For most bedrooms, the best fabric for a headboard is a good upholstery velvet: it is soft against the head, deep in colour, hard-wearing and easy to keep clean. Linen suits a lighter, more relaxed room, and sstered in Tora velvet in a guest bedroom.
A headboard is touched every day, leaned against with a book and brushed by pillows and hair. It is also the largest single area of fabric in most bedrooms, so it sets the mood of the room. Choosing the cloth is a balance between those two jobs.
01Velvet: the most forgiving choice
Velvet is our first recommendation for a headboard. The pile gives a soft, warm surface to lean on, and it holds colour more deeply than any flat weave, so a pattern reads clearly even in low evening light.
Our recycled velvet has a pile made from recycled plastic bottles and is tested to 40,000 rubs on the Martindale scale, well beyond what a headboard needs. Spills can be wiped with a damp cloth, which matters on a piece that sits behind a bedside cup of tea.
02Linen: lighter and more relaxed
Linen gives a matt, gently textured finish that suits calm, natural schemes and light-filled rooms. Our natural linen is tested to 20,000 rubs, which is ample for a headboard, though it will soften and crease a little over time. That is part of its character.
If you love linen but worry about marks, choose a mid-tone or a busy pattern rather than a pale plain, and ask for a stain-resistant treatment.
03Silk: beautiful, but handle with care
Silk jacquard has a sheen and a woven depth no print can match. On a headboard it is luxurious, but it marks more easily and dislikes sunlight, so it suits a guest room or a dressing room more than a bed you read in every night.
04Pattern and scale on a headboard
A headboard is one of the best places for a bold pattern, because it is a single, framed area. Think about where the motif will fall: a symmetrical design such as Panthera centres beautifully above the bed, while a flowing repeat such as Tora works across a wide, floor-to-wall panel.
Every one of our patterns comes in three scales. As a guide, choose small for a single or double bed, medium for a king or super king, and large for a headboard that runs the full width of the wall.
05What to check before you order
- Order a sample and pin it to the wall behind the bed for a few days, morning and night.
- Check the rub count: 20,000 or more is plenty for a headboard.
- Ask about fire-retardant treatment or an interliner if the bedroom is in a holiday let or rental.
- Measure the finished height from the floor, not the mattress, if the headboard will run down to the skirting.
06Made to measure in our fabrics
Our upholstered headboards run from the floor up the wall and are made to order in England in any of our velvets and linens, in Super King, King, Double or your own size. Samples are £4.20 each, with free postage, from our fabric samples page.
