Decorating With Twin Headboards

Cover the headboard with fabric to match materials found elsewhere in the room. This fabric can match the comforter on the bed, a blanket found elsewhere in the room or the room's curtains. The fabric on the headboard doesn't necessarily need to specifically match fabric found elsewhere in the room — it can simply mesh with the general color scheme of room. Pad the fabric or simply hang it around the headboard like a slip cover.

Antique the headboard to match a shabby-chic decor. Shabby chic has a feminine appearance, so this may be most appropriate in a little girl's bedroom. Paint the headboard in several layers of different colors of paint, then wear away the sides with sandpaper to reveal glimpses of the paint under the top layer.

Stencil the headboard or paint an image on the headboard. Base the type of image or stencils you choose on what room the headboard is decorating. Stencils for a child's room should be age-appropriate, such as a few lighthearted references to the ABCs and some whimsical shapes like stars and suns. For an adult guest room, abstract curly-cued designs or a floral stencil are more appropriate.

Hand carve the headboard to match the theme of the room. For example, a guest bedroom with a "country guest room" appearance best matches with a rustic hand-carved headboard featuring a knotty pine or a rough, unfinished wood. In a child's bedroom, a hand-built headboard with a positive message carved over the head of the bed is appropriate.

Decorate the wall above the bed, in the absence of an actual headboard. Simulate a headboard by hanging a series of framed pictures on the wall. Ensure the images are related so that the collection is seen together as a group, reinforcing the idea that the pictures stand in for a headboard. In a child's room, consider hanging pictures with special images of the family or places the family has gone. In a guest room, look for generic but attractive images like landscapes or images of local flowers.