I made my own fabric covered headboard for my Queen bed. I’ve always wanted one but I didn’t like the designs or colours available in the shops.

So I made my own! It took all day to make and I was totally exhausted, but I now have a new respect for upholsterers and the work that they do.

I think the hardest part was selecting the fabric. It is so much easier to choose a fabric for a client than for yourself.

There are so many choices and I liked a lot of fabrics but I wanted something really special. I wanted sophisticated, luxurious and unique.

In the end I found a beautiful Baker Lifestyle fabric called Paloma from England. It was a large floral similar to a fleur de lis cut velvet design, with the pattern repeat running up the roll.

It was very expensive but worth it for the luxurious look I wanted.

Most upholstery fabrics are about 137-140cm wide and a Queen bed is 155cm wide, so I was 20cm short on the width. I didn’t want to run the fabric pattern sideways, it would look strange.

With the pattern running from the bottom to the top of the headboard I needed to fill-in 10cm on each side to make up the full width of 155cm.

It took a long time but I finally found a plain weave texture fabric in the same matching colour as the main fabric.

The final step was to protect the expensive fabric from marks and stains. I was warned that the fabric I used to fill-in my sides could water-mark and stain easily, and the main fabric was very expensive so it was important to protect the fabric while it was new and clean.

Headboards can get dirty from natural oils on hands and hair. Dust also gathers under, on and around beds no matter how much you clean.

I gave my headboard a good even spray with Fend Fabric Protector. I trust this product to protect my fabric headboard and make it easier to wipe or vacuum in the future.

The finished result looks amazing. It looks like it was made by a professional. For the first time in my life I have a colour coordinated bedroom and I feel like a grown-up.