of board, the horizontal shelves present four identically cut pieces that are perfect for making the headboard. Using a jigsaw and a compass, she creates the arched top and trims away the excess on all four boards. Using one of them as a template, she cuts pieces of upholstery form and cotton batting to the shape, allowing a little room at the edges of the frame and at the bottom where the mattress will rest against it. She then attaches the foam and batting to the board with spray adhesive before wrapping the entirety in fabric that is stapled along the backside of the frame. 

To attach the segments, she uses tie plates between each piece, which keeps them together and in a straight line. To hang the headboard, she uses a metal French cleat, a mechanism that slides together for a firm hold. This type of hanging allows the whole headboard to sit snugly flat against the wall without jutting out or wobbling when brushed. 

Using upcycled bookshelf pieces to make a headboard is a perfect way to find ready-made cuts of sturdy wood or particle board for any number of projects. While @ashleyposkin adds upholstery to her headboard, you could also sand the boards, caulk the holes,  and add paint for a simpler and more streamlined look. The arched cuts could also be modified into other shapes, like waves, smaller scallops, or cut in varying heights for a sculptural Art Deco arched look. You can also leave them uncut for a more geometric modern feel.  If you have more than one set of shelves, you can use the four taller pieces of the shelf and some hinges to make a matching dressing screen. You could also use the longer pieces for a taller headboard. If you have access to many boards, try creating an eye-catching wall-to-wall headboard.  

When padded, the headboard works equally well in many aesthetics depending on the fabric used to cover it. For a modern farmhouse look, choose a linen or twill fabric. You can create an endlessly glam look by using a voluptuous velvet and adding a bit more padding. Rich and colorful florals go great in a traditional or cottage-style room, while beautiful faux leather would work perfectly in a more masculine or industrial-inspired bedroom.