Fractal Design Wooden Headboard and LED Lights! 2026

Wooden Headboard with Fractal Design and LED Lights, here is how to make a headboard based on the fractal of the Pythagoras tree and backlight it with LED lights.

My bed frame has a 57″ gap where my pillow would always back up…

Step 1: Materials

• 4’x8′ sheet of plywood – I used 1/2″ birch.
• LED light strip (at least 15 feet)
• Remote control
• Power adapter
• Diffusion paper
• Wood glue
• Wood pre-staining, and finishing (polyurethane)
• Sandpaper
• 1/4″ x 2″ bolts
• 14 1/4″ Nuts

Tools used:

• Shopbot CNC router (or laser cutter if it's a smaller project)
• Belt sander (optional)
• Drill (optional)
• Glue gun (optional)

It is important to obtain high quality plywood. Cheap plywood will have many gaps, which will be exposed after CNC.

Step 2: Design

[Optional Background] To create the layout, I used Paper.js, a JavaScript library to generate SVG on an HTML canvas element. I used Paper.js to make the tree fractal.

If you are curious about generating fractals on the web, you can find the files below, simply unzip and open index.html in your favorite browser.

I included in the Adobe Illustrator file I used to create the header below. The dimensions of the Illustrator file are exactly 98″ x 48″, the size of a sheet of plywood.

I used a software called VCarve Pro to convert this Illustrator file into G-code for Shopbot.

The plywood is cut into two main pieces, forming the FRONT and BACK of the headboard. Instead of using joints to give depth to the headboard, I opted to CNC a "frame."

That's what all those thin slabs are in the Illustrator file.

They have been marked with numbers that match the edge of the FRONT piece (note: the bottom edge is cut into two support slabs: 5 and 6).

For each edge, there are two identical slabs, each half an inch thick, that are stacked on top of each other.

This makes the depth of the header = 4*5″ = 2″ (FRONT, BACK and two layers of slabs).

1/4″ holes are drilled through the edge, front and back slabs.

Bolts are placed through the holes to align everything and support the structure. This ended up being better than doing them together, which would cause small gaps.

There is a slight difference in the chart where 4 and 5 are located from where 7 and 6 are located.

At (4,5) the frame creates a perfect seal, while at (7,6) the frame has an opening to power the LED strip.

Download files

Step 3: CNCing

I used a 1/8″ router bit for the detail on the fractals, and a 1/4″ router bit for the exterior profiles and drilling.

Then I sat back and waited for 4 hours while the machine did all the work.

I was inconsistent with the tabs.

I found that all but the smallest cuts should have 1 to 2 tabs, because if a piece falls out while drilling, you will have problems as the bit can drill into it sideways.

However, the more tabs you have, the more sanding and filing you will have to do afterwards to get rid of them, which is time-consuming and error-prone.

Leave a comment if you know a good solution for this!

Step 4: Make the frame

The slabs are joined together to create a frame. I glued them to the BACK panel with wood glue, keeping the panels screwed together while the glue dried.

Don't forget to clean those glue beads so you don't have to sand as much later.

After the wood glue dried, I glued the LED strip around the inside periphery of the frame with a glue gun and cut the LED strip to fit.

I also used a drill with a 1/2″ Forstner bit on the back of the REAR panel around the drilled holes to keep the nuts flush with the back of the panel.

Step 5: Sand and finish

Staining was difficult because I didn't want to get any staining on the end of the fractal part.

Using a brush is very easy to drip onto the final grain, so I used a cloth to dab the stain, which gave me more control, but it ended up staining (even with pre-staining).

Lots of sanding (especially along the end grain, a belt sander helped this)

Step 6: Add fuzzy paper

I cut a single sheet of parchment to fit the profile of the FRONT.

I attached it with tape.

I haven't played much with other papers, like waxed paper, parchment paper, etc. Let me know if you think I should try something else in the comments!

Step 7: Ready!

I can read without leaning towards the side of the table lamp awkwardly now. The light intensity can also be made very low for a calming effect.

You can also get a reactive sound module for the LED strip, although I found it unresponsive. Greetings!

Get more information at perfectionidea.com and on our Facebook for more Fractal Design Wooden Headboard and LED Lights.

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