There are few castings , seen on antique iron beds, which have a definitive meaning as that of the “Cornucopia”. It is rich in meaning dating back to medieval times. The dictionary describes a “cornucopia” as a goats horn that is overflowing with abundance. That abundance is symbolized with fresh flowers, fruits and corn. Another…
DetailsWhen it comes to converting our antique iron beds to canopy, there is often a fair amount of confusion on which type of canopy will look best with which type of bed frame. It’s a commonly held opinion that a head and foot board with a straight line top. should automatically have a straight canopy…
DetailsMany people just aren’t aware of the proper way antique iron beds should be dressed. If the truth be told………there really is no proper way. Much of how a person dresses their bed depends on two things…….. The gender they’d like it to portray and the setting they want it to blend with. As you…
DetailsOver the years I’ve sold well over a hundred iron beds that different manufacturers have ended up reproducing. Sometimes that reproducing occurred here in this country. But most often it took place in China, Taiwan or Spain. All centers of low price labor. But few beds have ever experienced the popularity as the one in…
DetailsSo you’ve found a beautiful old antique iron bed, gotten home and set it up in your bedroom only to find that once you get your big thick “pillow top” mattress and large square European Pillow Shams…….your headboard is pretty much hidden. What are your options? The first possibility is to have the headboard raised…
DetailsOver the years, I’ve had more customers request certain alterations to their iron beds than you can imagine. Most of the time it was to have their beds lowered so a small dog could get into the bed. As you’re probably aware, the rail system on antique iron beds is about 13″ off the ground.…
DetailsBack in the early to mid 1800’s the British made a lot of iron beds that incorporated the use of round “mirror medallions”. Originally thought to have no more than a decorative purpose behind them, it was learned that merry old England was fraught with superstition and the belief in the occult. It is a…
DetailsSo what is “casting with sand”? Especially when it relates to antique iron beds. It’s a process whereby a mold is taken of an object , by building a box around the solid object and then packing a dense mud sand mixture into the box that forms around the solid object. On beds this has…
DetailsBack in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, Europe was going full bore in their production of iron beds. We picked up the calling in the early 1800’s and far eclipsed any of the beds Europe was making. There were a few distinctions that set our beds apart from those beds being made throughout Europe…
DetailsI’ve lost track of the countless times a prospective customer has said to me, after I’ve showed them the custom antique faux’ finishes we specialize in, ” oh…. I’d only want an iron bed in it’s original condition”. First of all it automatically lets me know what little this person really knows about the restoration…
Details“Dumping” refers to the practice of a nation or group flooding a market with less than fair-value products in an unfair effort to dominate that market. This is what happened to the iron beds market in this country about 7 years ago. Prior to this time there were a number of good quality manufacturers in…
DetailsVery few people have had as much of a hand at exposing generation upon generation to the world or Rock & Roll Music. Dick Clark enabled a young generation to see the music they loved, no just listen to it on the radio. His American Bandstand launched the careers of individuals and groups alike that…
DetailsI usually don’t go too far afield from iron beds in the majority of my blogging. And if you take into consideration that there actually is an bed in this “log cabin” on wheels, then I guess I’m still on track. I just couldn’t pass up sharing this particular photo a client emailed me last…
DetailsWhen it comes to iron beds that were being made back in the 1800’s, there were 5 specific size categories. Yet even within those five categories beds could vary in width quite a bit, especially in the Twin Size category. The five different categories of beds were: Crib Size : These usually were very close…
DetailsFor people looking for a really old distressed finish for their iron bed, let me suggest our Rusty Iron Distressed Crackle Finish. Although this is one of the more labor intensive antique faux’ finishes that we do on the beds we sell, it offers one of the more distressed looks we offer. I should let…
DetailsThis country was not known for their iron daybeds. Daybeds were something the Europeans did more of. In this country we did more regular twin size beds. So when someone wants an iron daybed with and American made bed, we take a twin size and cut the head down to the height of he footboard.…
DetailsI’d say close to 85% of all the iron beds that were being made in the 1800’s used side rails that had a conical shape on the end much like that of an ice cream cone. They would drop down in to the reverse image that had been cast around the beds side tubing. Although…
DetailsAs you’re all probably aware, iron beds elevate the mattress and box spring off the ground an average of 8″ higher than a conventional modern bed frame. There were a number of reasons people back in the 1800’s choose to elevate their mattresses so high. They were certainly not for aesthetics ……… but instead were…
DetailsThere are a number of different size iron bed tubing sizes. The two beds in this photo are the most prominent. They are the most traditional 1″ diameter thick wall tubing, the blue one, and the 2″ diameter thick wall tubing. The 1″ tubing was used on probably as much as 80% of all the…
Details99% of the queen conversions we do on our iron beds here at Cathouse are simple length conversions. As you may have read in a previous blog, the width difference between the antique double size bed, which was the largest size they made back in the 1800’s, and today’s modern queen, is only a couple…
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