“One of a Kind” is a phrase thrown around way to often. But when it comes to antique iron bed frames from the 1800’s, it’s near impossible to label one of them with this title. The best you can hope for is when it comes from someone who has been in the antique trade, and…
You might ask …..”why are matching twin size iron beds so difficult to find” ? The best way to understand their rarity is to consider the population and socio-economic make up of our population at the time iron beds were experiencing their greatest popularity in this country. That time was the mid to late 1800’s…
So what you ask makes a designer worth their salt in the design world ? Well when it comes to southern designers throughout the state of Louisiana and in particularly New Orleans, it’s attention to detail. Some of the better designers I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the past 40 years have been…
When most people think about antique iron beds, they think “white”. What most people aren’t aware of is that “white was probably the least popular color that beds were painted back in the 1800’s. “White” only became popular when “reproductions” started to help satisfy the demand for the lack of original antique beds that were…
When iron beds were at their Zenith in the mid 1800’s, many manufacturers were constructing a very rudimentary metal spring unit to hold the feather mattresses of the day. These metal spring units would later be refined and become known as a “box spring”. Today’s box springs are tightly wrapped iron coils that resemble a metal…
Not something traditionally seen in this country…….but the Butler’s bedroom was a common setting amongst the upper class throughout England. Because the butler held a rather important role in the families day to day living, it was important his private sanctuary be befitting his station in life. Often great pains were taken to make his…
Victorian iron beds were a place of rest and relaxation. For the Victorian Era, they were a place of romance and style. The Victorians were well known for their romantic gestures, including love letters, poems and embellished cards. A shadowbox can highlight a lace paper background and the rich embellishments of a card such as…
The Victorian Era is a name for the period from 1837 to 1901, the length of the rule of Britain’s Queen Victoria. American Victorianism was an offshoot of this period and lifestyle that occurred in the United States, chiefly in heavily populated regions such as New England and the Deep South. The name was derived…
This one has a rather colorful past, if we’re to believe the “picker” we got it from. He canvases the New Orleans area and said that it came out of the red light district over 175 years ago, and had been handed down through the family of the madam that supposedly owned and operated the…
One of the many determining factors that go in to the collectibility and value of an antique iron bed is the size of the tubing that goes around the perimeter of a bed frame and specifically across the top. Probably as high as 90% of all iron beds are made with 1″ thick wall tubing…