When you think about metal beds, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Well if your a women, it’s probably something like “elegant” , “attractive”, “romantic”, …………if you’re a man, it’s probably “girlie”, “feminine”.
The thing that obviously helps determine a persons initial opinion of one of these old metal beds, is it’s “finish” or “color”……. even more so than the shape and the design. I’ve had beds that were incredibly ornate and scrolled, yet had old black iron finishes on them and they appealed to men without a question. Yet when the same beds had been painted in a white or some soft pastel with a crackle finish, most men considered them to feminine.
Conversely I’ve had beds that were extremely straight and geometric with a very heavy tubing masculine look, that we did in white or pastels……..and then took on a very feminine appearance.
When men consider the use of antique iron beds as being too feminine, they’re not taking into account that the bulk of our population, back in the 1800’s, were sleeping in them. Families were raised in them.
The “visual” has always been our initial way of judging anything. It’s not until you get to know the inner workings of how something is made, can it really be appreciated and understood. So is the case with metal beds. You would think a a big brawnie coal miner from Pennsylvania would never sleep in a thin gauge plain bed with corner brass finials. But that, quite often was the case. Why?……. Because back in the 1800’s there were two things that came into play that would have seen such a pairing quite common. The first was that iron beds, quite often were not seen as a decorative piece of furniture as they are today. Back then they were seen simply as a utilitarian item to elevate and hold the mattress. The second thing that came into play was the manner in which the decor of a home, and particularly that of the bedroom was never a concern of the man. That was strictly left up to the wife or woman of the family. In the 1800’s such things as interior design were considered something a woman knew more about and were chauvinistically considered to be the women’s “job” in a household. So it wasn’t uncommon for the decorative nature of what would be considered quite feminine to pervade a home with men. It wouldn’t be until the 1900’s that men would start becoming interested in such things otherwise the domain of their wives. The phrase “getting in touch with his feminine side” was not something heard back in the 1800’s. Such a schoolo of thought would not readilty be accepted until the 1900’s.
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 our company Face Book page for multiple photo albums on Custom Finishes, Canopy Conversions and a comprehensive “Before & After” King Conversions album.
