The steps below follow the order of the work for this decor project.
One of the most difficult parts to making your own headboard is deciding what style you want — what fits the look and mood of the room, what fits your modest-cost, etc. And headboard shapes can be SO overwhelming — and what do you even CALL that shape that you’ve really been dreaming of?
As we were looking for features and inspiration for Headboard Week, the same couple of graphics of headboard shape names kept popping up in our searches. But, upon further research, it appears that those names are proprietary, determined by the business or upholsterer selling the headboard. So what’s a Bekob to do? Well, we decided to create our own basic headboard names to give us a common vocabulary to use when we talk about headboards!
The Bekob Guide to Headboard Shapes
Most of the headboards that we’ve included in this post as shape examples are upholstered headboards because they tend to come in the largest variety of shapes — plus they are an straightforward Handmade candidate! And the beauty of making your own headboard means that you can take any of these shapes and make it whatever you want — from an upholstered headboard to a a direct flat wood cutout that’s been decorated like this (walkthrough coming Saturday!)
a plank wood cutout like this (walkthrough here)
or even a painted or vinyl headboard like these!
Combine those options with other decorative options like tufting (great walkthrough here)
and then add nailhead trim — either in a straight outline
or in a fun decorative pattern
or get even more creative and put larger studs around the sides of your headboard!
If studded nailheads aren’t your style, you can still add a border trim:
or give your headboard a whole lotta class by adding arms to make a wingback headboard!
And then when you start to think about things like height and width and realize that your headboard can extend nearly to the ceiling:
and from wall to wall…
…it’s then that you realize that the sky is the limit, and that having a completely solid headboard to be the focal point of your bedroom doesn’t have to break the bank, because we here at Bekob have got your back with plenty of tutorials to show you how to Handmade it.
So, now that I’ve blown your mind with the whole smorgasbord of options (sorry!), let’s get down to business and give you the things you really came here for — some explanations of headboard shapes. Ready? Let’s go!
See more headboard shapes and styles on the next page –>
IN THIS POST | Guide to Headboard Shapes
page 1: introduction to sizes and styles
page 2: basic flat (rectangle) headboards
page 3: circle, arched, and camelback headboards
page 4: scooped, inset, and beveled headboards
page 5: keystone, stepped, ogee, and peaked headboards
page 6: combination ornate headboards
Basic Flat (Rectangle) Headboards
We start with the most basic headboard shape, and the easiest to build yourself — the rectangle. You can go with the traditional square corners:
or round the corners a bit for a different look:
And lest you think that a straightforward rectangle headboard is boring… look at these options:
As you can see, square headboards are anything but boring! The direct shape really makes them a great canvas to go bold with the style of your room — or you can keep the headboard as a direct but smashing accent (like a well fitted pair of shoes!)
Ready to get a little curvier with your headboard? Read on for arched headboards and more!
See more headboard shapes and styles on the next page –>
IN THIS POST | Guide to Headboard Shapes
page 1: introduction to sizes and styles
page 2: basic flat (rectangle) headboards
page 3: circle, arched, and camelback headboards
page 4: scooped, inset, and beveled headboards
page 5: keystone, stepped, ogee, and peaked headboards
page 6: combination ornate headboards
Circle, Arched, and Camelback Headboards
When you want to add a little bit of class, a little bit of style — curvy instead of square is the way to go! A circle headboard has curves all around — the only flat edge is the one on the floor or behind the bed.
And these rounded headboards are just scalloped circles!
Arched and camelback shapes have straight sides and curves on top. A basic arched headboard has just a direct curve from one side to the other:
And the gentle arch looks oh-so-good with some lovely wingback arms!
Or how about a reverse arch? Lovely!
The camelback shape has a flatter curve on either side and builds to a taller curved arch in the middle.
And a wing or two never hurt a good headboard…
And these lovely inset camelback plank wood headboards add such texture to the room!
If you mix it up a little bit and add in a few other styles, you get some lovely headboards like these, creating what we’ll call a double scooped arch headboard
and an ornate camelback headboard:And these graduated camelback curves are vivid!
