cathouse beds

The Bowed Footboard Bed

Why would an  bed designer, design a  bed with a bowed or curved footboard? Many people feel it’s just something to set one  manufacturer apart for another. Something to make straight line beds a little different from the rest. But there actually is a practical reason for  “bowed footboard” iron beds. Both of the reasons…

cathouse beds

Refinishing Your Iron Bed In Sandblasted Pewter

Occasionally I’ll get a person who loves antique iron beds, but doesn’t want an antique   finish. There are many people that want a new modern clean look, almost industrial in nature. As I’ve mentioned many times, the beauty of a metal bed is in the castings the foundry designed back in the 1800’s and…

cathouse beds

Iron Bed Refinishing Finish Number 1 Black Smyth

The photo you’re looking at is our most popular  finish…….our Black Smyth. Why is it called that and how did it come about? Read on…….. One day I was in the store cataloging and arranging a new shipment or iron beds that I had just gotten in. It actually had some of the prettiest beds…

cathouse beds

A Bed for “Extreme Home Makeover”

One of the more enjoyable things I’ve had the privilege to be a part of in my business, was being able to do a bed for a needy family on Extreme Home Makeover TV series. All of the items used on the show are donated. Donating antique iron beds for silent auctions or causes isn’t…

cathouse beds

Sometimes Simple Is Better with Iron Beds

Take a look at this  bed. Is it a bed you’d stop and look at if it was disassembled in an antique store? Probably not. But after seeing how attractive a simple one , like this can be…….once assembled and dressed properly, it may give rise to a whole new set of design possibilities. The setting…

cathouse beds

Iron Bed Faces Castings That Is

Many people think iron beds are simply that……. iron tubing that is sometimes scrolled or curved to give a pleasant design to it. What most people don’t know is how intricate the “castings’ on an iron bed can be. True most iron beds don’t have the detailed castings in this photo. But all iron beds…

cathouse beds

Google Iron Beds

Most of the traffic I get for my iron beds comes to me from customers doing a Google Search . There are hundreds of different search terms that can obviously help find an iron bed. Some of those search terms are antique iron beds, antique iron bed,rustic iron bed, discount iron bed, metal beds, iron…

cathouse beds

Academy Award Meets Iron Bed

In 1995 I was approached by a publicist who had asked me to select an iron bed for a photo shot on the beach for her client, who had just been nominated for and Academy Award. She had wanted the bed to have a white chipped finish, because her client was going to be wearing…

cathouse beds

Dejavu Iron Bed

Many years ago I went against my better judgment and allowed a client to talk me into converting a very thin gauge antique iron bed into  a modern king size. Because additional tubing needs to be welded into the width of the interior design, the tubing going across the top of the bed should always…

Billy-The-Kid-Bed

Jesse Slept Here!!!!!!!!!

Close to thirty years ago I was just getting started in the iron bed business. At that time I was living Washington DC, going to school at George Washington Univ. and doing all my antique buying within a comfortable “one days” drive throughout Pennsylvania, W. Virginia, and Ohio and a little in Maryland and Virginia.…