When you think about metal beds, what’s the very first thing that comes to mind? Well if your a women, it’s most likely something like “stylish” , “attractive”, “romantic”, …………if you’re a man, it’s probably “girlie”, “feminine”. It’s a preconceived notion the majority of people have of those stunning old antique iron beds that graced the bedrooms of Victorian homes and estates alike, throughout the 1800’s.
The issue that naturally helps establish 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 style. I’ve had beds that were extremely elaborate 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 “finished” in a white or some delicate pastel with a crackle finish, most men would then considered them to be too feminine.
Conversely, I’ve had beds that were extremely straight and geometric with a very heavy tube masculine look, that we painted in white or pastels……..and then took on a very feminine look.
When a man considers 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 original way of judging anything. It’s not until you get to know the inner workings of how something is manufactured, can it really be appreciated and understood. So is the case with iron beds. You would think a big brawnie coal miner from Pennsylvania would never sleep in a thin gauge plain bed with modest 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 made such a pairing very common. The first was that iron beds, quite often were not seen as a ornamental piece of furniture as they are today. Back in that era they were seen simply as a utilitarian piece of furniture to elevate and hold the mattress. The second thing that came into play was the manner in which the decorating of a home, and particularly that of the bedroom was by no means 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 thought of as something a woman knew more about and were chauvinistically regarded as 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, normally the domain of their wives. The expression “getting in touch with his feminine side” was not something heard back in the 1800′s. Such a school of thought and belief would not readily be acknowledged 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.
