Many people aren’t aware that iron beds that were being made back in the 1800’s were never larger than today’s double/full size. There were no queen or king sizes. But people were much smaller then and the luxury of space wasn’t a strong necessity.
Although 90% of the bed market was made up with full size beds. There were twins available. But twin beds were much more of a luxury. For a person to have their own bed was unheard of. People always slept together. If there were more than one child in a family, you can bet they all slept in the same bed.
That’s why a third of our business is converting the old beds to accommodate today’s queen size mattresses. Another third is converting the same beds to accommodate today’s king size mattresses.
As I already mentioned, the largest size bed being made back in the early 1800’s was a double size. So when someone wants a king size, we convert whatever original double , they select from our inventory, into a king size. That’s done by cutting the bed apart in integral places and adding additional tubing to increase the width of the headboard and foot board. We also take molds of the original castings so when additional vertical rods are needed, we’re then able to pour those needed castings in our foundry. When we convert a bed to king size it’s been done in the same manner in which the bed was originally put together close to 200 years ago.
When it comes to Queen conversions, none of the above is necessary. The reason being, the difference in width between the antique double size and the modern queen is negligible…. It’s only a couple of inches on both sides. So a width conversion isn’t necessary like that with a king. The way we accommodate the old double size, to hold the queen mattress, is by welding the siderails, that hold the headboard and footboard together lengthwise, longer by 5″. Once put together the box spring and mattress will set on top of the siderails and extend over a couple of inches. Once your bed is appropriately dressed, that width difference won’t be noticeable.
I hope you’ve found this blog informative. I invite you to revisit my website
to answer any and all questions you might have about antique iron beds.
I also invite you to take a look at the multiple “Before & After” photo’s on our
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at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cathouse-Antique-Iron-Beds/126838177398?ref=ts