108 - Matching fabrics from Bedding to Headboard

Dear Mike: I don't want to spend a fortune to create a new look for my bedroom, and I need a new comforter. I've seen upholstered headboards that match the pillow shams, comforter and bed skirt but don't know how that works. How do you get everything to match? Amy

Dear Amy: When making custom headboards for Interior Designers, many times they would purchase enough fabric to have the headboard, a duvet cover, pillow shams and the bed skirt custom made to coordinate. In many cases, the fabrics would coordinate for color, while having different pattern shapes and sizes. An Interior Designer won't use all of the exact same fabric for each element of the bed, so a combination of fabrics works well.

The cost to purchase fabrics to coordinate the bed can be a very expensive proposition. A duvet uses 5 1/3 yards of plain fabric for each side and king pillow shams use another 2 yards per sham.  That's a total extra yardage of 15 yards of fabric without the skirt. Your best bet is to find a retail comforter, shams and skirt or a 'bed in the bag'. Then see what other items can be purchased to use as fabric for the headboard.

We've used a 'bed in the bag' to create some of our designs. Usually these products come with the comforter, shams, skirt and sheets. In some cases, we use the sheets that have a similar design as the comforter or a pattern that makes a great contrast between the headboard and comforter. In other cases, the sheets are a plain color or a stripe with similar colors of the comforter. These plain fabrics may not make the most attractive headboard.

The next place to look for a fabric would be to see if there is a table round or curtain that matches the comforter. Many times, the table round fabric is the larger pattern that matches the comforter and makes the perfect fabric for the headboard. You can sometimes even use a border on the pillow cases to trim the edges of the headboard. Using a combination of patterns and designs, while maintaining the same color scheme, is a technique used by Interior Designers.

For one headboard, we used the table round fabric and removed a large decorative cording at the hem. This decorative cording was then used between the center panel and the border of the headboard. In another case, we found a shower curtain that was fabric, not vinyl and it matched our comforter pattern perfectly (after we opened 8 packages to match them up!) To decorate a child's room, we found a curtain fabric that had the same cartoon character that was in the comforter.

When using sheets, there may be an extra step when applying them as fabric. Sheets are thinner than most upholstery grade fabrics. The sheets you find may also be a light color or have a pattern that has light colors. This can cause an issue – seeing colors beneath the fabric. This can be remedied by applying a white base fabric before applying your sheet fabric to keep the colors true.

Whether you find a bed in the bag or a mix and match set of bedding, with a little imagination you can decorate your entire bedroom around the centerpiece of the room – your bed.  Don't worry about selecting all the right fabrics. Use items that are already available as a matched set. For a small investment, you can have a designer headboard and new bedding to create a welcoming retreat.

Mike Rocheford can be contacted via the Web site,

http://www.upholsterystudio.com – click on Ask the Upholsterer