Antique Jenny Lind Spool Bed

by Patricia

I've always wanted a Jenny Lind bed. The style is timeless and charming. So when I spotted this bed at a thrift shop I didn't think twice about buying it.

antique jenny lind spool bed to gardening decor, chalk paint, container gardening, gardening, painted furniture, repurposing upcycling

The set included both the head- and foot boards which is what I thought I was buying. When the gentleman at the thrift store went to load my purchase into my vehicle, he said to hold on and came back with the rails and wood slats. Bonus -- a complete set!

The bed was in fairly good condition, but it was dirty and had quite a few nicks and scratches. It looked as if one spindle was broken and then repaired at some point in time.

There isn't a manufacturer's name on the bed itself; however, the iron hardware was stamped "M. Greenwood." The M. Greenwood & Company was founded by Miles Greenwood in Cincinnati. I found references to the company as early as 1846 and the company was active into at least the 1880's until Mr. Greenwood's death in 1885.

I was so excited to start the project that I didn't even assemble the bed prior to starting. About halfway through I started to worry that it might be flimsy or wobbly once it was assembled. But the craftsmanship is excellent and has stood the test of time. The rails simply lock into place and it is solid once assembled.

I wanted a white finish and it would have been simpler to spray it. Let me tell you upfront it is very time consuming to paint all the spindles. However, I wanted a hand painted finish, so I decided to invest the time.

First I applied shellac to prevent bleed through. Next, I painted the bed in 2 - 3 coats of Old White (Annie Sloan Chalk Paint). I applied minimal distressing to the head- and foot boards, but applied heavier distressing to the rails as this seemed to be where it wore naturally over the years. The entire project was sealed with soft wax and buffed to a smooth finish.

The photo below shows the hardware assembled. As I mentioned it simply locks into place and is (thankfully) solid as a rock.

Below shows where I applied heavier distressing on the rails where it was naturally worn over time.

I included this shot because it had the flowers I used for props. Nothing to do with the bed, but I like flowers. :-)

Only minimal distressing was applied to the spools. The previous owner's repair of on of the spools is barely visible (2nd spool from the right at the top).

More flowers :-)

Close up of the foot board.

Feel free to stop by my blog to see more about this or other projects.

http://theblacksheepshoppe.blogspot.com/2015/06/antique-jenny-lind-spool-bed.html

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3 of 5 comments

Marion Nesbitt on Jun 29, 2015
Found very similar headboard at Thrift. Appealed to me although my friends said I was nuts. Have it still. Unfortunately, it's a 3/4 size so hard to find a mattress & box for it.

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- Patricia on Jun 30, 2015
  @Marion Nesbitt My bed is a 3/4 size, too. I plan to sell the bed, but if it doesn't sell I will keep it for my guest room. I googled custom mattresses and found companies that will supply the 3/4 size (sheets, too).
  
  1
Lauren365 on Jul 11, 2015
I grew up sleeping on a ¾ size jenny lind bed. Since, at the time, there was no place to buy ¾ sheets, we took a full-size flat sheet, lined it up along the top of the mattress, then tucked it along the sides an bottom. It worked just fine. I had a fluffy down comforter, so I didn't use a top sheet. Although you could probably use another full-size top sheet, and hem it if it bothered you!

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