DIY Faux Leather Channel Tufted Headboard

Hey friends! I am seriously SO SO SO excited to share this DIY Faux Leather Channel Tufted Headboard tutorial with you today!

If you’ve been following along you may know that I’m working on my master bedroom for the “New Year New Room Challenge“. On week one I introduced my mood board. On week 2 I shared our Ikea Pax wardrobes along with new roman shades, rug, and bedding.

This project was inspired by these three channel tufted projects. Each of them provided a tutorial, which I took notes from and ended up creating my own method for my headboard.

French for Pineapple * Brady Tolbert for Emily Henderson * A Beautiful Mess

In total this took me about 8 hours and I was able to do it mostly on my own, with my husband arriving to help me carry it into the bedroom and lift it onto the wall!

Heres the Supplies I used **Contains Affiliate Links**

-Five 5″x 72″ Foam Bolsters, Cut in Half at the Factory from FoamByMail.com ($120)

-One Tube of Liquid Nails ($3)

-One Piece of Plywood Cut to 4′ x 7′ ($20)

-Nine 1″x 5″ boards, cut to 7′ long ($36)

-Four 2″x4″‘s, one cut to 7’ long, the other three cut to 48″ ($12)

-75 1.5″ screws ($5 at local hardware store)

-10 Yards of Hi-Loft Batting ($50 at Hobby Lobby with Coupon)

-6 Yards of Faux Leather ($72 on Amazon) (I probably should have gotten 7 or 8 yards because I came VERY close to running out).

–Staple Gun and Lots of Staples (Already Had on Hand)

–Electric Knife (already had on hand)

–Interlocking Mounting Brackets (already had on hand)

–Electric Drill (already had on hand)

The grand total that I spent on supplies was about $318. This definitely isn’t cheap, but also is FAR cheaper than what it would cost to buy a custom piece like this.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Cut 5″ boards down to 7′, Cut foam pieces with electric knife to fit on board
2. Apply liquid nails to board
3. Mount foam on boards
4. Allow to dry for 4-5 hours.
5. Cut leather strips and batting to 12.5″ wide x 7.5′ long, Staple onto backside of board, Do this again for the 7′ 2×4 that will be the top piece. (I had to rib about 1/4″ off of this board to have it fit snug, check for fit before stapling on leather)
6. Fold leather end like wrapping a present and staple onto board
7. Fold corner over backside and staple.
8. Mount three vertical boards onto studs on the wall and attach mounting brackets
9. Attach channel tufts to plywood using screws on the backside. Ensure you apply pressure from the front side so that the screw sucks the board tight. Attach mounting Brackets in proper places on backside of plywood. (I wrapped the edges of my plywood with leather scraps so that there wouldn’t be any wood exposed).
10. Hang brackets onto wall and place top strip in the gap (I did not secure this piece, you can see it resting here on the top… this is the piece I had to rip 1/4″ off of the width).

So it’s not the easiest DIY I’ve ever done, but with some patience it wasn’t terrible either. The best part is now that it’s done I have this AMAZING headboard for a fraction of what it would have cost to purchase. I’m also really loving how the channels work with the Blindster roman shade!

Along with the new headboard, this week I also installed these amazing Hobson sconces that LampsPlus provided for the room. They’re perfectly sleek and modern, and even have dimmers. My husband said these lamps are the best part of this whole makeover! He loves that they can be bright enough to be the main source of light, or dim enough for me to read while he sleeps.

I couldn’t be happier with how this headboard turned out. I only wish that I had a wider wall so that more of the channel tufts could be exposed!

One extra thing that I did to make this headboard more functional, was to fish our iphone chargers up behind the headboard. Now we have a place to set our phones, and my glasses at night. 

Even though it seems like our room is close to complete, there’s still quite a bit I’d like to do. I’m hoping to figure out some type of bench or chair. I’d also like to get our vinyl windows painted black. I’m also planning on replacing our door hardware. 

Thank you so much for following along! I hope this post inspired you to DIY! Even a large piece of furniture like a headboard really isn’t so hard when you break it down! If you’re looking for a tutorial for a more traditional headboard, my good friend Heather shared hers here. Thanks again and have a wonderful week!