Design

A Vintage Princess Bed

December 4, 2012

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After including a bed for Greta in her big-girl-room mood board that we found in the online classifieds, we were really holding our breaths that we would get it.  We called and called and left messages with the seller with no response.  At this point, we thought that we had definitely jumped the gun by including it in our mood board.  Cocky, Marcums.  I almost gave up, after all, the vintage twin bed was listed at only $65 (!!!) and I was sure someone swooped in and got it before we did.  But, after a few days of calling and going crazy, I decided to send a text as a last ditch effort.  The seller responded right away that the bed was still available and we were off to go check it out.  Let that be a lesson to me?

Aw well, the important thing is the bed is all ours and will be perfect in Greta’s room. Although currently and temporarily (obvy),  it’s hanging out in the family room:

From the back of the headboard, we learned that the wood is fruitwood and the bed is for a princess.  Perfect.  One day, Greta is going to just love that.

From the front, we learned that it could use a little tlc. While the wood is in overall good shape, it definitely needed cleaned and shined up. Here’s how the footboard (which looks about the same as the rest of the bed) looked before:

And after I cleaned it:

I like using Liquid Gold on all of the wood around here because it is a cleaner and preservative and, most importantly it also is Almond scented. :)  Is there any other cleaner that is almond scented and why not?! It smells soooo good.

It only took about 20 minutes to clean and polish, errr preserve the whole bed and those twenty minutes had it looking a thousand times better.  The truth is, when we first saw the bed in the classifieds, and weren’t sure the type of wood or condition of it, the plan was to paint the bed white.  But now, we are loving the warm, rich tone of the fruitwood and wouldn’t dream of painting it.

As for the two tall posts on the headboard, I meant to get a shot so you could get a reference of how tall they are, but until I do, they are over 6 feet tall and solid wood like the rest of the bed which I think will look nice and substantial in Greta’s room.

With my last burst of energy, I dragged the box spring (that actually belongs to our king sized bed) we had stored downstairs, upstairs and well, this:

Too big.  Wah. Wahhhhh.  I believe it is an XL twin box spring, but it was worth a shot. So, while I am painting Greta’s room (check back tomorrow to see that reveal), Chris is shopping for a new mattress for the princess’s princess bed.  When you put it like that, it’s hard to even be irritated.  #amiright?!

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What do you think?

  1. Anonymous says:

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  4. Ames says:

    Method wood for good cleaner smells like almonds too. So good! I use it on all our wood or faux wood (Ikea) furniture!

  5. Love the bed frame, the tall posts, the official princess stamp on the back, you’re right. She will LOVE that one day!

  6. Kim says:

    What a great find! I like the tall post on the headboard but not on the footboard.

  7. courtney says:

    With everyone painting every inch of wood white… it is sooo nice to see that you are planning on leaving that beautiful bed alone! It is such a great find!!

  8. Allison says:

    Wow- that’s an incredible find! I love that you’re leaving the wood; it will look so rich against the grasscloth. (The flat panels in the middle of the head and footboards could always be painted down the road if you want to change things up but keep some wood tone.) I love the legs and detailing on the footboard!

    Did you get any idea of the bed’s former life? It’s such a statement piece that it has to have a story behind it.

  9. What a gorgeous bed! I had one just like it when I was young and I loved being a little princess ;)

  10. You got the bed?! Congrats! It’s B-E-A-Utiful!

  11. Rebecca says:

    Twin and Full size mattresses/box springs are 75″ long. Queen, King and Twin XL’s are 80″ long. If you wanted to use your box spring you could jerry-rig the bed to accommodate 5 more inches in length pretty easy by adding a wood block on the ends. I have a full size bed that was adjusted to accommodate Queen length this way.

    The bed looks great!!

  12. Kim @ Yellow Brick Home says:

    That bed is flipping sweet!

  13. Lyndsay @ that 70s house says:

    I love the bed, what a great find! On another note, I am thoroughly impressed that you were able to drag that box spring down there. We have a King too and both box spring and mattress are SO large and unweildly, I hate moving them!!

  14. $15 for a bed!! THAT is a score.

  15. Yes! I just updated to post to say that. The box spring actually belongs to our king sized bed, so we were THAT surprised it was too big. I think Ikea sells twin-sized slats for pretty cheap though. :)

  16. Thanks Anne! The box spring actually belongs to our king sized bed, so we were THAT surprised it was too big. I think it is an XL twin, so we’re okay picking up something for a normal sized twin. I think Ikea sells twin-sized slats for pretty cheap though. :)

  17. The box spring actually belongs to our king sized bed, so we were THAT surprised it was too big. I think it is an XL twin, so we’re okay picking up something for a normal sized twin. I think Ikea sells twin-sized slats for pretty cheap though. :)

  18. Kristi says:

    Super cute! I like that you are leaving it natural wood. I thought you would paint it white and that would look nice but it’s beautiful natural. We found our big girl bed yesterday on craigslist. It’s over an hour away so the lady said we can have it for $15 rather than $25 (use the $10 for gas lol). How awesome is that?! Mine is not in good condition so I will be painting it white… or maybe a fun color… hmmm.

  19. meaganbriggs3 says:

    The color of that bed is so rich. I have never been a huuuuge fan of natural wood. Maybe that’s why NONE of our furniture match and so thats why we paint everything black….anyways, that wood is gorgeous. I love it. Good find! Is the mattress an XL twin?

    (I am loving reading your blogger in the morning, ps)

  20. I agree with Emily–perhaps it would be easier to by standard size metal sideboards instead of trying to find a weird sized mattress? It looks awesome though!

  21. I love it! Perhaps (I don’t know if this is possible with that particular bed)…you could buy a new metal frame that will fit the mattress you already have? Could be cheaper? But…might be more of a hassle/annoying. Just a thought!

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