A fabric will show dirt more readily than wood.

Of course, a fabric will get dirty and this is unlikely to be able to be cleaned. Your friend is right!

Fabric covered headboard.............NO!!!

I do not have one but have always loved the look of fabric headboards. I have never been able to talk my husband in to one. I figured they would need regular vacuuming but with the hose attachment, no big deal. I have wood and must dust it regularly as well so not difference. I never though of the dirt from a head but I must say neither of our heads touch the headboard when we sleep. We have many pillows and do not take them all off to sleep so that might be a solution. I really prefer the soft look of a fabric headboard.

yes, me too...I don't think our heads touch the headboard either.

Patricia has a great solution for cleaning with removable fabric. Pretty smart. I love the look of fabric as well but I'll be opting for metal or wood because of allergens.

I think the person whose husband had dirtied the fabric headboard with his head is an outlier as I know many people (myself included) who don't have this issue. Most people don't use the headboard with their heads leaning against it - and chairs typically are made of fabric and don't have particular issues either - e.g. wing chairs.

Unless you get a matching bedroom suite, a wood headboard is going to make it more difficult to find other bedroom furniture as others have posted.

If the fabric headboard is removable to be cleaned, that is different.

Upholstered furniture does get dirty.

The upright surfaces of upholstered furniture don't get dirty. Upholstered furniture gets dirty if people spill things which generally occurs on the cushions - or I would imagine that they get dirty if pets or people with dirty bottoms are sitting on them.

In normal use, upholstered chairs just get dusty and I vacuum them as part of normal cleaning.

Upholstered headboards are extremely common and the upkeep for everyone I know is to vacuum them periodically to get rid of dust and whatever else settles on household belongings.

Does anyone have an opinion regarding comfort of a platform bed vs. panel bed?