Solid Oak Panel Bed

Lucky find!!! I love Craigslist.

Since you asked... even though you took the option off the table, I'd have to suggest you revisit the idea of painting it white. It might be a tad painful but then I think you would LOVE it instead of just appreciating it. Go with your own vision of the special romantic bedroom of your dreams instead of merely compromising.

Angela,

I agree with Jenny. You are an awesome painter and I say,"Just go for it". Maybe a creamy white with some gentle distressing. Easy for me to say, I am not the ONE who will be lynched!
Janet

Ooh, I'm going to disagree. If you have one piece like this, a focal piece, leaving it unpainted would be fine! (I might give it a good polish, tho). It's stunning. And either way lovely. But I'd never get away with painting it, either. :D

Happy linen hunting. We just upgraded to a King sized bed and it feels GREAT!

I would have grabbed that bed up too - even though I have not one place to put it! Sometimes you just cannot pass up a great deal because you will never forgive yourself if you don't!!!

What a wonderful bed! You found a great deal. I wish we had room in our small bedroom for a king. We have dreams of adding on and remodeling our room so that will be one thing we plan for sure, if that ever happens.

I have a wonderful, old solid oak bedroom 'suite' from the 30's that belonged to my MIL. It's quite a story how she got it and I treasure it. While it's not the style I would have chosen (too plain) I enhanced it a bit with some Old English polish that has a bit of dark stain in it. It gave it an antiqued look and added to the patina of the old wood. I use painted white accessory pieces with it i.e. nightstands, rocker, etc. They look great because I tie it all together with pillows and cushions on the rocker. You can make your bed work, no matter what you finally decide to do with it. It would be wonderful painted and antiqued but if you can't get away with that you can pull it all together. I can't wait to see what you come up with. ~Adrienne~

Indeed what a great find. I've got your back on how expensive these pieces are as we own an entire suite. Like you I'm not really an oak kinda gal but the quality and craftmanship is amazing. This particular bed is from Oakwood Interiors OakCrest collection. Now if you still feel the need to paint it a gal pal happened upon a similar deal in Orange County, CA. She did a fab job painting it to compliment her French country themed decor. That was AFTER she stripped several coats of a poor blue crackle finish. Before you grab that paint brush just let me add that the wood does age beautifully over time. Taking on a very pretty redish tone, no orange undertones AT ALL. A creame wax with a bit of color added to it, say walnut or expresso, may provide another patina option.

JCinCA

I really want a king size bed too. Now that the dog and the kid both insist on shoving us aside in the morning, my big queen size bed suddenly feels really small.

I am inclined to say Antique it white, but I'm not 100% sure I understand what that means. Or do some kind of aging process.

I'm so glad you found something you are really excited about. You're getting kind of embracing oak-world huh? Isn't it amazing how your tastes will expand with a new and different style house?

What an amazing piece!!!

Oh Angela, that is a dilema... I would pile it up with white linens and cushions for a few months and see if you grow to love it and if not ...paint away ...it is yours after all !!!

An amazing find. I know it can be hard to bring yourself to paint something like that but if it were me and that was the look I truly wanted, I would go for it. I might end up painting the secretary I found on Craigslist but I feel a bit apprehensive about it too!

It is beautiful. Just about the time you paint it, oak will come into style again and you might regret it. Of course, the best thing to do is go with what YOU like, not what is in style.

You obviously had a vision of your desired room in mind, and finding this treasure is throwing you for a loop. However, I say, go ahead and paint it a creamy white and sand it a bit to show off the underlying wood. I know the wood purists will cringe, and it is beautiful, but if you saw identical beds, one cream and one in the oak...for the same price, I bet you'd buy the cream/white one. Besides, if you really want to, you can strip it when you're old and grey and when you have plenty of time on your hands!!! ;)

Linda

Hi, Angela! What a great find...the bed has such pretty lines & is beautiful. But, I like you am not an oak person either. I have some nice old oak in one of my bedrooms (washstand/dresser, chest of drawers & a desk). I love these pieces even if they are oak & they are very pretty wood, so I've never considered painting them. That's all the oak in my house.

If this bed were mine, I'd consider getting a Walnut stain (Minwax has a product called Woodsheen with poly in it also) and just darken it a bit. A gel stain would probably work well too, just take an old cloth & wipe it on. You could practice in an inconspicuous spot to see how it looks. That would change the look tremendously without painting it completely. I love the look of darker oak, it blends right in with the cherry & mahogany that I love to pieces. In fact, I bought a new oak pedestal table for my DR that is stained very dark & it looks right at home with my mahogany sideboard & cherry/walnut china cabinet. You would never know it's oak by looking at it, but it definitely is.

You got a great bed! I know you'll make it work. I don't think I'd paint it though...you really may regret that. You just don't find real wood like that anymore without paying a fortune.

Can't wait to see what you do!

Rhoda

I would paint it! Of course, it took me 17 years to convince my husband that our cherry wood bedroom furniture needed white paint! I couldn't find a shabby white king sized bed, so we saved money and painted our old furniture! Stop by my blog and look in my older post(s)for a peek! Hope to see you there!

I think this bed just needs paint stripper. Then leave it just like that. That will make it look aged and have just the right look. There is a store in Dallas where a designer just strips furniture then leaves it. She would charge probably $10,000 for a bed like yours after stripping it.

WOW, is that bed ever gorgeous!!! I can't believe all these amazing finds you've been blessed to come across!!! It's incredible all the wonderful goodies you've been finding!! How fun!!!

Michele
luvkittysmeowmail@gmail.com

I hope you didn't paint this bed. I own the same one and just love it. Make sure you wax it every 6 months to keep it looking great. There are plenty of ways to make your room look great without painting the bed white.

Happy decorating.