Upholstered Twin Headboard Bench

I have a great no-sew upholstered twin headboard bench to share with you. I hope you love it as much as I do.

 

Pin it now, before you forget. 🙂

 

You know I love making benches from headboards. However, I try to change them up ever so often. I decided to give a softer touch to this upholstered twin headboard bench.

How to make an Upholstered Twin Headboard Bench

It started with these twin bed pieces. I’ve had them for a long time, I believe I got them from my sister.

Cut one section of the twin bed in half to make the sides

I used my circular saw to cut one piece in half. Then I cut some off the posts with my compound miter saw to make the armrests shorter than the back.

 

This small level is great for tight places. It's important to make sure that all of your pieces are level and plumb.

 

To make sure the twin headboard seat will be level, I needed a longer level. Sometimes the bottom board on the back (headboard) may not be low enough to attach your sides and rest your seat. In that case you will need to add a piece as I did here.

Tip: if you don’t have a long level, you can attach your small level to a yardstick with a rubber band.

Attach sides to headboard (back)

To get the back board level, and screwed in place, I rest it on my quick clamps. (there is nothing to clamp the board to, it rests right at the bottom of the original back board. I used my kreg jig to make the pocket holes to secure the sides (arm rests) to the back.

See my tips on using a Kreg Jig here.

 

How to fill gaps of headboard slats

Some beds have larger openings for the slatted side rails. Instead of using so much wood filler or spackling, I used some scrap pieces to fill in the gap. I used Gorilla Wood Glue to hold these scraps in place.

 

I used my putty knife to chisel off anything that was overflowing. After the glue set up, I used spackling to fill any remaining gaps.

 

Add center brace on twin bed bench

Because I’m using an old osb piece of plywood (left over from my waterbed) I added a brace in the  middle of the upholstered twin headboard bench. You can see that I have filled all of the holes with spackling.

In this view, you can see how the pocket holes were used all the way up the side in order to attach it to the back, making it very secure.

 

Primer and Paint Headboard Bench

Using my HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer, I painted a coat of primer. Notice after filling the pocket holes, they are no longer visible.

 

After which,  I sprayed several light coats of  black paint. Look at that beautiful finish made possible by the Finish Max!

Prepare to Upholster Twin Headboard Bench

I used a twin egg crate memory foam for this bench. This was given to me by my aunt. I try to keep costs down wherever I can!

 

Wanting to have at least three thicknesses of padding, I had to cut it several ways, so  I made sure that the pieces that were cut were lined up differently on each layer. The top layer was a complete piece.

Spray Adhesive is Handy for Upholstering Headboard Benches

I used  3M spray adhesive to stick everything together.

Iron and Pin Ruffles for Upholstered Bench

I used a drop cloth for the upholstery material. It was washed in bleach and dried in the dryer to soften it up. I stapled  a large piece onto the board. About 7 inches from the hem was ripped to make the ruffle. (if you make a slit, drop cloth rips quite easily)  I ironed my pleats (not pictured), then pinned them in place. Using the hemmed side makes it an easier project without hemming. A lot like I did on this Upholstered Chair.

I folded the corner back to make sure I had a clean edge.

With it pinned, I took it outside to do a dry fit on the bench.

Yep, I’m thinking it looks pretty good!

Use a staple gun to attach ruffle on headboard bench

I stapled the pleated hem on, then I used fray check on the edges.

On one side, when I folded it back, it was too long. Therefore I cut it off, and added fray check to it.

 

 

Pretty Black Upholstered Twin Headboard Bench

I had to notch the osb (seat), and it’s a very snug fit. I LOVE the finish this paint has. It is the same Behr Premium Plus Ultra I used on my kitchen island.

 

 

Here it is in my booth. The pillows had been on the Spool Bed Bench, but it sold. I didn’t include the pillows in the sale.

If you would like to see a better tutorial on building a bench, check out Twin Headboard Bench Tutorial.

Do you like the softer look of the upholstered seat?

gail

See my favorite Mission Style Headboard Bench with Storage-The Complete Tutorial

see more benches here