I my opinion that's way too nice to paint black and distress.....
Your picture looks like a beautiful piece of cherry or maple, in a sort of art nouveau style....perhaps even earlier that 1900.
Linda C

I agree with Linda. I would not paint this piece. It's older than forties (although I could believe late as 30s but could definately be older) and like she said, the wood is nice.

I'm all for natural wood! I would love this to be restored, but it is really in bad shape. The top where the decorative piece is came off on each side. I had to sand the area that it came off. There is a lot of veneer that is loose that I puttied and sanded smooth. Some of the veneer is actually gone. Just sanded smooth in those areas. The picture looks a lot better than it really is. In my opinion, there's no hope for it to be left in it's original finish. I would never do something like this to a piece I thought I could save. You really think it is that old?

It's a great bed, do not paint it black ! (that's just my opinion)
It's Walnut 99% sure,though not 100% sure about that band across the bottom of the footboard. Looks like Mahogany or Rosewood. Find someone who has veneers and get yourself some Walnut and do the repairs. I'd be happy to walk ya thru it.
As for the missing carvings on top, if you were to strip the piece and refinish it. Applying only a clear finish you might be able to forgo the missing carvings and once the new finish is applied you'll never know that they were there.

Looks too good to paint over as others have said. One more idea -- a company called "vandykes" from Woonsocket SD carries tons of mouldings -- if they don't have the exact tthing you need I am sure they will have many to come close for your bed. They will send you free catalog.

Just another voice in the chorus --
That bed is too beautiful to paint...
And it does look older to me too - so pretty!

I bring this post back up to show what the bed should look like.

Refering to the post, "What should I do with this bed."

What a gorgeous bed! If that finish is as good as it looks on my monitor, the only thing I would do is clean it up w/lemon oil. 'o)