03 Oct a vintage iron bed DIY
Last June, when we were driving home from Mexico, I looked out the window and saw something truly special. You’d think I was a kid passing by an amusement park the way I yelled and begged Kris to stop the car. He stopped… even though what I was frantically pointing to was this:
A little antique shop in a dusty border town. Not much to look at, except the side of the building was stacked with rows and rows of antique iron beds. All of them sitting outside, baking in the sun and rusting away.
Miles is rounding the corner on 4 years old, which means it’s about time for a big boy bed. I’d always imagined him having a vintage iron bed. I especially love the simple, clean lines of mid-century hospital beds. They’re lower to the ground, which is great for kids, yet the look is sophisticated enough that he can use it into his teens. I also knew the simple iron bed would go well with his current room design.
So, while Kris kept the car running, I hopped out and began looking through the piles of bed frames. Many were too rusted to restore, but I found just what I was looking for, priced at $40:
I took it home and started the tedious process of sanding it by hand. The rust wasn’t too thick, thankfully, and I read that you can use white vinegar to counteract it, so I sanded the whole frame, then wiped it down with rags soaked in vinegar, let that sit for 24 hours, and then sanded again.
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