Iron Beds back in the 1800’s walked a fine line of trying to please both male and female family members. The men wanted something strong, heavy and masculine…while the women of the house wanted something more light and feminine looking. To achieve the needs of both family members, foundries and designers tried everything under the sun to appease both parties. In this instance the bed was constructed with large oversized tubing with a tall headboard. It was a massive piece. To tone down the massive bulky look….. the foundry poured beautiful flowing castings that had ornate flowers. At the top of the head and footboard, the “Crown” casting…… which is what the top center casting is referred to as, was a “Heart Shape w/ Two Cherubs”. The bed was also painted white to try and soften the over sized “bulkier” nature of the bed. It was hoped the Cherub/Angel would appease the feminine half of the family. Yet have a massive, strong look that would appeal to the male side of the family. This was the case with all the beds that were being produced back in the 1800’s. Single men were afforded designs that were straight lined and had larger diameter tubing. Single women or young girls were offered beds that had beautiful scrolling with ornate floral designs. There was always something for everyone. No person or household was without a design that would suit their needs. The trickiest thing was trying to appeal to a household where a man and women wanted their own input as to what style a bed should be.
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.
