Ready to Upholster Headboards

Our ready to upholster headboards are manufactured as MDF headboard blanks, designed for customers who want the timber boardwork prepared before upholstery begins. They are suitable for professional upholsterers, trade customers, hotels, landlords, furniture makers, interior designers and DIY customers who want a shaped headboard board ready for their own finish.

We use 12mm or 18mm MDF depending on the selected design, size and requirements. Larger headboards are often made in 12mm MDF to help keep the weight down. This is especially useful where the finished headboard may be mounted to a wall, as many headboards are fitted onto plasterboard walls and the final upholstery materials will add extra weight.

We do not keep finished headboard blanks in stock. We stock the sheet material and manufacture each headboard to order. This allows us to offer standard sizes, European sizes, custom widths, different heights and bespoke shapes without customers needing to buy a full MDF sheet or deal with waste offcuts.

Before ordering, measure the bed width and think carefully about the finished headboard height. Decide whether the headboard should match the mattress width, the bed frame width, or a specific wall space.

You should also think about how much of the headboard you want to see above the mattress and pillows. This is important if you want the headboard to act as a visible feature or practical pillow stop.

Access is also important. Larger headboards can be difficult to carry through narrow hallways, staircases and bedroom doorways. Before ordering a tall or wide headboard blank, check that it can be moved safely into the room.

If the headboard is going onto struts, you can double check the hole centres on your bed frame. These are usually standard, but it is always worth checking. If the headboard is wall mounted, check for wall lights, sockets, picture rails, radiators or other obstructions before choosing the final size and position.

All of our headboard blanks are cut on CNC machinery. This allows us to produce clean, accurate and repeatable shapes across standard designs and trade orders.

Our shaped headboards are programmed using parametric programming. This means we can change the width and height of an existing design without affecting the overall proportions of the shape. This is useful when customers need a standard design in a custom size or when trade customers need repeat headboards made consistently.

New designs can also be produced from sketches, photos or web links. Bespoke shapes may require a programming charge, depending on the complexity of the design and the work needed to prepare it for CNC cutting.

Headboards are made to order, with a typical production lead time of 3 to 10 working days. We may be able to manufacture more quickly where needed, depending on the design, size and current workload.

Customers can collect from our workshop, and collection discounts may be available. We can also send headboard blanks by national courier. Courier delivery is door-side delivery only, using an all-day service from Monday to Friday.

Volume discounts may be available for larger orders. We regularly supply trade customers and commercial projects, including upholsterers, furniture makers, hotels, landlords and interior design work.

For larger repeat orders, please contact us about trade headboard blank orders.

These ready to upholster headboard blanks are designed for customers who want to complete the upholstery themselves or through their own upholsterer. They are supplied as the MDF board and fixing preparation only.

Upholstery can be more involved than it first appears. Foam depth, edge shaping, Dacron, fabric tension, corners, seams and finishing all affect the final look of the headboard. If you would prefer a complete upholstered headboard made for you, our sister company Headboards Ltd can help with made-to-order upholstered headboards.

Our ready to upholster headboards are available in all standard UK bed sizes, European bed sizes and custom sizes. This includes single, small double, double, king size, super king and European size headboards, as well as made-to-measure widths for unusual beds, fitted spaces and trade projects.

Our standard headboard heights are 24", 30", 36", 42" and 48". Other heights can also be made if required.

Custom options can include width, height, shape, board thickness, headboard strut fixing positions, wall mounting preparation, framed or unframed construction, and trade quantities. For bespoke sizes, custom shapes or altered fixing positions, please email us your custom headboard measurements before ordering.

These headboards are supplied as unfinished MDF blanks only. We do not supply foam, Dacron, lining, fabric, adhesive, buttons, trims or upholstery labour.

Customers can choose their own foam thickness and upholstery method. As a general guide, we often recommend 1.5" foam with 4oz polyester, but the final choice depends on the look, comfort, edge shaping and finish you want to achieve.

This page is for customers who want the headboard boardwork and fixing preparation only. The headboard will still need to be padded, covered and finished before it becomes a complete upholstered headboard.

We supply the MDF headboard board and the agreed fixing preparation. For headboards fitted to struts, we can provide riveted T-nuts for headboard strut fixing points. Headboard struts are only supplied on request. You can also view our headboard strut fixings if you need related parts for your project.

For wall-mounted headboards, we can provide a split batten fixing system. The battens are pre-drilled, but the headboard itself is not pre-drilled for wall fixing. This allows the installer to position the headboard correctly for the wall type, room layout and finished upholstery.

Back frames can also be supplied where required. A framed headboard can help hide the wall mounting system and give the upholstered headboard extra depth. Unframed options may be more suitable where a slimmer board is needed or where the customer has their own fixing method.

We also supply furniture fixings for headboard projects, useful for upholsterers, furniture makers and trade customers working on bed or headboard builds.

Buying a ready to upholster headboard blank from The Bed Slats Workshop saves you from having to buy a full MDF sheet, cut the shape yourself, deal with offcuts, or work out the fixing preparation from scratch.

We already have the right machinery, headboard shape programmes, fixing knowledge and experience with standard headboard strut distances. This means we can supply accurate MDF headboard blanks in standard and custom sizes, with fixing preparation to suit the intended installation.

For upholsterers and trade customers, this saves time and helps keep repeat projects consistent. For DIY customers, it provides a properly cut starting point for a bespoke upholstered headboard without needing specialist cutting equipment.