Once again, I’m not following my own advice.
“Don’t decorate a room without a plan,” it says right there on Page 25 of my book. “Decorating without a plan is like flying an airplane without a compass; you set out for Orlando and wind up in Des Moines.”
That advice — know a room’s furniture layout, color scheme, fabrics and finishes before you make a stupid decorating move — is sound. But some decisions can’t wait.
My own compass-less decorating began after my cousin called from Chicago: “We’re planning a road trip!” My house is on the route.
My cousin is a fireman; his wife is a cardiac-care nurse. They make fabulous house guests because we often need both around here.
They have three children — ages 2, 5 and 7 — and an au pair. For those unfamiliar, an au pair is a young attractive woman with an accent who helps out in hectic homes that have young kids.
I have never had enough self-esteem to allow that in my house, but it works in a lot of homes. In return, the host family offers opportunities to experience America.
She’ll get a dose of America, all right. The six-pack of guests will stop here for two days. (Rocky Mountains? Check. Wacky American family? Check.) Then they’ll move on to Las Vegas (check), then to my parents’ house in California. My parents have the mixed fortune of living near the world’s most famous family amusements: Disneyland, 10 minutes; Knott’s Berry Farm, 30 minutes; Sea World and the San Diego Zoo, two hours; Universal Studios, one hour. (Check, check, check, check, check.)
Fold in her Chicago base, and this au pair will have America in a coffee cup.
But the truly meaningful part of all of this is my headboard project. As I started playing ‘Who’s sleeping where?’ I realized I was short a bed.
My cousin and his wife get the guest room. The kids can bunk in the bonus room, a door-less room with ample sleeping bag space.
But the au pair?
“She needs a room with a door,” I say to Dan, my husband, after explaining the bed predicament.
“Give her one of the girls’ rooms,” he suggests, as if our two daughters would agree to share a room.
“I wouldn’t send anyone into their rooms without hazmat gear.”
“How about the basement?”
“No bed,” I say.
But the basement does have an unfurnished room with a door that we figured would someday house in-laws (or outlaws).
“So throw in a mattress.”
“Mattress? We need a bed bed.” Some men never get beyond camping.
“Why do your standards always cost money?”
Something in this exchange told me that if I wanted more than a dull mattress set, I’d better find a cheap solution. I started thinking, which sounds like a popcorn kernel rattling around an empty jar.
I recalled an inventive headboard I’d seen on a magazine cover, a simple wood frame with fabric stretched over it. I hunted down some fun fabric and set to work.
I know better than to pick a leading fabric until I know how I’m decorating the whole room. But I also know that sometimes you just have to start somewhere.
Besides, I just might like Des Moines.
Syndicated columnist Marni Jameson is the author of “The House Always Wins” (Da Capo). Contact her through .
10 ways to make a cheap headboard
First, decide what size bed you want. Outline how wide and tall you want the headboard. It should extend about 2 inches on either side of the mattress.
Traditional wood, brass or iron beds can be expensive. But don’t let price be an excuse to park a dull mattress set in a bedroom and call it quits. Consider these 10 DIY headboard options.
Mount an antique door sideways.
Use a decorative folding screen or a bookcase for a bed’s backdrop.
Install a fireplace mantel around the head of a twin bed. Paint the wall inside the mantel a strong accent color.
Get a large, stretched painting canvas. Create a graphic with acrylic paints. Try a geometric or stenciled design.
Get a set of 16- or 20-inch square blank stretched canvases, and create a grid. Hang three squares across, or a block of six or nine stacked, edges touching, like a Rubik’s cube. Paint each a different color.
Outline the headboard space with crown molding. Fill the inner space with a painted accent color, wallpaper or fabric glued to the wall.
Mount a drapery rod where the wall meets the ceiling. Make the rod slightly wider than the mattress, then add finials, and hang a floor-length fabric panel.
Make an upholstered headboard. Cut plywood (not particle board) the shape you want your headboard. Then cut a piece of 2-inch foam the same shape and glue it on. Wrap it with batting. Cover the surface tautly in fabric. (Choose an easy-to- clean fabric that will stand up to hair products and skin cream.) Use a staple gun to attach the fabric to the back. Mount to the wall with sturdy brackets.
Put an architectural ledge two-thirds up the wall. Run wallpaper from edges of the ledge to the baseboard.
Create a framed fabric headboard. I bought 2-by-1 lengths of poplar. (Be sure the wood is straight.) I had Dan build a rectangular frame, mitering the corners to create true right angles. Then I stretched upholstery-weight fabric over the frame and fastened it to the back with hot glue and a staple gun. For pizzazz, I stuck antique nail heads around the edge. Cost: $45 (wood $13, fabric $30, nail heads $2). Building time: less than two hours.
