As a practical matter, a headboard is optional for a bed with a frame that does not incorporate a headboard as part of its frame structure.
There's practicality, and then there's aesthetics.
We want to feel good about our surroundings, about our home.
Every room has a focal point, one primary item or piece of furniture that dominates visually, drawing our attention. The rest of the furnishings, design, and decor complete a room's appearance, leaving us with an impression, even subtly affecting our moods.
In most bedrooms, the bed is that focal point. Large, relative to the other furnishings, and often centered in the space, the bed is the first thing we notice when entering the room.
Now imagine that first place that our eyes look being flat, plain, unadorned, just a mattress on a frame. The entire room is changed for better or worse by just that one item: the bed.
Headboards have a storied history, and their invention was born of their utility. In olden times, when people wore togas, and sandals, and wore animal pelts in the winter, headboards served to provide warmth by blocking chilling breezes that invaded the home.
Ancient headboards were typically made of wood, often carved with intricate designs. Taller and more ornate headboards became a symbol of status, wealth, and distinguishment. A bed without a headboard told a different story: one of pauperism or lack of refinement.
Today, headboards continue to adorn the centerpiece of the bedroom, providing a stoic stateliness and also bringing some practical features.
Headboards keep the mattress in place, prevent our pillows from staining the walls with colorful dyes and scuff marks, and also provide a handy place to prop up those pillows for reading or breakfast in bed if you so desire.
And where will you keep your favorite books for bedtime reading? Some headboards have built-in shelving, and some even come with doors that can be closed to hide any unsightly clutter.
Both beautiful and practical, headboards are an expected part of a bedroom set and a well-designed room. Our eyes want to see a headboard at the head of the bed, being disappointed when one is not present and delighted when one is there, standing tall watch over a welcoming room.