If you imagine yourself back in the elegance and beauty of yesteryear, where you can appreciate the work of skilled craftsmen, it is easy to see why antiques are now so eagerly sort after. You can surround yourself with beautiful pieces but to fully experience the grandeur, you should indulge yourself and lay down to rest on an original brass and iron bed.

	From approximately 1890 onwards the beds gained more attachments and adornments. To personalize the beds, beautiful hand-painted porcelains, porcelain centers, bevelled mirrors, mother-of-pearl pieces and postcards in glass tubes were added. The bed range was as diverse as the surrounds they were in, from the plain shearer's bed to the functional hospital bed and to the beauty and grace of the "four poster canopy". New additions to the family were not forgotten with beautiful iron bassinets and cots in different designs. These were often adorned with brass rods and knobs. These cots and bassinets are popular with the collectors of today who use them to house their prized doll and Teddy Bear collections.
	Some popular designs of the time were the "Three Leaf Clover" and "Cameo" beds. Wheels (or castors) were made of wood, porcelain or brass and varied slightly in size and colour. Craftsmen of the time sometimes placed newspaper inside the brass to tighten it and avoid rattles. Some people even used these places to hide jewelry and special trinkets. As more modern beds were made, many iron and brass beds were discarded and the owners used the pieces for gates, pig and fowl pens, cockatoo cages, and even as a trellis to grow sweet peas. Unfortunately many of these old beds were thrown into farm dams and even used as concrete reinforcing. Sadly the beautiful porcelains met with the same fate.
	As you can appreciate, each bed is as individual as the people who owned them. Beds can be restored to their former glory but should retain some of their own personality and character as part of their charm. Some beds, still in good condition, may have lain forgotten for the best part of 80 years at the back of an old hay shed, but today these finds are rare. These days it is exciting to see an original brass bed in an antique shop but to find a business which specializes solely in original iron and brass beds is " TIMELESS ".