And what happens when you start getting creative with the corners of your headboard? Keep reading for beveled headboard styles and more!
See more headboard shapes and styles on the next page –>
IN THIS POST | Guide to Headboard Shapes
page 1: introduction to sizes and styles
page 2: basic flat (rectangle) headboards
page 3: circle, arched, and camelback headboards
page 4: scooped, inset, and beveled headboards
page 5: keystone, stepped, ogee, and peaked headboards
page 6: combination ornate headboards
Scooped, Inset, and Beveled Headboard Shapes
When you take a rectangle or basic arch/camelback shape and start cutting corners (in a good way), you get a headboard with a beveled corner — either a flat bevel, a scooped bevel, or an inset square bevel.
A concave chunk out of each corner gives you what we call the scooped headboard style:
Or you can take a square section off of the corners for an inset style:
And now we start getting to the really fun stuff… keep reading for more headboard shapes!
See more headboard shapes and styles on the next page –>
IN THIS POST | Guide to Headboard Shapes
page 1: introduction to sizes and styles
page 2: basic flat (rectangle) headboards
page 3: circle, arched, and camelback headboards
page 4: scooped, inset, and beveled headboards
page 5: keystone, stepped, ogee, and peaked headboards
page 6: combination ornate headboards
Keystone, Stepped, Ogee, and Peaked Headboards
When the curves and cutouts move from the corners up toward the highest arch of the headboard and form ornate “shoulders” — did you know that headboards can have both shoulders and arms? — you can get lovely shapes like these!
The shape we call “keystone” has a large arch or square in the middle with either flatter or curved sections to either side — you could consider it the dressed-up cousin of the direct camelback shape.
The most commonly popular keystone headboard shape combines a short scooped corner with a short stepped edge leading into the keystone arch, like these:
This variation is more cloud-like, with curved corners building to a curved arch — well fitted for these twin girls’ headboards!
Or you can get a little bit fancy and add in a couple of peaks like these:
Or flatten out the curve on top to look more like one of these:
The graceful curves of this scooped keystone style are well fitted for a neutral headboard against a bold wall:
but it also looks lovely in a bold pattern on the headboard itself!
A stepped headboard has square or rectangular “steps” going up either side.
And the addition of a couple of curves makes it even sweeter!
Top it with a triangle and we’ll call it a peaked headboard.
Doubles always welcome
And bring those lovely side curves (shoulders) up to a point and create an ogee or pointed arch shape — it resembles a teardrop and is a great way to add the modern Moroccan style that is so popular!
Ready for more lovely headboard shapes? Keep reading!
See more headboard shapes and styles on the next page –>
IN THIS POST | Guide to Headboard Shapes
page 1: introduction to sizes and styles
page 2: basic flat (rectangle) headboards
page 3: circle, arched, and camelback headboards
page 4: scooped, inset, and beveled headboards
page 5: keystone, stepped, ogee, and peaked headboards
page 6: combination ornate headboards
vivid Ornate Headboard Shapes
When you take all of these shapes and styles and throw them in the design-blender… what do you get? You get custom, ornate headboards! We love these fun shapes! (And this post here gives you basic steps to creating a carved headboard style — create it in wood and you can easily upholster it!)
Soo… what style are you going to use in your next bedroom makeover? Or are you going to need to move to a house with more bedrooms so you can use all the styles you love? Oh, and if you’re wondering about testing out a headboard style before you Handmade it, try this straightforward trick from My Clever Nest:
IN THIS POST | Guide to Headboard Shapes
page 1: introduction to sizes and styles
page 2: basic flat (rectangle) headboards
page 3: circle, arched, and camelback headboards
page 4: scooped, inset, and beveled headboards
page 5: keystone, stepped, ogee, and peaked headboards
page 6: combination ornate headboards
Don’t miss a single Headboard Week post! Follow us on Facebook here or subscribe to our RSS feed here – and don’t forget to come add your Handmade headboards to the link party here!
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