Menu

Best Upholstered Headboards: Style and Comfort for Your Bedroom Decor

Danielle Mcleod

Planning and decorating your bedroom can quickly add up concerning a budget, and also limit your creative vision when money becomes a concern. One of the most important, and costly products, is your choice of bed, but be aware you can bring your decorative choices to life with a little ingenuity.

It has become more and more popular to purchase a basic, inexpensive mattress frame and then add a headboard or headboard/footboard pairing to it. This allows you to pick and choose from a wider variety of stylistic choices and colors, and also can save you a lot of money in the long run. This buying guide explains how to separate headboards work, and suggests some of the best upholstered headboards to choose from.

1. Rise Adjustable Upholstered Headboard – Editor's Choice

Check Price
  • Sizes: Twin/Twin XL, Full/Full XL, Queen, King/Cal King
  • Colors: stone, charcoal, cobalt, pearl, and black
  • Material: Wood frame with linen-inspired material

2. Modway Lily Tufted Faux Leather Upholstered Headboard

Check Price
  • Sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King
  • Colors: Black, white, brown
  • Material: Wood, foam, vegan faux leather

3. Zinus Jessica Modern Studio Upholstered Headboard

Check Price
  • Sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King
  • Colors: Black and Taupe
  • Material: Metal, Foam, and Soft Fabric

4. Flash Furniture Bedford Tufted Upholstered Headboard

Check Price
  • Sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King
  • Colors: 12 neutral and bold options
  • Material: Wood and metal, with foam and soft fabric

5. Ravenna Home Trellis Pattern Upholstered Headboard

Check Price
  • Sizes: Queen, King
  • Colors: Blue, Yellow, or Brown with Cream details
  • Material: metal and patterned fabric

Top Upholstered Headboards to Consider

1. Rise Adjustable Upholstered Headboard – Editor's Choice

Highlights

  • Sizes: Twin/Twin XL, Full/Full XL, Queen, King/Cal King
  • Colors: stone, charcoal, cobalt, pearl, and black
  • Material: Wood frame with linen-inspired material

Pros

  • Easy to adjust with pre-drilled holes
  • Great design selection
  • Colors are neutral and matches decor well

Cons

  • Not very strong without a wall behind it

Durable construction and great stylistic choices help define the Lucis Adjustable Headboard. A great range of sizes, as well as styles, are all available, including a choice between diamond or square tufting, as well as nailhead trim. The adjustability of the height provides you the opportunity to work specifically with your mattress profile.

It also comes in 5 neutral colors to help you match your existing bedroom decor without clashing. Made from a linen-inspired fabric, it is attached to strong, lightweight Siberian larch wood. It also is easy to spot clean.

2. Modway Lily Tufted Faux Leather Upholstered Headboard

Highlights

  • Sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King
  • Colors: Black, white, brown
  • Material: Wood, foam, vegan faux leather

Pros

  • Excellent quality
  • Looks like real leather
  • Easy to wipe clean

Cons

  • May not be compatible with all bed frames, always measure in advance

Authentic leather furniture can get quite costly rather quickly, but luckily you can still get this classic, rich look with quality faux leather. This Modway brand tufted leather option provides the look and feel of real leather without the high cost, and is available in basic colors and bed sizes.

The board is also customizable in height to ensure you get the look you desire, plus it is considered easy to install and is very lightweight overall for when you need to move or make changes. The frame is a sturdy plywood base and provides a great choice for the dense foam the vegan leather covers. Decorative tufts provide a luxurious touch to finish it off.

3. Zinus Jessica Modern Studio Upholstered Headboard

Highlights

  • Sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King
  • Colors: Black and Taupe
  • Material: Metal, Foam, and Soft Fabric

Pros

  • Clean, sleek design
  • Durable and easy to attach to a bed frame (may need brackets)
  • Color palette works for both contemporary and rustic decor

Cons

  • Hardware may feel a little flimsy

The Zinus Brand is a popular choice for bedding picks. They offer clean, sleek, and modern looks to your bedroom decor and this metal and soft material design is no exception. Made from a sturdy metal frame, the metallic detailing is part of the overall design and frames your choices of gray or taupe material colors.

The foam padding beneath the soft, wipe clean material provides a nice depth for stylistic contrast, and also offers a soft choice to lean upon. This is a simple choice, but a great option for those who prefer a minimalistic decorative choice.

