Be it wicker or woven, winged, quilted and tufted, four-poster, carved or draped from the heavens, headboards are certainly not a one-size-fits-all affair.
What is now arguably a defining feature of any decorative bedroom scheme, the headboard was once, like many things in our homes, born from simple and functional beginnings.
Believe it or not, it was not created from the need to rest your head on something cushioned whilst thumbing the morning paper or sipping your coffee. Rather, the headboard was conceived out of a need to block chilly draughts that permeated wealthy medieval households and disturbed one's slumber. But now, freed from its once practical purpose by modern heating methods, the headboard has become something else: a canvas for creativity in all its forms.
But as someone who personally doesn't have one – and is inherently indecisive when it comes to such weighty bedroom design staples – the question remains, does my bed actually need a headboard? Before I decide, we first need to establish what, exactly, one brings to a room in the first place.
As bedroom trends have moved towards increasingly pared-back and minimal bedtime setups, contemporary design has done away with many of the more ornate features once commonplace in the boudoir. The headboard, as you may have guessed, is one of them. A return to simpler sleep routines has seen a retreat from the fancy and frilly headboards of years past. Whether that is progress, however, is another matter – and one that could easily divide designers.
Unsurprisingly, the House & Garden archive makes a rather convincing case for retaining headboards. From towering upholstered designs that command almost an entire wall to carved wooden frames that can rival even the most modest of bedframes, a headboard can do far more than simply mark where the bed begins and ends. At their best, they anchor a room – determining its focal point and making a bed look and feel more complete. Beyond that, they help to mark out territory for additional bedroom furniture and inform the layout or a space – all of which, I would argue, is still possible without 30 metres of monumentally floral fabric.
Perhaps if we're unsure whether we need a headboard at all, should we be asking a different question: do we simply need something else that does the job of one?
For designer James Thurstan Waterworth, it's the effect of a headboard rather than the physical thing itself that matters, and a recent project is testament to this way of thinking a little more loosely. In this bedroom, an antique textile hung behind the bed takes the place of a traditional headboard, providing the outline without the permanence – or formality – of one. ‘We wanted this antique textile to feel like a statement in its own right, but framing it with the bed gives it a sense of purpose and scale rather than leaving it to sit alone on the wall,’ explains James.
Aside from its obvious appeal and grand scale, the textile's softer silhouette introduces something altogether less rigid. And, for the indecisive among us – hello – there's another benefit: this option needn't be permanent. As James advises, ‘it also gives you flexibility, you can change the textile over time and introduce something completely different without redesigning the whole room.’
And he's not alone in his thinking. Several other designers are advocates of ripping up the conventional headboard rulebook, and textiles are just one example of a more creative approach. Others are forgoing traditional styles and instead using everything from panelling and artwork to paint to give the bed a greater sense of enclosure.
Which brings me back to my own rather headboard-less predicament. Have I been convinced I need one? Not entirely. What I have realised, however, is that perhaps I've been asking the wrong question. A bed doesn't necessarily need a headboard, but it does need to feel considered within the room around it, whether framed by fabric, grounded by furniture or left intentionally bare. For now, mine remains without, but at least I can say it's starting to look a little more like a design decision than indecision.
And if you're still agonising over what to do with yours, a browse through our gallery of bedroom ideas may well settle the matter, that is, so long as you have a decisive bone in your body.
