Three roles of autumn orange canvas, a staple gun, scissors and the IKEA Fjellse bed (Tarva would work as well) and voilà! If you’re like me, you buy the cheapest furniture for your kids because it’s only a matter of time before it’s covered in half-peeled stickers and brown-grey sticker residue that gets more disgusting the harder you try to scrub it off. So a year ago when I walked into IKEA ready to purchase my son’s first big boy bed, I picked the cheapest pine bed frame in the showroom.
Upon assembly, I realized that it is THE WORST. It offers no support to prop up pillows, and my son smacks his head on the wall or the top of the frame constantly. I was ready to get it the effff out of my house, but decided to try my hand at IKEA hacking before turning it into bonfire kindling. What you’ll need
What you’ll do
Step 1
(This is optional, but a good idea if you intend to make this a functional headboard and not just eye candy.) Pre-drill above or below the IKEA provided bolts and secure the top and bottom frame boards with screws so that the board won’t move when the canvas adds tension.
Step 2
Staple the end of the canvas to the back of the bottom board, pull over the top of the frame, tighten and staple to back. Put a little body weight into it and use 2-3 staples on both the top and the bottom. Cut the canvas below the staples so that you can’t see the ends from the front of the bed. Repeat at even increments (I just eyeballed the spacing) all the way across until it looks like this
Step 3
Start from the top left (or right if that’s your jam) and staple one end. You will need to pre-cut strips this time to weave the canvas. Pull the strip over and under all the way across. If you started under, make sure the next strip goes over first. Just think back to paper weaving in elementary school. Repeat until you are below where the mattress will sit.