4. Flash Furniture Bedford Tufted Upholstered Headboard

Highlights

  • Sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King
  • Colors: 12 neutral and bold options
  • Material: Wood and metal, with foam and soft fabric

Pros

  • Rich color options
  • Easy adjustability
  • Simple, classic look

Cons

  • Offgassing may last while

Flash Furniture offers 13 monochromatic colors in their highly tufted, upholstered headboard. This option provides a classic, soft backed board supported by a wooden and metal frame upon which a simple, yet the classic square tufted design is attached.

Four size options ensure you get what you need, and the array of colors span from neutrals to some brighter picks to help make your decor pop. You can also adjust the height of the board due to the adjustable bed rail slots to make sure you have a good placement in comparison to your mattress profile.

5. Ravenna Home Trellis Pattern Upholstered Headboard

Highlights

  • Sizes: Queen, King
  • Colors: Blue, Yellow, or Brown with Cream details
  • Material: metal and patterned fabric

Pros

  • Unique and beautiful shape
  • Colors are perfect for many decors
  • East to set up and durable

Cons

  • May need a wall for better stability

Amazon Brand products have been making headway in their popularity. Affordable and unique, this headboard provides a Victorian style shape for decoration, and a beautiful trellis with a nailhead trim pattern. This is a unique choice that can work in contemporary, rustic, and antique style decor.

Available in 2 sizes and 3 colors, it has a sturdy metal frame and is easy to secure to a bed or wall. It also provides soft padding for leaning against, and can be adjusted for height to match your mattress profile.

How to Use a Headboard

Headboards are single, removable, and separate pieces from a bed frame. Simple bed frames of all styles are designed to hold your mattress securely and give good support, but are not made with aesthetics in mind. They are an affordable, quality option for a mattress, and leave a lot of options for adding a decorative touch in the form of a headboard, or head and footboard when your budget allows.

Headboards are easy to place behind the head of your bed either as a freestanding choice, or as a stable connection. Frames allow for the pairing of these boards and provide an area to secure them to the metal or wood it is made of.

You may want to check out: The Best Wood Headboards

What is also nice about choosing your own headboard is that you can truly customize your preferences. Many are adjustable to fit your mattress profile, and they also offer you ways to pick and choose how you want them to look with various mounting options (such as to a wall, rather than on the bed frame).

You will need to consider the types offered, as well as the sizing of the headboard you prefer, as explained below.

Types of Headboards

Buying a separate bed frame and headboard options actually provide you a much larger pool of stylistic options. There is a huge array of pre-fabricated headboards from which you can choose from, as well as many DIY ideas to help you build your own, or even alter a prefabricated board. Many people choose a separate option to help them personalize their rooms to give it a one-of-a-kind, decorative touch.

When shopping for a headboard, you will want to consider the material they are made out of. Most have either a wooden or metal frame, and may present decorative scrolls, straight metal details, or wooden slats. For this article, we are focused on upholstered headboards that have sturdy metal or wooden frames, and are then covered with a soft material of some sort. This allows you to have soft surface to lean back upon, and also affords you various decorative touches.

You also want to consider if you want a freestanding headboard, one you attach to the wall, or one that attaches to the frame. There are pros and cons to each of these styles. If the head of your bed is up against a wall then you can choose any of the above, but if you have a bed that is set towards the middle of a room, then you will need an attachable model. Some models that attach are better stabilized against a wall as well, or may need you to alter it to get it set exactly as you need.

Headboard Sizing

Always measure carefully when choosing your headboard. In general, you want the board to be at least 2 inches wider than your mattress on either side. Headboards are labeled to match your mattress size, but one of the biggest benefits of purchasing a separate headboard is that you can customize your sizing. If you want a wider option to fit your decorative vision, you can absolutely work this into your plan.

These upholstered headboards are some of the favored options with consumers. Their various styles, use of materials, and affordability are all worth taking a closer look at. If a softer, more luxurious headboard look is something you are considering, these choices are an excellent pick.

Conclusion

Picking and choosing your own headboard to attach to a simple bed frame provides you the opportunity to better personalize your sleeping space. Various sizes and how you decide to mount them can provide various effects. Upholstered choices, in particular, also gives you a soft back to lean against and comes in various choices to fit the style of your decor perfectly. 

Whether you are looking for a neutral, classic look, or want a more rustic, or antiqued option, the choices we provided above are popular due to their quality and unique style. We’d love to hear which choices are your favorite below, and see them in the environment they belong!