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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Does a bed need a headboard?

86 replies

alwaysscared · 30/01/2022 13:33

I want a new bed, we have just moved house and our bed is massive and chunky.
I've found a great bed for not much money but it has no headboard.
I think it would be fine, husband thinks it's weird to not have a headboard.
I can't add voting as I'm on mobile but AIBU or is he?

OP posts:
PegasusReturns · 30/01/2022 14:29

I think a bed without a headboard would be incomplete

PriamFarrl · 30/01/2022 14:31

Personally I think it looks odd and I like to sit up in bed and read in the evening.

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 30/01/2022 14:32

I think it looks better with.

LouisRenault · 30/01/2022 14:32

I've had both. With no headboard, the pillows tend to slip down the gap between bed and wall. And as pp have said, with no headboard, it's much more difficult to sit up in bed comfortably.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 30/01/2022 14:35

Yes. It makes sitting up in bed more comfortable, and it means the wall is protected from pillows, hair and dirt.

trunktoes · 30/01/2022 14:36

On one of my beds we have a low head lard and I hate it - it's just not comfortable sitting up in bed with no headboard

Cardio101 · 30/01/2022 14:37

@Clarinet1

With no headboard you would tend to find that the wall gets grubby from hair rubbing it etc over time.
This!

We don’t have a headboard, DH built our bed from ikea units and I couldn’t find a headboard that I liked for a reasonable price as it’s a super king.

And now our wall is definitely grubby where DH has had his head on it!

Now off to search for headboards again Grin

DoTheyKnowItsLemonJuice · 30/01/2022 14:45

Hmm, we don’t have a headboard, but I sit up in bed all the time with no issues. I lean on firm pillows and I’m nowhere near the wall — so no problems with discomfort from leaning against it, or getting it dirty.

I do think sometimes they look a bit fussy (sometimes, not always!) and I tend towards things being quite minimal so I guess that’s why I wasn’t bothered about buying one.

freecuthbert · 30/01/2022 14:47

My bed is a wooden frame so not a headboard necessarily but the frame continues where a headboard would be (I hope I make sense...). If I'm sitting in bed I just prop up some pillows to lean against the wooden frame and it works for me. Without that I suspect the pillows could easily slip between the wall and bed. The frame also isn't rock hard or cold like a wall. Have a look at some other frames, I think it's important to have either headboard or part of the frame for support.

DoodleBelle · 30/01/2022 14:50

We got a new bed and chose one without a headboard but it felt odd and looked unfinished so I bought a separate one a few weeks later. Much better with a headboard.

betwixtlives · 30/01/2022 14:50

@alwaysscared

My husband thinks it would look like student digs!!
He’s right! I had a bed without one (in a shitty student house) and when I sat up in bed against the wall, the entire bed would gradually move away from the wall
LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 30/01/2022 14:58

I don’t find sitting up in bed comfortable unless there is a headboard. I seem to slip down the bed. Maybe I’m just odd! I wouldn’t worry about how it looks. But I do love to read in bed, so it would not do for me.

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 30/01/2022 14:59

Ah. That’s it. The bed I slept in without one gradually pushed away from the wall. I see now - all these years later - what happened!

Christmas1988 · 30/01/2022 14:59

I think you need a headboard, it stops the bed moving away from the wall as much and stops your pillow falling down the crack. Wouldn’t it look strange with no headboard. My bed came without one, I found a cheap leather one, it was hideous but easy to reupholster.

TulipsGarden · 30/01/2022 15:01

Never had a headboard on a divan. Tbh I think they look a bit naff, like something my Nan would have. We have an iron bed so it does have a head and foot but you can't lean against them!

Vavavrrooom · 30/01/2022 15:02

@SilverHairedCat

We had no headboard for a bit. Hated it. If you sit up and read etc, I find the mattress slides down the bedstead...! Headboard also just like more finished. Without it, it looks like my old student digs IMO.
I agree with this. We ordered one from Argos when we bought a bed without a headboard. You’ve reminded me we need a new one.
Floralnomad · 30/01/2022 15:05

I think most beds look incomplete without a headboard , and the bed linked to looks like something you’d buy as a temporary measure / spare to stick up in the lounge for when guests come etc .

UnshakenNeedsStirring · 30/01/2022 15:07

I think a bed needs a headboard. Other wide the bedroom looks unfinished. My friend has a huge carved wooden panel behind her bed as a headboard. Looks beautiful

DDivaStar · 30/01/2022 15:25

I could live without it, but it looks odd.

Wall mounted headboards are genius.

Ikeptgoing · 30/01/2022 15:30

You can buy headboards separately - really cool ones or just plain ones

It stops pillows from falling down the back

So but the bed you want but you can get headboard to match that you want

paname · 30/01/2022 15:31

Yeah it would look like student digs.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 30/01/2022 15:54

Oh I see it's one of those new-fangled beds, no headboard and legs right on the edge of the corners, ideal for stubbing your toes...Angry

It's not for me...

Original poster
alwaysscared · 30/01/2022 15:56

Our current bed is very stub toe'able
I even damaged a ligament in my knee banging into it!!

OP posts:
CharlotteRose90 · 30/01/2022 16:15

Nope no headboard on my bed. I can’t stand them

revampneeded · 30/01/2022 16:22

I never had a headboard and then finally bought the coco bed from Loaf. I am now obsessed with headboards and would never go back.