Expert: Jamie Yocono - 5/30/2007

Question
QUESTION: My boyfriend and I are moving in together and we are getting some new bedroom furniture custom-made.  We are planning on getting a headboard made and are trying to decide how high above the mattress it should be.  The top of the mattress sits 32" above the floor.  The designer thought the headboard should be an additional 34", however when we got home, it seemed way too high.  What is the standard height we should make it so that it doesn't become this overwhelming object in the room.

Thanks,

Lauren

ANSWER: Hi Lauren,

I am not sure I understand the piece you're describing, so I'm having a little trouble answering your question. I think what you're telling me is that you're attaching a headboard to a wall, am I correct? And you want to know how high it should be.

In my mind, I was picturing a bed, with the headboard attached to it, between the two posts that are on the top corners of the bed. Usually, when I make a bed, it has 4 posts. Two are taller and create the headboard area. Two are lower and create the footboard area. So that's what I'm picturing.

But I think yours is different.  :/

Anyway, I recently made a bed, and the people who ordered it wanted the headboard to be somewhat prominent. So they requested it to be about 8 inches above the mattress surface. I recommended against it. Here's why- with a headboard that high, there's a gap between the mattress and the bottom of the headboard. There was an opening there, and the problem with an opening is that your pillow has a tendency to want to slip into that gap and fall behind the bed. My customers were experiencing that quite frequently. They finally asked me to attach some sort of a barrier to keep the pillow from disappearing. I attached a thin piece of wood, across the whole length of the headboard, which kept the pillow from slipping behind. Problem solved.

OK- so.... here's my answer. If it's attached to the wall, there is no hard and fast rule. What I would probably do is have someone it in the bed, propped up against the wall (where the headboard would be) and make a few measurements. Picture the dimensions of the headboard, and where it would be in relation to someone sitting up in bed. A cardboard template might be helpful, to help you picture what the piece will look like in place.

On the other hand, if you're talking about an attached headboard, where it is attached to your bed, then I think you do not want it too high. You don't want it so high that your pillow could slip under neath it. So once again- use the template to help you visualize where the headboard will be. Stand across the room and have someone raise or lower the template, so that you can decide what looks best.

Some people can't visualize things, so drawing it on paper works best. Templates rock!

OK, good luck!  I hope this helps. I'm not sure I was helpful, so please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this.  

And if this answer was helpful... please take a minute and rate my service. Thanks!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jamie,

Sorry if I wasn't clear.  The headboard we are looking to build is solid wood that attachs at the bedframe and goes up to some level above the mattress.  There are no spaces or gaps in the wood.  The question I have is how far should it extend above the top of the mattress?  Most headboards I looked at at places like Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel were approx 54" in height, but none specified how high the mattress was off the floor.  I think our bed is higher than most, but proportionally, I don't want the headboard to be overly large just because the bed is high off the floor.  Does this make sense?

Thanks for the follow up.

Lauren

Answer
Hi Lauren,

OK, now I have a better visual in my head about your headboard question. I don't think there is any hard and fast rule about how tall the headboard should be above the bed.  I think it's going to depend on quite a few things- the design of the headboard, to start. Also- the ceiling height in the room, as well as the general scale of the room. I made a bed for a fellow who had a GIANT room, and while the bed I made him was large, it looked very small in that huge room. So some things to think about include how big the room is, ceiling height, and your lifestyle.

This is how I would be designing it, if I were making it for you. Are you and your boyfriend of average height? Do you use standard sized pillows, or the larger (longer) pillows? With your mattress simply pulled next to a wall, try propping up a pillow against the wall and sit against it, as if you were reading the Sunday paper. Notice where the top of your head is. Notice where the pillow hits. These are all factors in deciding the headboard location.

I would also consider this- as I mentioned earlier, you don't want a huge gap between the mattress top and the headboard bottom. I'm telling you, this will become the black hole for pillow disappearance! So I wouldn't have your headboard be more than 4 inches or so above the mattress top. If you use two pillows, or even one of those really tall ones, then you might be able to increase this distance to 5 or 6 inches. But this is an important consideration.

As far as how high to extend it- I think that's dependent upon the design you're using. Is it a linear, squared off design? Or are there curves? There is not a hard and fast rule, but I would consider the pillow length (as I mentioned above) as a starting point. If you're sitting in bed reading the paper or watching TV, I don't think you want the headboard ending in the middle of your back. I would probably want it ending in one of two places- either somewhere right around my neck height, so I could tip my head back. Or somewhere far above my head (maybe 6-8 above my head) so that the design and detail of the headboard is still visible even if someone is propped against it.

It's very much dependent upon your personal tastes, there really aren't any rules here, Lauren. What does the person who's making it have to offer? What sort of design did they come up with? I design a lot of Asian influenced furniture, and the last bed I made was very low. Almost Zen-like. In fact, the headboard was so low, you could barely see it behind the pillows. Once again, personal preference.

OK, good luck. Once again, feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this. I hope I was able to get you thinking about a few things to help you make this decision.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com