Antique Metal Beds Represent Art and HISTORY!

Own a piece of history with your own fully restored cast iron bed!

ABOUT

Theresa Griffin Kennedy is a lifelong Portland resident. She's been many things in her life & is now dedicated to the salvage & upcycling of antique cast iron metal beds. She rescues them, sands & strips them, & repaints them, generally using jewel tones, and high-fleck, shimmer enamel paint. Some damaged beds have repair done to their "castings" & decoratvie "chills" by a Gresham welder & iron worker.

Kennedy has been published with Portland Monthly Magazine, The Rumpus, The Portland Alliance Newspaper, GoLocalPDX, Streetroots Newspaper, Pathos Literary Review, Live Encounters, & the PSU Spectrum. Her popular 6th book, "The Lost Restaurnts of Portland, Oregon," was published in 2022, and was featured in stories by KOIN, KGW, the Portland Tribune Newspaper, the NE Examiner & Portalnd Montly Magazine. Her writing is shared on Medium, Substack and Muckrack.

Theresa is devoted to saving cast iron bed frames & educating people about their history, the histories of the Foundaries which made them & why they are works of art and examples of priceless Americana.

Antique Bed Restoration

I restore and repaint antique cast iron and metal beds. This is an involved process of sanding, stripping, painting and covering the finished bed frame with clear varnish. The restored bed will have another 100 years as a lovely bed frame for those people thoughtful enough to appreciate the unique and priceless cast iron beds that are found in America, England and France.

Bed Sales

I sell restored antique cast iron metal beds. Those interested in purchasing any of my one of a kind antique beds need only email me to discuss the details. I prefer to sell to those people who seriously appreciate the historical significance of these old beds from the turn of the century and the late 1800s.

The History of Antique Metal Beds

As a writer, author, editor and publisher, I am committed to education. I have written articles on the importance of saving these works of art and early American, English and French culture. Call me or email if you would like me to do a presentation on the history of antique cast iron, and brass beds. I would be happy to help.

Austere style

The austere type of bed frame has more of a utilitarian look, and is more linear. The line of these frames are simpler, and adopt a more modernist look. These styles were manufactured during the Great Depression. The Art Deco elegance and ornamentation was replaced with a more minimalist appearance, which incorporated bold lines. The sharp angles changed to curves and have a smoother look to the castings. The American Farmhouse style bed frame is representative of the austere style and has the masculine appearance which is quite popular with men.

Art Deco style

The Art Deco style became popular in the 1920s and 1930s. This style used zigzag forms, bold lines, and even geometric designs, which included cast iron and small areas of brass ornamentation. The term Art Deco was created by Bevis Hiller, an author, journalist and English art historian who was an expert on antique metal beds. He wrote several books on Art Deco and is considered a leading expert. Art Deco antique beds combine sharp curves, and smooth even finishes. These beds have heavy ornamentation, which was popular until the Great Depression changed the design of many bed frames. French foundries are believed to have made this style popular in 1925, during the Paris Exposition.

Victorian Style

The Victorian era, named after Queen Victoria spanned from the 1800’s to the turn of the century. This era in history spawned social changes, wherein aristocratic people were exposed for who they were, and regular working people were appreciated more. These kinds of beds incorporated extreme ornamentation, with rounded feminine looking curves. Colors used in many of these beds were pastels, reflecting the knowledge that Victorian cast iron beds were a captive market where women were the primary target and consumer. Small areas of brass ornamentation were also used in these kinds of frames.

Portland, Oregon, United States
Open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The best way to reach me is through email.