How I Turned a Fireplace Surround into a Unique Headboard
When we moved into our house, the small living room was dominated by a huge 10 ft long fireplace surround with an old-school brick fireplace.
I knew 2 things:
1. it was going to be ages before we got round to renovating that room and
2 I couldn’t live with it
So one weekend I painted the bricks matte black and distressed the stark white surround.
Better
Boho Dream Room - My Inspiration
When I was looking for inspiration for our guest bedroom decor, I stumbled upon a photo that stopped me in my tracks. It showcased a bedroom where an old fireplace surround had been repurposed as a headboard. The result was stunning – a perfect blend of vintage charm and modern creativity. This clever fireplace idea sparked my imagination. I knew that OUR fireplace was just too big for our queen guest beds, so I started searching for fireplace surrounds on Marketplace. See…I HAD to have one! There was a bit of a problem in that I already had a perfectly good bedroom set for our spare room…but that didn’t really deter me.
I didn’t want to give up on the idea but I was starting to think: “maybe the next house..”
Then it hit me.
I HATED OUR BEDROOM SET
I had found an antique headboard/footboard set on Marketplace when we moved into the house and it was so BIG and dominated the room.
I measured up our monstrously huge king bed and it fit PERFECTLY in the gap in the fireplace. PERFECTLY.
It was surprisingly easy to convince Jim that this was a good project to be undertaking mid-renovation. I think his reasoning was:
- It gave us somewhere to put the huge old surround
- It was mainly a job I could do with minimal input from him
- It was a darn site cheaper than buying a replacement head/base board
Jim didn’t take a lot of convincing, and when it finally came time to destroy the living room I had already managed to sell the old bed set on Marketplace. I could hardly wait to get the old fireplace out so I could refinish it.
Painting and Upholstering
I spraypainted the headboard in Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. It gave such a nice finish – I would recommend a small project painter for furniture refinishing.
Jim cut me a big piece of plywood for the hole and I covered it with batting and foam to build it out and make it softer.
The fabric cost me, like $8 from Fabricland – I found it in their bargain section. I attached it with my air upholstery stapler.
The minute we installed the new headboard, it transformed the room and created an attractive focal point. The final touches to the room were a white beaded chandelier that I found at Re-Store months earlier and had stashed down in our storage room, and some white bedside tables with charging built in, that I found on Wayfair.
I love our bedroom now. It is relaxing and so boho. We still have to paint the room but meanwhile it's so cozy and comfortable.
