Found these great beds at a local thrift shop. They were in pretty bad shape although all the parts were present and accounted for. The beds were all original and are a combination of wrought iron and brass.
The Fleur de Lis pattern is incorporated on the head and foot boards and makes the bed quite pretty.
We spent three days stripping the beds of old paint using wire brushes.
Then the beds were wiped down with alcohol. After the alcohol evaporated we gave the beds several coats of white spray paint made for metal.
We let the beds dry and then disassembled them and brought them indoors to continue curing over night.
There were no springs with the bed so Ron screwed a board to the head and foot of the rails through holes that already were in the base.
Then slats were cut and spaced evenly over the base rails. Upholstery webbing was stapled to the fixed head and foot slats and then stapled to the slats. The webbing was stapled to each slat for the length of the bed.
The brass decorative pieces were reattached to the bed after polishing. the brasses are a little worn but that gives the bed character.
This is one of the bed assembled after the repainting process.
Then we got to dress the beds and put the room back together.
This was definitely a major project and took four days to complete. This was especially tough as we were working outside in 98 degree weather. However, we were really pleased with the results and the beds and the room look great.
It’s amazing what happens when you buy a pair of drapes at the thrift store. That’s what started this whole room transformation.