It’s unfortunate that a number of people have the opinion that metal beds can only go into a Victorian or elaborately fanciful setting. That school of thought couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Any antique iron bed can be adapted to the setting by it’s surroundings and the way the owner chooses to dress it. True……you can certainly design a bedroom to have an old Victorian theme. But it isn’t necessary to find a conservative style bed for a conservative elegant setting. The finish you select for your bed can have as much to do with it’s adaptability in a room as the bed itself.
The photo you’re looking at is of a rather conservative bed, yet with very nicely detailed castings and a couple of minor scrolls.
As you can see in this photo we did a neutral distressed white, yet clean, antique faux’ finish with old gold guild-ed castings
. Although the walls are white, the white bed frame stands out with just the right amount o contrast because of the distressed paint finish we did which exposes some of the black underneath it. The gold guild-ed castings also help to delineate the beds design and symmetry.
Take note also that there are a number of things in the room that blend nicely with the bed. The chandelier has an old gold guild-ed framework to it, as does the small table lamp.Even the subtle rust tones we applied to the finish blend with the upholstering on the foot bench at the foot of the iron beds. Everything in the room has a very clean rich elegant look to it. Yet everything has enough distinction to stand on it’s own.
Had one of our “Shabby Chic” crackle finishes been used in a room like this with even a soft pastel……. somethin like that would have changed the entire mood and appeal of this setting.
Much care has to be taken not to refinish a bed in the same color as it’s surrounding for fear of it all washing away and not being appreciated with any individual distinction. As long as there is something like subtle distressing or , in this instance, gold guilding……a very classy elegant setting can be acheived.
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.
