I love vintage iron beds! That's a great price too. I just spent, oh, around 18 times that to get an antique looking daybed from Charles P. Rogers to use in my office/guest room. (It had to work with a trundle and I just couldn't find a true antique that had the necessary clearance.)

Make sure it's the size of a standard twin or larger (39" x 72", I think). Some antique daybeds are more narrow and probably wouldn't be large enough for an adult to sleep on. If your bed has side rails, maybe you could take the springs off and use slats or have a custom bunkee board made to use under the mattress.

My daughter's antique iron bed, at 42" wide, is slightly wider than a twin but we use a standard twin mattress. It has the original side rails but no springs. At first, we used 2x4 wood slats across the rails to support the mattress, which worked fine, but I didn't like the side gaps and thought that wasn't too safe for her little feet. So I went to Custom Comfort Mattress, where they make custom size mattresses (my kids love these mattresses), and had them make a 42" wide bunkee board to fit right inside the side rails, which have a ledge.

It cost around $45 and works perfectly under her mattress. Her bedskirt keeps it under wraps, although it's covered it in the same fabric as her mattress so it looks just like a boxspring. I could have used a boxspring but didn't want the height or the extra expense.

You can also have a custom size mattress made (I didn't b/c I wanted to use standard twin sheets).

Chippy paint is great but it might be safer to seal it with a clear coat, since you never know about lead paint with the older pieces. I had my daughter's bed sandblasted and refinished to look chippy and distressed, just in case.

I grew up sleeping on old iron beds. The springs are probably shot. The bunkee board is a good idea--my dad just cut a piece of plywood to fit and put the mattress on top.

You'll need to measure the bed to see if a twin mattress will fit. Some beds were more like cots and a twin mattress will overhang the edge by a few inches.

As for guest issues--how often do you have overnight guests? How many? If you have a guest room that will sleep two, do you need a queen sized option? With a twin bed and a full bed, you can sleep two singles or a couple and a single. I'd go by the number of guests you normally have. You don't have to decorate your house to accommodate the maximum number of guests you might possibly have. There are always hotels. And if having a day bed in your office works 95% of the time, then do what works for you on a daily basis, not what you *might* need 4-5 days a year.

On the other hand, if your entire family descends upon you four times a year for a week at a time, maybe you do need to be able to use the queen sized air mattress.

Snap it up girl! S N A P I T U P !

Great topic!
I just attended a garden tour and one of the properties had an iron bed and an iron crib both antiques. The bed they had in a large screened in gazebo and it was used for themselves and guests and also as a sofa , the crib had one set of rails taken off and was used as a setee in another out building used for entertaining . The owner said she had both matresses made . I sat on them and they were sturdy and comfortable and would easily accomadate adults and they looked awesome . I would snap it up too (and use the caution suggested about the lead protection)