There are few memories as strong as those spent at Thanksgiving time with my parents. I had moved to the west coast back in 75′, from back in Ocean City Maryland. After finishing school at GW in Washington DC and starting my iron bed business in Georgetown , I decided to move to California and…
For over thirty years people have been asking me how it is that I had come by the name, Cathouse Antique Iron Beds for my business. Although you wouldn’t think it would take much of an imagination, the true origin is actually pretty funny. While living in Georgetown, Washington D.C., and attending George Washington University,…
It’s hard to believe that the big strong iron beds you see gracing the cover of magazines, continually being used as a focal point in movies and plays…….has an Achilles Heel. Well it’s true. In this photo you’re looking at the cast iron drop-in eyelet “hitch”. What you ask is the functionality of these piece…
One of the first things that comes to mind when you picture a iron bed in the tropics is mosquito netting and an antique canopy bed. Probably because the were light and airy and with a canopy framework, great for draping curtains or netting over. Because of the abundance of flying insects, throughout the tropics,…
Few images conjure up a romantic setting like that of a canopy iron bed. Even when the iron bed is not an authentic antique iron bed, the setting, canopy top, and way it’s dressed will determine the effect the owner is trying to achieve. Over the years I’ve converted countless iron beds to canopy and…
Most all of my blogs have to do in some way shape or form with iron beds. That’s the purpose of company blog……to enlighten people on what your company deals in. In this case iron beds. But I’m departing from that traditional format to pay respect to someone who I grew up watching in he…
Having dealt in antique iron beds for close to 40 years, it always drives me nuts when I see a nicely staged room that has a old bed that is missing pieces. You’d be surprised how many decorators don’t give an incomplete iron bed a second thought. To me it’s as bad as a dresser…
Although I’ve written blogs on this topic in the past, I always like revisiting it for the benefit of new parents or young people getting their first place. Storage is almost always an issue. Apartments are usually smaller that what you were use to growing up and there’s never enough space for all your clothes,…
In this particular photo’s the designer/owner has chosen a “Shabby Chic” distressed chip paint setting and included a very Austere bed. Not necessarily the style bed I would have chosen for this particular setting. Occasionally, if done properly, a room that has been decorated with a very feminine flair, can handle a more straight Austere…
When refinishing an antique iron bed, there are few things that can “make” or “break” the look of the finished job more than how you treat the brass. Nearly 50% of all the iron beds that were being produced back in the 1800’s, had some accent of brass on them. This brass was not without…