I use 5 layers of decorative pillows.

My duvet (winter bed) and quilt (summer bed) are solid plum, and my pillows all vary in size, texture, and pattern, using plum, sage, terracotta, ivory, and gold. Standard sleeping pillows and a body pillow form the foundation for my decorative ones; the Euro pillows reach a height of nearly 5' from the floor. It's a great headboard alternative, very soft, and kinda artsy.

BUT

Ya gotta have a place to put the fluffy beasts when ya wanna sleep, so for a small room, I'd opt for a large, single art piece. Maybe a set of 3 tall ones. Are you crafty at all? :-) Quilt panels (at fabric shops) are affordable and can be decoupaged onto wood or wrapped canvas for instant art.

Great advice! I like the body pillow idea for a ‘base’.
I am minimally crafty. As crafty as a left brain can be! 😅
A large art piece to make a statement may be good. I figured I can get some bold throw pillows and a blanket at the foot to add some interest like you suggested. I’m hoping to finish painting today or tomorrow so I can start on the design concept.

I didn’t include in discussion but I love vintage items.

Katmumn... that is a clever idea!!! 🤯🤩🥰

Great ideas already.

Another idea is a tapestry hung behind the bed. I like how they bring a cozy feel, and look good, too. Etsy is one good source for them.

Or macrame:

I like the tapestry idea too. I’m going to look at this. World Market has a lot of tapestry like things.
What are your thoughts about a mirror over a bed? I’ve seen a battle of ‘absolutely not’ and ‘it’s fine’. I’m considering a mirror for light reflecting reasons. Behind the side table/night stand.

I had a mirror over my bed in a former house, loved it. I’m an outlier here in that I think mirrors can be beautiful as art in their own right ... as you said, light reflection, as well as providing dimension. I don’t ascribe to the notion of them needing to reflect something spectacular, or don’t use one.

I like these paint and wall hanging ideas!! If there were a way to attach a long bolster to the wall as a backrest that would be good. To sit up in bed comfortably you need a slanted back.

Hi, this was (and still is) one of my fav guest bedrooms on Houzz. Take a close look - there is no headboard in this room. The designer used pillows (2 large dark brown pillows in the back) propped up to mimic a headboard. She also lowered the large pair of artwork to just above the pillows, to once again fool the eye. I actually thought there was a headboard here until I read the full article.

This is actually very beautiful! I like it.
The person I was attempting to buy the frame from, backed out so, I may end up buying a different one but I’m not sure yet!
I’m still loving the ideas. Keep them coming!

How crafty are you? I wanted an upholstered headboard for our guest bedroom and didn’t want to spend a lot. My husband made this beautiful DIY upholstered headboard using: Plywood wrapped in foam batting for comfort, then linen fabric which I found at our local craft store and nail-head trim. Just a few inexpensive items which gave us a big bang for our buck. There are many tutorials online for DIY headboards. 😊

Oh my goodness. That looks GORGEOUS.
I’m not super crafty but I do craft when I want something bad enough.

I may look into doing this. It turned out amazing.

Thank you Kathryn. You can do it!! We bought plywood from Home Depot for about $20 and used a staple gun to attach the foam batting and material. Then we bought the nail head trim online in a strip, instead of hammering individual nail heads. The entire thing was less than $100 dollars!

I may watch a couple of videos and see if it’s something I think I’m willing to do!