My 'New' Bed

Well I have to say I'm pretty damn pleased with how my bed pimp turned out! 

I didn't do a tutorial for this because what I did is very specific to my bed frame, but I'll give you the run-down on what I did just incase you want to adapt it to your needs.

I made two slip covers out of 8oz wadding which was very simple - I just draped it over the frame so that it touched the bed base on the mattress side and the floor on the other side. This meant I just had to sew a seam on the each side, and because it's wadding, no hemming was necessary.

I then slipped them onto the foot and head of the frame and re-measured for the fabric.

I used a taupe coloured linen from a local haberdashery. Currently the walls are off-black and we have mostly grey bed linen. I wanted to stick to a neutral colour because there is every chance the wall colour will change within the next year (let's be honest!), and I didn't want everything to be grey.

I used the same technique as the wadding for the covers so there is no seam along the top, just a seam down both sides. As the fabric is longer on the outsides where the fabric reaches the floor, I did a double-fold hem where the back of the fabric is exposed so that it looks neater, and to stop it fraying as I don't have an overlocker.

I slightly rounded the corners which I could probably re-do as they're a little wonky (as I said, my sewing skills are basic!).

Then I cut two panels for the sides which I also double-fold hemmed and sewed Velcro pieces along the top side of each piece.

I attached them to the metal bed base using sticky Velcro and that was it!

I decided that I wanted to pad the head out more, so it looked fuller (like my inspiration image) and had some cushioning to lean on. I spent the weekend just gone lying in bed with a nasty cold so I had plenty of time to think about this!

I didn't want to spend any more money on this project and decided to use what I had already in the house - I have a stash of feather pads from my cushion business, so I used three large 60 x 60 cms pads and attached them to the bed frame by attaching tabs of fabric with press studs (which I also already had) to wrap around the bed frame and hold them in place. This took me less than half an hour and I really wasn't sure if it would have the desired effect, or just look like I shoved a couple of pillows under the cover, which of course, is exactly what I did!

I put the covers back on - both the wadding and the linen have a fair bit of give so it wasn't a problem to stretch it slightly over the pads, and thankfully, it looks great. Exactly what I was after.

This has been a total transformation and super satisfying too. No more ugly cream metal frame to complain about, and I did this for around £150. 

I know that's not pennies, but we have a super king bed, so I needed six metres of fabric, four meters of wadding, and one metre each of sticky and sew-on velcro. 

You could achieve something similar for much less by choosing a cheaper fabric (you'll save if you have a smaller bed too!), but I am a bit obsessed with linen so for me there was no other option. I'm annoying like that.

My husband is very pleased that I'm not longer angling for a new bed, and even though he dislikes upholstered beds, he likes this because it looks really contemporary (he fears bad 70's versions), and I suspect he also likes it because it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Here's a before and after for you, and if you didn't read me rabbiting on about my plans to do this, you can read that here.

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This has spurred me on to finish the rest of the room now, and I have a plan! We're going to relocate the gallery wall to the wall behind the bed, and bring back the Eternity neon which currently isn't hung. Oh yes, the decorating domino effect continues in full force!

Keep your eyes peeled as I'd really like to tick this room off my list sooner rather than later, and let me know what you think of the 'new' bed!