If you’ve ever had to call in sick and work from home, or you already have a remote job and just didn’t feel like getting out of bed one day, chances are pretty high that you’ve leaned back onto a cold, hard, wooden headboard.

Sure, it’s sturdy, but it’s not exactly comfortable. So you pile up all of your pillows so you have something softer to lean on, but you’re still not happy.

This may be the time to put your DIY headboard ideas into action.

The good news is you don’t have to completely replace the headboard. Even if your goal is less about comfort and more about aesthetics, these five DIY headboard ideas should give you some inspiration.

Spine-Friendly DIY Headboard

Skip stacking your pillows so you can comfortably type away on your laptop. Instead, create your own bed rest pillow for reading and working. Even for a beginner seamstress, this triangular pillow should be fairly simple to do.

First, find pillows (or polycotton filler) in whatever size and quantity you need. If you usually stack two pillows behind your back, buy six (two for each side and two to lay slanted).

Second, peruse a fabric store to find whatever kind of (matching) fabric you want to secure the pillows in place.

Third, start sewing. You’re basically just going to sew a “pillow case” closed. This will be much easier to do by hand than wrestling with a sewing machine. If you’re using polyfiller, you can always mark, pin and sew the fabric inside out, and then leave an opening to stuff the material inside.

Either way, stitching by hand will give you more control over how to adjust the pillows and filler throughout the entire process.

Additionally, sewing by hand means you have more control over exactly where you want the diagonal pillow to say. Make sure to sew dividers between the pillows so they don’t shift around and start looking like a sleeping bag.

If you’re concerned about not positioning the pillows correctly, sewing fabric around a wedge pillow works just as well.

If you have enough extra material, you can even get creative and sew a little square where your remote controls and smartphone can hang out.

Wallpaper-Friendly DIY Headboard

There’s no rule saying your headboard must remain the same wooden material it was when you bought it. Try peel-and-stick vinyl wallpaper to add eye-catching decor to your bedroom. You can even find easily removable paper that will match your comforters. (Try not to keep taking it off and on though. Find neutral colors that all of your comforters and blankets have in common, or patterns that complement each other.)

If you really want to commit to this design, you could fill an entire wall with peel-and-stick wallpaper. (Avoid making the headboard wallpaper match the wall, so the two don’t blend in. Even if the two are slightly different shades, that works.) Now you have an accent wall and a fancy headboard design.

Noodly DIY Headboard

If you don’t feel like wrestling with sticky adhesive or stepping on a ladder to figure out how to attach wallpaper, pool noodles are an alternate option for a softer headboard. Buy enough to cover your headboard, and cut them in half from top to bottom (not in the middle).

Use heavy-duty adhesive glue to make sure the pool noodles firmly stay in place on the headboard. Then, lay out your fabric. With a spackle knife and adhesive to carefully secure the fabric into place, you can then attach the fabric to the pool noodles (and headboard). When you’re done, use a staple gun to secure the remaining fabric onto the back of the headboard.

This video (above) gives a step-by-step tutorial for how to do this project. She uses a particle board instead of attaching the pool noodles to the headboard. If you choose to do the same, just lean the finished board between your headboard and pillows when you’re done.

Woodwork-Friendly DIY Headboard

What if you don’t have a headboard at all? No worries. If you’re into DIY woodwork, you can use pieces of wood wall planks, wood room dividers or one large piece of wood from a hardware store (or secondhand store). Paint as you see fit, or leave it as is. Slide your actual bed up against this sturdy woodwork, and voilà, instant headboard.

Simpler DIY Headboard With Tape

If the idea of sewing, measuring, slicing, sanding, gluing and painting is making you want to run screaming from the room, try a simpler DIY headboard idea instead. Similar to the wallpaper idea but on a much lower scale of (potential) complications, test out washi tape. You can usually find it in a surplus of colors and designs: floral, dots, hearts, lines, images, squiggles, solid colors, multicolored patterns.

Just take the washi tape and line it against the borders of your headboard. Decorate the middle too, if you like. Unlike wallpaper, you can control where each piece or design ends up, and you don’t have to worry about how big the wall or room is. Just open the tape and place it wherever you want it. Washi tape, like peel-and-stick wallpaper, is designed to not leave sticky residue or damage your headboard.

Hopefully, one of these five ideas will help spice up your bed. Just remember to make sure your mattress is comfortable and you’re getting enough sleep, no matter what the rest of the room looks like.