With the cost of shipping selling in a different region would limit your return. As discussed here a couple of weeks ago there is a movement away from MCM.

Different styles are still used in historic homes but a picture could help with suggestions of which areas of the country your bed would be more acceptable.

I would assume that the south would be the best place to sell such a bed as there are many historic homes that could use such a piece.

maifleur, I haven't seen that in my area but have seen a movement toward Scandinavian. I'll post a picture tonight, after I get home. It's really beautiful, but doesn't accommodate modern box springs and mattresses. They make bedding in my area and I've gone looking for custom box springs but they're not made like they used to be. I've had three different mfgs tell me I should keep the one I have, it's built better than any that are made today. Problem is, mine is 50 years old and has seen many, many better days.

Just put it on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace. There are plenty of people with old houses who want antiques to fill them. If you don’t want it, it’s probably worthwhile to list it at a reasonable price (don’t assume that because it’s old you can sell it for a ton of money) so that someone comes and takes it away for you. I follow several woodworkers on instagram who have expanded antique bed-frames for their clients to fit modern mattresses - if your price is low enough and the piece is nice enough someone might buy it with that process in mind.

The bed was appraised at $3,000 in 1980 and with the move away from antiques, I'm hoping to get $600-$1,000. Arokes, can you post a link to one of those woodworkers?

Carolina almost any good furniture repair company can expand older beds. Depending on bed it could be as simple as adding two boards along the sides of the head and foot then moving or using a new piece to connect the sideboards. The company would then need to blend the finish so that it matches the original but that is the tricky part. You may have to check the Raleigh-Durham area to find one that can do this.

The discussion that I mentioned on possible style changes is here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-is-your-prediction-of-future-style-dsvw-vd~5374374?n=38

I'm in NC also and in regards to true antiques have found my local Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to be less than worthless and just a forum for scammers. I'd suggest either a quality consignment store or fine pieces auction. Yes, you'll have to pay for that privilege and won't make as much but you're paying for someone else to find down the proper audience which is the hard part.

I would imagine the Southeast would be the last bastion for traditional "antique" furniture.

Unfortunately there is no market for "brown" furniture at the moment. I am remodeling and needed to get rid of what were probably Victorian china cabinets I inherited from my grandmother. There was no interest in purchasing them when I posted to Craigslist - I am located in Los Angeles so a fairly large market.

My designer had given me the names of several places that sold antique furniture and no one was interested in purchasing from me. I could have sold to a "used" furniture place but the amount offered was so low that donating it made more sense.

I wound up just giving my stuff away to a friend - Perhaps I might have gotten a small amount for the cabinet - $350 or so but it just wasn't worth the hassle in the end so I was actually happier to give all of it away to someone who actually needed furniture and liked the stuff.

If you google "brown furniture" there are some interesting articles on why the furniture is almost worthless which goes beyond taste to lifestyle issues. There was a recent article I read on how the market for really valuable stuff - i.e. 18th Century authentic Chippendale has declined precipitously because it is no longer purchased by the ultra wealthy.

I live near the High Point furniture market and there are consignment stores that are only open two weeks a year during market and they sell to the designers decorating spaces for the rich. Many deal in antiques so I might go to one of those and pick their brain.

An "antique" dealer told me that the northeast still has many old houses and people are eager to get antiques to fill their homes. He told me to price the bed to include shipping and sell it in that region. Might try that. This dealer was generous enough to offer $25 for a marble top dresser, an oak washstand, a buffet (all in good condition) and several prints. Everybody's got to watch their profit margin, I guess.

In my area, Craigslist is pretty much useless, a haven for scammers. There are some neighborhood forums I might try. Another strategy is when my son moves out, to put the antiques in his room and keep them until the market picked up.

I think your net profit for selling your bed is going to be minimal. Shipping is expensive and you have to deal with getting it ready to be shipped. Also you might wind up with potential negative stuff to deal with if the buyer decides you didn't describe the condition accurately. I just don't think it's worth it for the amount you would get in the end.

Be honest with yourself in terms of how much sentimental value you are endowing the bed with. I know that I was reluctant to part with my grandmother's stuff but realized in the end it was just wood and I had my real memories of my relationship with her.

