What material would be good for a bedhead?

[H3nna]

I am planning to make soft fabric bedhead. What would be ideal material underneath? Playwood, MDF or something else ? 

Thank you, Henna 

[JacobZ]

Hi @H3nna,

Thank you for your question.

Have you got a design in mind at all? If so, could you give us a rough sketch of it? Some dimensions would also be helpful.

Once you've provided some dimensions, I can knock up a rough plan for you to work off of.

To create a bed head, you would need to start with a frame to form the structure of the bed head. Framing timber such as this 70 x 35mm Framing MGP10 Untreated Pine is perfect for creating a frame.

You can then use either plywood or MDF to clad the frame as a surface to attach your foam and then fabric to. 

MDF tends to be cheaper, however, it is heavier than plywood and if you are building a larger bedhead, maybe for a king-size bed, the difference in weight would be noticeable.

Either this CUSTOMwood 9 x 2400 x 1200mm MDF or this Ecoply 2400 x 1200mm 9mm Plywood would be perfect, but I'd advise you to head in-store and compare their weight before deciding which one to use.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

[H3nna]

 

Thank you Jacob, for your helpful answer. I will go to Bunnings and compare the materials.

My plan is to create something like this drawing. My plan is: base, foam + fabric and then some sort of legs. ( Or I might leave the legs out and do the board on the way to the floor, I haven't decided it yet. ) 

Thank you 

Henna 

[JacobZ]

Hi @H3nna,

Having the curved top adds a fair bit of complexity to the project, but it is still manageable.

Unfortunately, due to the size of the headboard, there are no sheet products you could use to simply cut the shape out, attach foam and fabric and then use it as a headboard. You are going to have to create a frame then attach multiple pieces to the frame.

I'd also advise against having the legs like in your example as it will weaken the structure without really adding to the look.

You'll need to start by building a timber frame up to about 100mm below the lowest point of the curves.

You'll then use the MDF or plywood sheets to form the curve. You'll need two sheets with the exact same curve. Mark the curve and then cut it with a jigsaw. Once cut, trace the curve onto another sheet and cut it out so you have two pieces with the exact same curve. 

You will then attach these MDF or plywood curves to the frame with screws so that they extend up above the frame by 100mm at the lowest point of the curve.

  

Once the curves are in place, screw a series of blocks between the sheets along the full extent of the curves.

These blocks will give strength to the curve and allow you to attach a thin strip of 3mm MDF along the edge of the bedhead to close in the shape. 3mm MDF is flexible, but this may need to be done in sections so that it doesn't snap under the pressure.

 

Once the shape is made, you can attach your foam and fabric and you will have a beautiful, strong, custom bedhead.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob