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7 Hardworking Headboards That Offer Storage & Style

Besides being a backrest, a headboard can act as a bookcase, desktop, nightstand and more

Amanda Pollard
Amanda Pollard12 August 2018
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors and architecture.
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Headboards – they provide extra comfort for your nighttime reading or morning coffee sipping, but they can do more as well. If you look for an ingenious design and expert cabinetry work, you can have a beautiful headboard that provides useful storage.
Maxwell & Company Architects
1. Bookcase partition
This narrow room could have been very short on shelf space without the clever headboard with storage behind the bed.

The designers created a bookcase and a bedside table with plenty of room for reading material and accessories. The storage headboard also acts as a handy divider, zoning off the space behind it, which the owners can use as a dressing area.

If you’re wondering how to build a headboard with shelves in your own home, be aware of the space around the unit. These designers left a gap above the bookcase to maintain the feeling of flow in the compact room.
Andra Birkerts Design
2. Rounded backrest and nightstands
This curved headboard with storage seems to be part of the bed, which adds to its ergonomic feel. It’s packed with useful shelving, with two-tier bedside tables that wrap around the sides of the bed and a couple of handy compartments at the back. The curved top is also home to a pair of practical reading lamps.

The beauty of a headboard like this is that it allows you to move the bed away from the wall. This works well when a room has little available wall space or when you want to wake up closer to a beautiful view like this one.

Take a look at these head-turning headboards
Malcolm Davis Architecture
3. Drop-down desk
The smart bed in this room doubles as a bureau. The deep recess contains shelves for books and stationery, and a hatch folds down to form a mini desk.

The owner can prop up the surface on some pillows and work from the comfortable mattress in front of it. This may not suit someone who often works from home, but it’s perfect for a teenager who needs an extra spot to do homework.

Browse through images of headboards with storage
Sims Hilditch
4. Straight-lined and soft
When including storage, don’t forget comfort. This wide headboard not only features shelves, bedside tables and light fixtures, but it also has a padded surface covered in soft fabric.

Think about how you like to sit in your bed too. This headboard has an upright design, perfect for those who like to sit up straight while reading. If you prefer to lie back slightly, go for a slope.
My-Studio Ltd
5. Side shelves
The beauty of a custom-made storage headboard is its versatility: You can design it to fit your needs and bedroom layout perfectly.

This headboard again creates a useful division between the closets and the bed. Its placement also allows easy access to back and sides, which the designers took advantage of with inset shelves.

Here’s how headboards can completely transform your bedroom
Alma-nac
6. Lidded storage
In an attic bedroom, the space beneath the sloped ceiling can be an awkward area to navigate around, so it makes sense to use it for storage.

These designers built a false wall to be used as a headboard. The depth of the structure allows enough room for a large internal cavity, which can be accessed via the lids on top.
GenesisDecor - London
7. Integrated in a cabinet wall
How’s this for a handy design? The bed sits in front of a wall of cabinets, which have plenty of space for bed linen, clothes and more.

Smaller cabinets on both sides of the bed are perfect for odds and ends. And a simple yet effective shelf attached to the cabinet doors provides a handy spot for a bedtime book.

Read more:

Bedroom Bliss: 60 Gorgeous Headboards From Around the World

Tell us:
Do you have a storage headboard? Share your experiences and photos in the Comments below.
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