Probably your plan of just keeping it in your house makes the most sense because you don't have to deal with the emotions of selling it. Let your heirs unload it :-)

I love it and would probably keep it except as I age, it's getting less and less comfortable and I can see the time when it's hard to get into. I'm sorry I don't have a photo, was too busy last night.

I love wood, something I get from my dad. Besides this being my mom's bed, my dad took it in the mid-sixties and lovingly refinished it, hand rubbing it with tung oil. I saw his face light up as he worked and explained all the neat features of it, how it was made and put together. I'd give it to a museum or historic place if they wanted it; I don't think I'm going to get much for it. I want someone else to enjoy it as much as my family has and I suppose that if someone were to pay for it, they'd value it and treat it well.

I appreciate all of your input and promise that I'll post some pictures, it's a really cool piece and I marvel at the perfection of the turnings in the days of foot-pedal lathes and hand tools.

LOL regarding the bed as I bought a mattress and adjustable bed last autumn and these new mattresses are so HIGH that I need acrobatics to get into it. When I finish my remodel I am thinking of getting the equivalent of doggy steps to make it easier to get into it - the bed is higher than my tush LOL because I've got short legs.

I think keeping it even if you have to move it into another room makes the most sense because you've got so many good memories tied into it.

I understand your wanting to rehome it to an appreciative new owner. When I was offered the low ball price from the used furniture store, I decided that I would rather donate it - at least a charity would be making money on it whatever price they sold it for. But at the very last minute my friend's partner decided to take it and all the rest of the furniture I couldn't use for his brother. His brother is a woodworker of some kind so I knew he would appreciate it and give it a good home. Plus his brother has a large family and is of modest means so the gift of really good furniture meant a lot to him just financially. A win win as far as I was concerned.

I promised I'd post pictures, and finally, here they are.

Nice bed. If you do want to keep it as I suggested a good furniture refinisher could add material to expand it. Using a plain board at the top and at the bottom either plain or a decorative addition on both sides at the posts.

I can visualize it with the original mosquito netting that was used suspended from those posts.

I'm sure there was misquito netting! The old homeplace is on the battlefield in Vicksburg, Miss. A muggy, buggy place.

Although the wood is too dark for a little girls dream bed if you do decide to sell it privately adding something that makes it appear as a canopy bed for a picture could increase the number of people wanting it. Sadly they would probably paint the wood but that would be their decision.

mai, that's a really good idea, I'll see what I can put together when the time comes.

I hope no one ever paints this, not because it's a shame to cover up the mahogany, but because of all the detail, it'd be hard to paint the thing and keep it free from drips etc, in the carvings and the twist design.

This is a horribly depressing post. The idea that no one wants to buy antiques and people are suggesting off loading them or selling them to someone that will end up painting it breaks my heart. Doesn't anyone realize that tends are just that, tends. They fluctuate and are always changing. And trends do go back to styles from earlier times, a great example being mid-century modern coming back into style. Sadly today's furniture won't last as long as an antique. Someday, people will realize that and antiques will become trendy again. I vote for holding into it until that time if you will soon have the room.

Btw... every article I've read, and this has included recent articles, on how to decorate in such a way as to make your home never seem outdated is to use antiques to help anchor a room. I can understand why you don't want to keep a bed that modern mattresses and box springs don't fit, but many people suggested having a furniture repair company widen it to fit normal sized mattresses.

That's just my two cents though.

@airillusion - I think, at least on this thread, you are preaching to the converted.

The reality is that the marketplace now simply is inundated with "brown" antique furniture because of the death and downsizing of the Baby Boomers. The same is true of other collectibles such as Depression Glass which also have (pardon the pun) completely depressed prices. And just try getting rid of your grandmother's Limoges China for 12 - no one wants it even if you give it away.

You can't force people to buy what they don't want and in my own case I simply had too much stuff squeezed in. In my current remodeling I am repurposing those antique items that still work and which I still like but I couldn't keep everything because there simply wasn't room and it didn't function well in my space.

Because of the sentimental value of the bed, OP could probably do well by installing it in her son's bedroom but it is difficult to find anyone who would pay a price that would make it worth while selling it. FWIW, at least in Los Angeles, you can't even DONATE a bed frame to charity because charities don't want to incur the expense of bedbug fumigation.

Helen here to they will not take frames but there is a local charity that takes used mattresses to give to children without beds which would need to be fumigated. Can never understand that reasoning. Especially every so often the group is on the news saying they have no frames so must put the mattresses on the floor. I offered two metal frames and I was surprised as they keep talking about giving kids beds. Mattress on the floor is not a bed although better than several in one bed or on the floor.

If you have nice pieces you might try selling on 1stdibs or Chairish. There are still people who love having a few warm pieces in their homes; my husband and I spent today antiquing and tomorrow are going to the Sandwich Antique Market. Good luck

I would look at having that bed frame expanded, then get one of the newer low profile mattresses and supports. I just bought a zenhaven latex mattress and put it in my antique iron bed (which I had expanded to a queen), resting on bunky board support instead of a box spring. Some of the latex mattress manufacturers have low profile supports that are a bit thicker than a bunky board, but the bunky boards work very well. For a queen, you just have to be sure there is a center support that runs the length of the bed. I found a portable one on Amazon that works very well. It makes the mattress a normal height, since the bed originally had flat, not box springs. Very comfy. You could then keep it and have a comfortable, beautiful bed for yourself

If the biggest taste makers on HGTV, Apartment Therapy, and other channels started showing "brown furniture" and antiques, the market would change dramatically. Setting a table with Grandma's china in 10% of kitchen photos would help show these pieces off and spark demand. Even if the china doesn't go in the microwave, some of it can be washed in the short-cycle dishwasher every day for years before it wears out.

airillusion, don't be depressed. I'm certain this is something that will regain popularity, shucks, give it 20 years and the French/Tuscan/Country look will be back again.

I'm going to hold onto it until I can find an owner who won't paint it. I think the answer right now is to get my son to move into his own apartment so I can put it in his room. Does anybody have a market for a 25yo college graduate whose appetite counts for at least 60% of my grocery budget? Very pleasant and cheerful, does the dishes when he's told to and comes with two beehives and 10,000+ bees!

I am also in NC near the Furniture Mart. Would you mind sharing the consignment stores that you mentioned? Thanks

I have to do some research on that. Have you been to furniture market before? Some of those shops are only open during market or open abbreviated hours between markets.

No, I have not been to the market before. I just moved to the area and realized how close I am to the furniture capitol of the world! I am amazed at the deals that I have found so far.

In order to go to Furniture Market, you either have to go with a credentialed designer or have credentials with a company that makes, sells or provides to the furniture industry. The antique shops are not so picky, so I'll get together a few names.

If you want to look at furniture, try Furnitureland South in High Point, it's mind-blowing. A second strategy is waiting until some time in November and then look around for market samples. They make the samples as one offs, here in the states, so often where it would usually be made with particle board, they make it with plywood. My accountant's husband explained it to me, makes samples for furniture market.

I did find The Red Collection and On Consignment in Greensboro and plan to check both of them out. I apologize if this is considered "high jacking" a post. I am new to Houzz and not sure how things are done. :)

That is great to know. I went to the Furniture Mart in Hickory which is open to the public and a really nice salesperson told me that many of the furniture manufacturers take custom pieces that were rejected by clients to the consignment stores. I imagine consignment stores in High Point also have same deals.

I've shopped at On Consignment and gotten market sample sofa and a lamp. The Red Collection is good, too, but more of an antique shop, even though they sell on consignment. Colfax furniture sometimes has samples and so does Furnitureland South, their prices for samples are higher, probably because they buy the samples from top-end mfgs.

Check out this link. These stores are located right around the IHFC and Shoppes at Market Square, two big buildings that house different furniture showrooms. These are the places that designers shop for clients who want high-end antiques.

Thanks for the link! The antique stores look really interesting. The chairs I like are $13,000. Yikes! Have you spoken with them about your bed?

Not yet, I'm going to go During in October Market and talk to a few of them. My husband works with several different furniture companies so he can get credentials.