Introduction: Hanging Headboard Neatly Very Close to the Wall

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Suppose you're a some crazy perfectionist and you're hanging a headboard (or any other similar stuff), first thing you'll notice is that all hardware available at stores when mounted is adding a gap between the headboard and the wall (due to the mere fact that hardware has thickness of it's own). Gap doesn't look good, so here is a quick instructable on how to avoid adding extra thickness.

As always, made at my favorite TechShop (http://www.techshop.ws/) in Menlo Park (where you I hide from family some times).

Step 1: Mark the Spots for the Hardware First

Here is a cool tip: since the board has a round shaped edge, I couldn't just use a ruler to measure the distance from the edge as the edge is very round and soft (I know, I should have done this before doing the upholstery). So I clamped scrap piece of wood at the 7" mark and pushed it against the edge with equal force at each spot -- the other end of the ruler represented 7" mark. Yeah, you could use one of those fancy ~$40 Incra rulers, but being cheap I haven't bought one.

Step 2: Mark the Rectangle Needed for Countersunk Hurdware

Now that we have the spots marked, we can mark the area, which needs to be lowered in order to accommodate 1/4" thick hardware. These large headboard hangers came from Woodcraft. 

Step 3: Make a Jig and Carve Out the Cavity

My friends laugh at me because of this, but I make jigs for every small job. Fortunately this time it's sorta justified -- I had to use it 6 times (3 hooks per two headboards). So, I took some scrap plywood piece, measured distance from the router base edge to the bit and created this large rectangle fence. Once you measure where it goes, fasten it to your piece with some screws or clamp it. I used 1/4" router bit to carve this out, but since router bit will leave rounded edges, I had compensate for that by stepping outside the boundaries by 1/8". Re-measure the placement of the hook (with the same hillbilly's incra ruler) and fasten it with some appropriate countersunk wood screws (Ace hardware stores have some really good selection of screws for some really good price of about $4-5 per box of 100).

Step 4: Ok, Time to Make Some Damage to the Walls

Ok, done with fun stuff, now let's poke some holes in the walls. I used to search for studs in the past and hang everything (even pictures) on them, but that was before I discovered about EZ-Anchors. Since then I have buried hundreds of them inside our walls, and you know what's cool about them? -- the aluminum ones can be reused! To install it right, don't forget to pre-drill a good size hole, otherwise it's going to wrinkle the wall around itself.

Step 5: Mount All the Hooks.

I had to use some countersunk cabinet grade screws instead of ones that come with EZ-anchors. All three hooks are mounted and it's time hang the board!

Step 6: Done!

After all the sweat it's finally hung and looking good! I know it's weird, but since our bed is in the corner, we made two boards, one for the head and one for the side, creating this cosy looking corner. Thanks for reading. Comments and questions are welcome as usual!

PS: Please, no laughing at upholstery quality :) it's my first upholstery project and I learned a lot from it :) Thanks.