We are SO happy to read Dalilah Arja’s practical wisdom about angled headboards at Remodelista the other day, and the harsh reality of straight-up-and-down, right-angled headboards:

After two years, I was ready to part ways with my right-angled headboard, which I fought with every time I tried to sit up and do some laptop work in bed. My mishmash of creatively arranged pillows was not a good enough solution. Enter the angled headboard, which provides exactly the support I was looking for.

We’ve been thinking about this for years, ever since we discovered how much more comfortable the angled headboard on our Murphy bed was than the right-angled one we’d had on our former “real” bed. Arja gives five examples, one which we contemplated buying: Muji Ash Bed, below. All of her choices are great examples of what a comfortable headboard angle looks like.

There IS a way to rig an angled headboard without actually buying an entire bed, an idea we got from our former Murphy bed. The rough gist: cut a 1/2-inch thick wood board approximately 61 inches wide (for a Queen bed, less or more for full, twin or king),  and at least 13 inches wide. (Use edge tape to finish the edges if you like, and finish or paint the board however you like.) Use hinges to attach the board along the head-end of the bed frame, which should be pulled out from the wall about 4 or 5 inches. The headboard will tilt at an angle, leaning against the wall. You can get a glimpse of it here:

 You can disguise the frame with a pretty bed skirt.

With an angled headboard, you can avoid the stylish agony of this:

bottom image via French by Design