For me, ideally, they would match.... but if it's a vacation home, you can definitely get creative. For the beach, you could buy two different headboards and paint them white to unify them.

I prefer they match, but if not, at least be similar. There are lots of ways of making inexpensive headboards including upholstering plywood, or buying antique doors, covering stretcher frames with fabric, wallpaper panels....

I definitely would match them!

I think the plywood idea would be easy enough. I could cut the plywood and attach some 2X4 legs, right? I wouldn't want to mount them to the wall since it's a mobile home w/ that wallboard rather than drywall. I can drill holes in the legs to mount the metal bed frame to the headboard. Then use batting and fabric to cover. Sound OK? I do NOT have a decorating gene :), so that's why I even asked to begin with. Y'all are way more talented than I am. :)

Here is a tutorial on making one out of plywood. There are lots more out there. I think someone here recently mentioned that you might get cheaper foam by buying mattress toppers - maybe with a 20% off coupon - from someplace like BedBathBeyond? Or maybe at Target?

Here is a link that might be useful: Plywood headboard project

Thanks for the link! We have a discount fabric place here ($7.99/per yard for all fabric) that also sells foam (I would probalby use the 1 or 1.5 inch), plus I think the Midas Fabric and Mill Outlet Village stores here sell foam. I would imagine all of them are cheaper than Joann. Plus, I would probably make mine half as tall as that one. Two that tall in the same room I think would not look right.

I agree that making matching padded headboards would be a great solution. But I also like the idea of taking two very different headboards and unifying them in some way: paint scheme. upholstered section, etc.

Here's the headboard I made for my guest room:

I used two eggcrate foam mattress toppers with the bumpy sides facing each other for padding, with batting on top of that. For the fabric I used a table cloth. The least expensive foam toppers I found were at Walmart. Instead of making two legs, I used a scrap of plywood a bit narrower than the headboard screwed to the bottom. It is then wedged in place with the mattress and box springs.