How to Antique an Iron Bed
An iron bed is a bold piece of furniture to have in your bedroom. You can accentuate the quaint features of the iron bed and your bedroom accessories by antiquing the iron to give it a distinct finish. The process of antiquing your iron bed is simple and can be applied to any iron you have in your home, such as candlesticks, dresser hardware and iron coat stands. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 4 sea sponges
- Drop cloth
- Medium-grit sandpaper
- Paper towels
- Antique gold paint
- Copper-colored paint
- Red iron oxide paint
- Pumpkin orange paint
- Plastic bowls (for paint)
Instructions
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1
Remove all bedding, including the mattress and box spring. Place it off to the side, away from accidental paint drips.
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2
Position the drop cloth under the bed. Chances are the bed is too heavy to move to a suitable location to paint, so you you will want to protect the floor under the bed from paint drips.
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3
Sand random parts of the iron, making an irregular color surface to work with.
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4
Dip a sponge in the gold paint. Randomly apply the paint to the bed frame. Some areas will have darker paint applications than others. Don't worry about this, since you will be adding several colors over the iron.
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5
Dip a clean sponge in the red paint. Blot excess paint from the sponge on a paper towel before running light streaks of paint along the iron rods. Work the red paint up and down, not around, the rods.
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6
Dip a clean sponge in the copper paint. Blot excess from the sponge on a paper towel and repeat the same motion up and down as you did with the red paint.
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7
Dip a clean sponge in the pumpkin orange paint. Blot on a paper towel to leave traces of the orange on the sponge. Dab the sponge in corners and in select areas where you want to accentuate rust or corrosion.
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8
Lightly skim a clean paper towel up and down the iron. This helps create smoother lines in some areas. Don't try to blend everything together.
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Tips & Warnings
The combination of colors (gold, red, copper and pumpkin) add to the corroded look of antique iron.
