Some/thing Old

The squirrel bed was Nana's when she was a child.  Then it was Aunt Sharon's.  Now it belongs to Carrie.

In between the 35 years in storage and Carrie, the squirrel bed did a stint at Barney's Antique Hospital.  I never met Barney, but the fact that he wrote a 3 page email about this toddler bed gave me a mental picture.  If you see him on the Antique Roadshow, let me know.

Here are a few details about the squirrel bed from Marcia's family. Nana says that it was  purchased by her parents   at Harold's Furniture Store in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Barney discovered that the bed is factory-made (ca. pre World War II), is comprised of mahogany veneer on a maple base.

Barney's philosophy of restoration is to maintain the furniture's historical integrity.  Another way of saying that is:  he doesn't really care how it looks as long as the story of the item's origin is apparent.  A case in point: the back of the headboard remains an eerie color that was apparently original.  This way antique junkies can get a little green thrill from the past.

Because Pearl's bed is white and we wanted them to share the room, we asked that the bed be painted white.  Barney did paint it white, but not until he shellacked the bed so that his restoration was safely sealed underneath.  The result is a white paint that looks chalky and temporary, like you could write your name on it with a quarter.  Can you tell I have mixed feelings about antiques?

Nana and Papa delivered the bed over the summer.  The next quandary was the mattress.  The size of bed is not a standard size, so we had to find someone to make a mattress for the squirrel bed.  I'm not sure how Marcia found this guy, but made-to-order mattresses are his specialty.  He told us that the mattress he made for Carrie was cut down from one he made for Brad Pitt in the movie he did that's set in New Orleans.  I'm not sure which film that is. 

The squirrel bed has a fragile enough structure that neither Marcia nor I will even sit on it. Sometimes I find myself thinking, how long should we keep it before buying a nice white IKEA bed that matches Pearl's.  But other times I remember that it's cool when you own things that have such a story to them.  Like the coffee table I wrote about last month, this bed has meaning beyond it's physical appearance.  Someday Carrie will enjoy hearing all about it.

Comments

[cake]

from an aesthetic point of view, i have to say i'm with barney, "maintain the historical integrity." but, i also believe that furniture should be lived with and loved, not treated as precious and untouchable. if you can't climb on it, then you might as well put it in a museum. if painting it all white means you are going to give it another life in carrie and pearl's room, then i'm all for it.

[amy]

that is very cool and it has inspired me for our "something old" entry. you can add us to your list of participants and it will be up later tonight. thanks for the fun idea!

[valerie]

That is a really neat bed. I wonder if you could get a carpenter in to reinforce it so that it wouldn't fall apart? I understand preserving antiques, but if you are planning to keep it in your family rather than try to build it's value, I would probably paint it and fix it so it would last a lot longer.

Anyway, I played. Some/thing old is up. :-)

[stidmama]

Okay, here's my post (http://www.stidmama.com/?p=383), not as cool as yours, but I hope it fits!

As for the bed... I agree with cake's comment. If it is not used, it might as well be among strangers as an untouchable piece of art. Appreciate it and enjoy it.

And definitely see if a fine carpenter (one who does cabinetry or furniture) can think of a way to reinforce the bed without damaging the esthetics.

[Tracey]

You won't sit on it but Carrie is standing on it?
Here's a tip - some modern slatted beds have little legs about halfway down the bed which support the slats.
Why not place some extra legs halfway down the bed frame as support?
I still have the bed I used as a child and young adult, a Queen Anne natural wood king single, in the spare room of our house. Nothing would make me part with it.