How to Create a Wallpaper Headboard

Hello and welcome to another addition of why I am obsessed with peel and stick wallpaper. When we first renovated our abandoned 1920’s Victorian, we kept things as simple as we could. We bought five gallons of Behr Dolphin Fin (a medium gray color) and just focused on repairing and painting the walls so that we could get it to a livable condition. Now we are starting to revisit the rooms and properly finish them off with some color, like the rich mustard color we’re using in our dining room (to be revealed soon). We didn’t have time right now to do all of the rooms though, so when we were going to have company for my husband’s birthday I decided to do a quick temporary refresh of our guest room. This included an addition of a faux wallpaper headboard which added both color and charm.

This post contains affiliate links. Check our terms and conditions for more info.

I’ve been wanting to add something to our guest room for a while because it was extremely drab and needed some life. I am also a bit obsessed with Great Britain so I figured I might as well embrace my love for all things British and create an English themed guest room. I decided to go with that theme and limited myself to mostly red and blues in my search for wallpaper.

It’s also important, when thinking about creating a wallpaper headboard, that you find a pattern that will lend itself well to the overall headboard shape. For instance, I ended up going with a half-circle pattern that I could cut to create a cute scalloped edge on the top. This particular pattern was perfect for my purposes and the price was amazing! I got a huge roll on sale for only $10.

To create the headboard, I started by laying out the wallpaper on the bed. I wanted to start in the center and work out to make sure the pattern was centered. I also wanted to create a shape that was tall and slightly wider than the bed in order to add as much color to the wall as possible. I also cut around the scallops at the top of the wallpaper before applying it to the wall.

I used a level to make sure that the first piece of wallpaper was straight across the wall. I then just lined up the other pieces with the first piece. I used the same wallpaper application kit that I used for my kitchen backsplash wallpaper in order to smooth out any bubbles and affix the wallpaper securely to the wall. The pattern I chose was also incredibly forgiving and so playful. It made the process quite easy.

The entire headboard took four sheets of wallpaper and I still had about half a roll leftover. I love how it creates a defined area for the bed and makes the room feel much more of a complete space.

I finished off the look with a cute British pillow along with some $5 pillows I bought in the Target dollar spot. I also hung some DIY British wall art made with fabric and some new red curtains. These little touches went such a long way to making the room feel finished and ready for visitors.

All in all, it couldn’t have been easier to create this faux headboard with peel and stick wallpaper. If you need a temporary fix that will add pattern and color, I totally recommend giving it a go.