Like lampshades, you can buy headboard kits in really lovely shapes, complete with instructions and video guidance, should you need it. If you want a really simple piece, like the one I’ve made, then you can buy the components and easily put one together in an hour or two.

The balance of hard and soft surfaces is so important for a room to feel right. From a visual point of view, a headboard adds height and breaks up the long horizontal line of bedside table, bed, bedside table, which in turn anchors the bed in the room.

The choice of fabric is the key to a headboard being either a hideous lump in the room or a thing of beauty.

You know that really expensive floral linen that you adore? Well, a set of curtains could be a little eye-watering in price (for a good reason), whereas a significantly smaller investment delivers it in headboard form.

I bought the Kantha quilt with Home Sewn in mind as the colour and pattern sat beautifully within the palette I’d planned. I wasn’t sure what I was going to use it for, but we have a spare room and it needed some focused attention. The spare room is where spare beds reside, isn’t it? And they are usually plain and possibly recycled from another life. Spare rooms contain odd pieces of furniture accumulated when they are no longer fit for purpose anywhere else.

It’s a normal state of affairs, so don’t be alarmed if I’ve just described your guest bedroom. A bit of effort (maybe some culling) and some beautiful cloth can add the verve and personality the room needs.

Home Sewn by Cassandra Ellis is published by Kyle Books and costs €29.50 from www.eason.ie, other stockists may vary. Cassandra Ellis is a designer and maker of high-end quilts and homewares. Originally from New Zealand, she now runs her own design studio where she teaches contemporary craft and interiors workshops. Her stunning designs are stocked by leading retailers, including Liberty of London, and she works directly with clients on commissions and interior design projects.

You will need:

1 A piece of 9mm plywood cut to size. DIY stores with wood-cutting machines can do this for you. You can choose any height for the headboard, but you’ll need to have it cut to a specific width to match the bed. These cutting guides are based on UK bed sizes, so if you have a European or a US bed check the bed size and add 2cm-3cm for the correct cutting size.

  • • Single – 92cm.
  • • Double – 137cm.
  • • King – 152cm.
  • • Super King – 183cm.
  • • Emperor – 203cm.
  • 2 Upholstery foam, 4cm thick, to cover one side of the plywood.

    3 Upholstery wadding/batting, 10-15cm larger than your plywood all round (upholstery foam and wadding are easily available from eBay).

    4 Enough fabric to wrap around your headboard, plus an extra 20cm in width and height.

    5 Permanent marker.

    6 Utility knife.

    7 Staple gun.

    8 Fabric scissors.

    9 Spray adhesive.

    10 D-rings, to mount your headboard to the wall.

    Let’s begin

    1 Lay the upholstery foam on a table or a clean floor, and then place the plywood on top. Trace the outline of the board onto the foam, then cut it with a utility knife.

    2 Repeat this process with the wadding, but add 10-15cm on all four sides so that you can wrap it over the edge of the plywood when you secure it.

    3 Stick the foam to the plywood using spray adhesive (remember to open windows and preferably wear a mask) and let this dry.

    4 Spread the wadding out on the table or floor and centre the headboard on top, foam side down. Staple the wadding to the back of the plywood, pulling it taut as you go – this is very important.

    5 Press your fabric and then place it on the table or floor, right side down. Make sure that it is flat and wrinkle free. Place the headboard on top, with the plywood back facing you. If your fabric has a pattern or obvious stripe, take care where you position the headboard as a slightly off-piste stripe is ever so uncomfortable to look at.

    6 Starting at the top centre, working outwards and pulling tightly as you go, staple the fabric to the back of the wood. Then do the bottom edge in the same way, followed by the two sides. When you reach the corners, fold the fabric neatly as if you were wrapping a present. Once the entire headboard is covered, trim any excess fabric.

    7 Attach your headboard to the wall by screwing two D-rings to the back of the plywood and hanging them from screws or hooks in your wall.

    Next Week

    Sew your own cotton eiderdown