Does the thought of a secondhand bed gross you out?  It was actually described as “Victorian” (although I have my doubts), if so, third or fourth hand might be more accurate.

Well, yesterday I bought this “secondhand” bed from an auction (photo from the catalogue)  It’s only a small double (4ft wide instead of 4ft 6in wide) but mattresses that size are far more common / affordable that I would have thought.  The head and footboards are oak and it has a sprung metal frame.

My aunt and uncle have given me four single beds from their London flat which are currently in storage, so buying more beds was really not on my agenda. Bidding started at £10 – there were no takers, so dropped to start at £2 – I tentatively raised my hand, someone bid £3, I bid £4 – they pulled out. Yep, I won it for £4 (plus 40p commission). I hadn’t really even looked at it before the auction so in the break I had to dash over to check it could be dismantled!  It could and I made a furtive phone call “Dad, please could you put the roof rack on your car? I’ll explain when I get home”.  Where I’m going to put it in the house is more tricky though, it will actually fit pretty well in the small bedroom (which is too small for a full double) but I wasn’t really planning on putting a bed in there (I was thinking craftroom / library / study), hmm… one to sleep on I think (sorry).

I didn’t get the cushions on top of the bed in the photo though – they were won by a guy who looked like Neptune.