Quick Fix: Get Ahead (board)

Don't have money to invest in a new bed but feel like your bedroom (or guest room) could use a change?  Don your crafty pants and make your own.  We get immense satisfaction -- not to mention killer bragging rights -- with DIY projects like these.

You can go dumpster diving or yard sale cruising and transform your score with some paint or varnish.  Or if other people's trash just isn't your treasure, consider one of these brilliant (and space-saving) ideas:

Stencils: You can go literal (below) or fanciful (below below) -- both make a statement.

Fabric:  A tried-and true trick that never goes out of style.  Advanced craftsmen can try challenging shapes (below) while the rest of us will do our best to make rectangles look good (below below).  Fabric doesn't have to cost a fortune.  Ikea has some great fabrics that will leave a few extra bills in your wallet.

Wallpaper:  Yet again wallpaper comes to the rescue.  For a more defined look, use trim to frame out wallpaper squares above your bed.

Art:  No better crown for your bed than art.  Canvas pieces are featured below, but we've even seen framed watercolor and oil paintings used as headboards. Tres chic.

And, drum roll please -- the most brilliant DIY headboard idea ever (and the inspiration for this post), courtesy of Australia's Inside Out Magazine: