Beds New and Old

It is a chilly (52 degrees at mid-afternoon), overcast, occasionally rainy day along Lake Huron.  We've had only a handful of really warm days so far, with many more being cold and rainy.  I'm told there is warmer weather heading our way... just in time for the actual start of summer ten days hence.

North Shore Home Furnishings in Alpena delivered my new bed this morning.  I wanted a contemporary bed with a lower-than-normal headboard, so it would not overpower the small master bedroom; and a low footboard which would not obscure the lake view.  And, of course, it had to be reasonably priced.  This one seemed to fit the bill.  (Alas, like so much else being sold today, it was made in China.)

The spec sheet should have announced "some assembly required" in 24-point bold.  It should also have said something about reading the directions first.  The delivery guys didn't, and got the side rails installed upside down at first.  Once we consulted the directions and got back on track, all went well.

The side rails go on... upside down!

The center supports are installed, and the job is nearly finished.

This is a platform bed.  That makes it several inches lower than a bed with a box spring.  I'll live with it for a few weeks and then decide if a box spring is needed.  For now it's simply nice to have a bed with a headboard, so my pillow won't disappear over the edge several times every night!

While these guys were on site, I asked them to help set up the bed we brought up from Detroit a few days ago.  The new bed took half an hour to put together; the old one assembled in five minutes.  But a couple extra hands made the chore much easier.

A new bed for the master bedroom...

...and an old one for the guest bedroom.

Two more beds remain to be dealt with.  These are the four-posters my parents used when we lived in Ohio.  When I was a child these were in the guest bedroom of my grandmother's house in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  They originally came from the Emerson Homestead in York, Maine, where my grandmother's family spent their summers for many decades.  If memory serves, these beds are extra-long twins, which means I'll be buying more mattresses before the year is out!

My next decorating project is recovering the dining room chairs.  Both the foam padding and fabric are in poor shape — hardly surprising after more than 25 years.  Douglas at North Shore has recommended an upholsterer, and he even volunteered to check JoAnn Fabrics for material which will coordinate with the new sofa.  Over the years I've found that small town merchants often take good care of their customers.  That's clearly the case here. •••