Most of us spend more time in bed than anywhere else in our homes. True: a lot of the time we are asleep, but our bedroom is the last thing we see at night and the first thing we see every morning, so it is very important to create the right atmosphere for our well being. Antiques can play a major part in creating an aura of calm and permanence, as well as providing some romance.
Many of the best hotels in the country advertise that they have ‘Four Poster Rooms’ for that romantic weekend break, and charge extra for the privilege! It is however unusual to find four posters and good antiques in people’s houses. Often bedrooms are the preserve of the modern box divan base, fitted wardrobes with sliding mirror doors, and fitted furniture really more suited to the kitchen.
In fact it is easy and surprisingly inexpensive to furnish a bedroom with antiques and create the sort of ambience that luxury hotels aspire to in your own home.
First the bed. These days most people seem to want at least a 6’ wide bed. This can be a problem since many antique beds are not this wide, but for a four poster this is seldom an insurmountable problem.
The main features of a four poster are the two posts at the foot of the bed. Those at the head were usually just plain pieces of wood hidden by the hangings. The base of the bed too is largely hidden by the covers and so is often made of ordinary soft wood. The top part or cornice is the only other part which is permanently visible.
What tends to happen then is that people buy small beds and make them larger, replacing the elements which are too small.
I usually recommend that old, short, pieces of timber are replaced completely with new. The old pieces can then be retained intact so that the bed could be returned to its ‘original’ state later if the market ever puts a price on originality over practicality (which I don’t think it will, but better be safe than sorry!).
A nicely adapted 18th century four poster can be bought for about £10,000. But large Victorian examples can be found which are big enough for modern use from about £4,000.
If you are on a really tight budget try simply buying a pair of good antique carved posts and building you new bed around them. Pairs of posts can be found from about £2,000.
To furnish the rest of the room look to the late 18th century for tallboys with cavernous drawer space, or even better linen presses with a mixture of drawers and cupboard space. Prices of these may well surprise you, starting at about £1,000.
For a dressing table a three-drawer side table or lowboy makes a good solution, again by hunting hard you could find one of these from about £500, top it with a toilet mirror, typically a swinging mirror on a base containing small drawers from about £400, and say a single pretty 18th century chair which could be bought for about £300, and you will have created a classic and romantic room, all for less than the price of a, dare I say, a naff modern, fitted bedroom.
What is more when you come to climb further up the slippery property ladder, instead of leaving your investment for the next owner of the house to rip out and replace with a newer and even more naff version, you can pick your antiques up and take them with you to create another great room in your new home, or at the very least sell them with ease and recycle the money into something better!!
