As I mentioned at the end of my last post even with the bed frame complete I had a headboard to build and upholster and a nightstand to build for my wife. Below is my design for the headboard:

The frame is made from 5 1/2” x 1 1/16” Sapele joined with mortise and tenon joints. I then added a 1/2” bevel detail on both the outside and the inside of the frame. Overall it is 77 3/4” x 35”. Inside the frame is a piece of 1/2” natural birch plywood with a 1/8” gap around the perimeter. The panel is attached to the frame with eight flat brackets on the back side. The back of the panel’s edges have been rounded with a 1/4” round over router bit to allow the upholstery to easily wrap without snagging or ripping. Five holes are drilled along the center line of the panel to allow buttons to be attached, pulled tight, and secured through the upholstery.

I finished the frame with the same Hard Wax Oil as the rest of the furniture.

I ordered high quality 1” foam from https://www.foambymail.com/ ( I’ve dealt with them a couple of times now and they do great work ) along with some 1” synthetic batting. I cut the foam and the batting to fit the panel and using a contact adhesive I glued first the foam and then the batting on top. Then we wrapped the panel in some beautiful fabric which we repurposed from some drapes that we don’t use anymore, stapling it on the back of the panel. Then we made buttons covered in the same fabric and after acquiring a 10” upholstery needle we passed thread through the holes in the panel, through the button and back to the back and then secured the tensioned threads with staples on the back.

I adapted the two reading lights we already had on the wall to be instead mounted on the headboard with their cords running through a hole in the frame and hidden behind the frame. The headboard is mounted on the wall using a metal french-cleat like system called Z-clip by Monarch Metals. Two 66 1/2” long metal brackets are mounted to the wall 29” apart and on the back of the frame 18 clips 9 on the top rail and 9 on the bottom rail interlock with the wall brackets to give an almost flush and very secure but removable mounting for the headboard.

While I was waiting for foam to arrive I also built a nightstand out of scrap material from the bed frame project. The other nightstand no longer fit next to the door so we needed one. Also, it needed to be step shaped to provide easy access to the bed for our geriatric cats. The design is below:

I had some 11 1/4” x 3/4” Sapele so I glued an additional 1 1/2” edge to fill out the final depth of 12 3/4”. I made a raised panel for the door to the storage at the top to echo the panels on the bed frame. The sides are connected to the top with a tongue and groove joint. There is a small shelf inside the storage area and birch plywood back. I mitered a 3/4” x 1/8” border around the two top surfaces to frame some felt to add padding for phones and cats, and an attractive blue color as well. I’m not happy with the cheap hinges that I have on there right now I may go back and redo them since they don’t close very straight or flush. I added a magnetic catch to secure the door. I had a bag of ( I think cherry or walnut) shaker nobs and I realized that they would make nice feet for the nightstand so I used four of them for that purpose and I cut down a fifth one to use as a center handle for the door.

I applied the same Hard Wax Oil finish as the rest of the furniture and then glued on the felt with contact adhesive.

We’re really happy with how everything came out and I’m looking forward to a short vacation from shop work!