Instead Of Tossing Her Bed Frame, She Put A $40 DIY Headboard In Front
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Maya Drozdz wanted a more vintage-inspired bedroom but could not detach the headboard from her existing bed frame. She bought a $40 headboard at a local auction, painted its original fabric, added patterned fabric to the border and mounted it in front of the old headboard.

Maya Drozdz refreshed her bedroom without replacing a bed frame she said was still high quality: she placed a $40 auction headboard in front of its existing, non-detachable headboard and altered the new piece to match her vintage-inspired style. Apartment Therapy reported the project as a way to change the look of a functional bed without buying an entirely new one.

Drozdz told Apartment Therapy that her taste had shifted toward an eclectic, vintage look, while the modern aesthetic of her existing bed no longer suited her. She had considered changing only the headboard, but it could not be removed from the bed frame. She found that a king-size headboard could sit in front of the queen-size headboard, allowing her to keep the original frame.

She initially planned to reupholster the auction find, but said her stapler could not handle its thick fabric. After researching other options, she used chalk paint mixed with water on the original upholstery, applying four light coats and sealing the surface with furniture wax. She said the first coats looked poor, but the later layers covered the fabric without making it crunchy.

To personalize the piece, Drozdz added Morris & Co.’s Golden Lily fabric in the Sunshine colorway along the upper border, using fabric glue. She also placed thick rope cord along the seam between the painted upholstery and the new fabric, and used metal adapter brackets to attach the headboard to the existing bed. The report describes the purchase price as $40; it does not provide a full accounting of materials or the total cost.

At a glance
reportWhen: Reported by Apartment Therapy; the orig…
The developmentApartment Therapy reported that Maya Drozdz updated her bedroom with a $40 upcycled headboard rather than replacing a bed frame with a non-detachable headboard.

A New Look Without Replacing the Bed

The project shows one practical option for people whose bed frames remain usable but have a fixed headboard that no longer fits their room. Instead of discarding the frame, Drozdz added a separate headboard in front of it. In this case, the reported $40 purchase price covered the auction headboard, not necessarily every supply used for the renovation.

The approach also comes with limits. The new headboard had to fit in front of the existing one, and Drozdz used adapter brackets to connect the pieces. The article does not give measurements, installation instructions, or details about the wall and frame setup. Readers considering a similar project would need to check the size, clearance, attachment method and stability for their own bed rather than assume the same arrangement will work in every room.

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Why She Kept the Original Frame

Drozdz described the original bed as high quality, but said its style no longer reflected her preferences. Replacing only the headboard was not possible because it was attached to the frame. That constraint shaped the solution: rather than dismantle or discard the bed, she found a second headboard that could be positioned in front of the first.

Her first plan was to reupholster the auction headboard, but the thickness of the original fabric made her stapler ineffective. She then researched painting fabric and chose chalk paint diluted with water, according to the report. The project developed through that change in method, followed by decorative fabric, cord trim and brackets to finish the piece.

“I have a really high-quality bed with a vaguely modern aesthetic that no longer suits me.”

— Maya Drozdz, quoted by Apartment Therapy

Project Costs and Fit Details

The supplied report does not state the project’s total materials cost, including paint, wax, fabric, glue, cord and brackets. It identifies the headboard’s auction price as $40, so that figure should not be read as the full cost of the completed project.

Specific measurements, the exact bracket model, and details about how the headboard was supported are also not provided. The report recounts Drozdz’s result but does not establish how durable the painted finish will be over time or whether the same paint-and-wax method suits every fabric. Those details remain dependent on the materials and setup of each project.

What to Check Before Trying It

Apartment Therapy’s report describes a completed bedroom project and does not announce a follow-up, product launch or scheduled next step. Anyone considering a similar update would first need to confirm that a second headboard fits safely in front of the existing one and can be secured with suitable hardware. They would also need to test any paint treatment on the fabric and follow the product maker’s directions.

Drozdz’s account offers a specific example rather than a guaranteed method: she changed plans when reupholstery proved difficult, then used four light coats of diluted chalk paint and sealed the surface. The report does not provide a tested guide or cost breakdown, so readers should verify materials and attachment requirements for their own bed before beginning.

Key Questions

How much did the headboard cost?

Drozdz said she bought it for $40 at a local auction. The article does not give the total cost of paint, fabric, trim, wax or hardware.

Why did she put the new headboard in front of the old one?

The headboard on her existing bed could not be detached from the frame. She found that a king-size headboard fit in front of the queen-size one, so she could keep the original bed.

How did she change the auction headboard’s fabric?

After her stapler failed on the thick upholstery, Drozdz used chalk paint mixed with water. She reported applying four light layers and sealing them with furniture wax.

What other materials did she add?

She glued Morris & Co.’s Golden Lily fabric in the Sunshine colorway onto the upper border, added rope cord at the seam and used metal adapter brackets to attach the new headboard to the existing frame.

Source: rss

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