Antique iron beds came in every possible design and after having been in the business for forty years I continue, to this day, seeing designs I’ve never come across before.
But there is one consistency when it comes to styles and designs that you can count on. Iron beds will always fall into one of two categories……..”Mountain Top” or “Flat Top”. Now within the “Mountain Top” category there are a number of variations. Some of those would be the “Wedding Ring”, which is a complete round or oval design. Then there is “Camel Top” or “Mountain Top” with one hump in the middle and short flat horizontal tubes connecting on either side of the hump. There is the “Triple Mountain Top” that has three arched sections across the top. The longer you look for iron beds, you discover more and more variations on those curved tops.
When it comes to “Flat Tops ” there is only one. The tubing, whatever size it might be, is continuously flat across the entire top of the design. The corners may vary from what we refer to as “soft shoulders” where the tubing bends and goes directly down to the ground at a 90 degree angle. Other corners include castings that the top tube goes in to directly and then another tube comes out of that same casting and goes directly down to the floor.
It should be mentioned that both “Flat Top” and “Mountain Top”designs came in all of the style categories of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Victorian, Craftsman, Geometric, Austere and Tailored.
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.