Ben Franklin Stepfather to Iron Beds!

Cast iron stove came into being in the 1700s. The material of cast iron is iron mixed with carbon and silica and cast in molds. Much the same as castings on an antique iron bed. It conducts heat very efficiently, and is strong and sturdy, withstanding years of wear. Once again much the same in…

Details

Customers Photo’s

It’s always great when a customer that I’ve sold  antique iron beds to thinks enough  to send you a photo of it  after it’s been set up and dressed. It lets me know they’re happy with the finished product and it also gives me an opportunity to see the different settings our beds end up in.…

Details

The Best Art Nouveau Iron Bed Ever Seen

It’s crafted of cast iron with fitted wood panels, with flowing lines artfully arranged in a naturalistic fan motif. The wooden panels are adorned with Celtic-inspired creatures and mother-of-pearl accents. It’s almost impossible when you look at it to even think it is an antique iron bed.  It looks more like wood or some composite…

Details

Craftsman Iron Beds

As is the case with many iron beds that came out of the 1800’s, their styles did not always seem appropriate for that period of time. Even though they were being produced in the Victorian Era 1837 to 1901, many of the styles coming out of that period could easily be categorized as styles from…

Details

“I Only Want Headboards”

Quite often a customer comes to me requesting just headboards. That use to be a bit of a dilemma because  I only buy compete iron beds…..headboards, footboards and side rails. But then some people just don’t have the pace in small bedrooms for a complete iron bed. When that is the case, we can offer…

Details

Investing in Antiques

In a time when peoples savings aren’t what they use to be and it becomes more and more difficult to know what you should put your money in…….there is one place it will always continue to go up…….ANTIQUES. Supply and demand have always been the corner stone of investing. Consider this analogy…….Beachfront Property. Here in…

Details

The History Of Canopy Beds

The dichotomy of today’s beautiful antique canopy beds lay in there utilitarian origin. Medieval building left much to be desired. Ill-kept thatch roofs did little to avert dead bugs and rodent droppings from falling on to a peasant’s bed. As is always the case….”necessity is the mother of invention”, it was found that the construction of…

Details

Buying An Antique Iron Bed

One of the first things you should consider if you’re thinking about purchasing an antique iron bed is where you plan on using it. Is this going to be a bed for your master bedroom that gets a lot of daily use. Or is it for a guest bedroom that gets limited use. Maybe a child’s room.…

Details

Iron Beds Made for The Titanic

Few events in history have attracted more attention than the sinking of the Titanic. The RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, and sank on 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people. Making it one of the deadliest…

Details

Donald Duck Gets an Iron Bed

I’m always searching for vintage photo’s and advertising of iron beds. I must say this is one of the more obscure ones mentioning of an iron bed, I’ve come across. Although I remember seeing bed frames in a number of different animated features of Disney’s. It’s ironic that many many years after this comic book…

Details

Old Iron Bed Advertising

Over the years I’ve seen a number of old catalogs and advertising material on antique iron beds. The thing that seems to stand out the most in all of their literature and sales pitch is the cleanliness angle. Iron beds preached the benefits of being clean and “Vermin-Proof”. Although there’s really no reason to believe…

Details

Iron Beds Will USUALLY Work Togeher

Because of the size of second bedrooms in today’s homes, more and more interior designers are using multiple iron beds in the same room. The ideal thing is to find two that are alike. The second best thing is to find two beds that are similar and look good together. When similar “finishes” are applied,…

Details

Refinshing: Old Iron Should Have Old Brass

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen made when people try and refinish their own antique iron bed is to do an old antique faux’ finish and then have the brass polished up bright and new looking. If you want a new fresh paint job with no distressing or possibly a powdercoated finish…..then polishing the…

Details

Old Time Iron Bed Advertising

Here are two rather diverse “iron bed” advertisements. The first is of a little girl playing with her miniature doll bed. It’s not sure if this was simply a re-touched photo or actually an ” bed” ad. I’ve seen similar ads in the past that had definite script attached discussing the  bed in the photo.…

Details

Iron Beds for The War Effort

In 1943 Berea College, in Kentucky, participates in the WWII effort by organizing a scrap metal drive. Here students stand on iron bed frames and make a victory sign with the bed rails. These beds seem to have always been viewed as a “green” item to be used for the greater good in times of…

Details

“Height”……You’re Up There.

What’s one of the major differences between original old antique iron beds and modern bed frames………height? Back in the 1800’s, iron beds were design to elevate the mattress off the ground to get away from cold drafts and also to eliminate rodents and termites that permeated wooden bed frames. As the Industrial Revolution brought to…

Details