They are gorgeous and I would somehow make them work!!!

First off: WOWZEE WOWZEE WOO WOO WOOOO!

2nd (just so I am clear): The widest part of the bed is 35"?

Enablers!!!! I knew I could count on the GW'ers!

Foxes, from the inner curve to inner curve is 35". So 35" is the utmost width a mattress can be.

There are lots of mattresses that are 35" wide: truck bed mattresses to fit the truck sleeper cab, RV bunk bed mattresses, high riser mattresses, and standard European mattresses. So you wouldn't necessarily have to go custom.

Foxes took the words right out of my mouth! Those beds are fantastic.

If you are going to have to go custom, could you have the mattress made with a curved head to fit into the curve of the headboard? Of course, then you are going to have to have custom linens. And the dominoes begin to fall..

What is the width "arm" to "arm"?

Ok, simply gorgeous. I have no good advice but I can't wait to see how you proceed!

It's very nice, I can't imagine anyone taller than 5' wanting to sleep in that bed.

you might check Ikea, because I know their beds are not standard, and they have slats sold separately, etc. Just a thought.

There are 30" mattresses in the link, and Sears has reasonably priced split queen foundations. With a 30", the extra 2 1/2" on each side would leave room to tuck a thick comforter or duvet. If the mattress doesn't fill the curve, a pillow, or pillows, could be tucked in behind.

Since your daughter is very small now, I think you should go for it. Maybe in 10-12 years she'll want another style of bed anyway, then you can think about standard size twin or full beds.

Sears split queen box springs

Here is a link that might be useful: dorm mattresses

What is the Length when they are put together?

Bedder Bedding in Wisconsin does custom sheets in any size, so that's a resource.

If you don't want to go custom (and 3" narrower than a twin is pretty narrow when she's a teen) could you make a chair/bench out of it? Maybe use the footboard as a headboard?

If you share a queen you are essentially sleeping on 30". This is wider than that is.

I don't see that headboard as "curved" but rather merely having rounded corners. It still looks like it would be difficult to wrangle a bottom sheet with that headboard corner whether using a fitted sheet or a flat sheet using a "hospital corner fold".

Custom mattresses from places like the Velro factory aren't prohibitively expensive. I know people who had to go custom for antique Victorian beds.

You could also use a futon or an air mattress or a foam mattress that will mold better to the rounded corners.

As suero suggests above - I typed in '35 inch wide mattress' & 1 of the 1st results was for truck sleeper mattresses...

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This post was edited by carolb_w_fl on Wed, Jan 21, 15 at 22:11

I had a set of twin beds like this in my shop a few yrs ago.
they are much older than French Provincial. They are either Walnut or Mahoghany under all that paint I believe. Mine were not painted altho I did refinish them. A regular twin mattress did fit the frame. The mattress did not go all the way up in the curve. If that bothers you---you could get a piece of foam & put there. If you have the side rails, set the bed up & measure from side to side down from the curve. Also you should have 75inches in length. A reg. twin is 39inches wide.

Thank you all!! So much to research. A few things: I haven't seen them assembled, nor have I done that myself. I should try that though so I know the length I am dealing with. I found that standard european single beds are 35"x79". Now to find a euro mattress in the US!

Bbstx, good point about the linens. Hadn't thought of that yet...

Violet, I checked ikea but didn't see any mattresses they sell in the US that would work.

Pal, good point about 30" being half a queen! We sleep on a queen so 35" should be sufficient.

Gnuhome, I wouldn't mind if the bed didn't fit the curve but a twin won't even fit between the posts.

Lovemydishes, good to know! Since I want white beds I am going to repaint but I will ask the restorer to let me know when they are stripped. I might like them in their natural state!

I will try and measure the bed all set up and see where that gets me. I am excited for this project! Although not looking forward to the crib to bed transition...

There's another alternative...talk to a wood worker...I can see having a shelf or box built at the right height so a regular mattress would butt up to it and the shelf/box would accommodate the curve.

Not sure if I'm describing it clearly. Picture a regular mattress butted up against the head board and then picture the curved space filled in with wood. If you want to get really clever, the box could have a slant on the front for leaning up against when you want to read at night...

If a box, it can be used for storage and then covered with extra decorative pillows and the mattress and sleeping pillows would be in front. The footboard is flat so it could be flush against the mattress. 35 to 38" means the mattress will stick out only 1 1/2" on each side which is easily disguised with a comforter. That way you'll be able to continue to use standard sheet sets on the bed too.

A twin bed measures 39 by 75 so there is actually 4 inches difference. I do like Annie's idea of filling in the curve and butting the mattress up to it. Any chance the little princess will grow into a tall princess? This also gets you a few inches in length if the pillow could be placed on this.
Cute bed, I can see why you want to come up with a good fix.

I would use the beds with the wood rails. That's what finishes the complete affect of the beds. You'll find a mattress that fits, and you can always use flat sheets for the mattress.

Until Beverly posted that pic, I had the foot of the bed at the head and vice versa. : ) Now I get it. How beautiful your beds are going to be, make sure to post some "afters".

They would be spectacular in a little girls rooms, please post the finish product :-)

They are going to be beautiful once restored.
I can see them done in a creamy color.
What a lucky little girl.

So, back to these beds! Sorry it took so long.

@Annie, that is a great idea. I am going to see a woodworker this week (hopefully) and see what he says about the whole sitch. Using standard US size sheets is ideal, obviously, so I hope there is some way to use a standard mattress too.

@FlaDeziner (I forget your GW name - beverly, perhaps?), thank you for that gorgeous pic! Ideally I would use the side rails too but I am going to have to see how it works best. I am definitely saving them regardless.

@rnmomof2, definitely a possibility of my daughter growing tall! So, Annie's idea would be a good one for that.

I appreciate all the responses. I am looking forward to a reveal one day, but I am also hoping my little girl stays in her crib for at least another 8-10 months. With any luck!

An update!! The restorer came and took the beds over the weekend. In speaking with him, we are going to have him strip and find out the wood type to see if painting it would be "wrong". He doesn't think that they will be a fancy-don't paint type of wood, but we shall see. If we proceed with painting, we will probably do a creamy white with possibly some gold accents in the rosettes (which are also on the side rails).

As for the measurements, restorer put the bed together once he got to his shop and we found out that the length is 75", which is standard US size, but the width is 36 3/4". So, I am going to look into custom mattress/box spring (and I did see some antique bed sites for mattresses that were pretty reasonably priced). For linens I will probably do a standard US twin flat or possibly have a seamstress modify a US twin (or just shove the extra under!).

I am really excited about the beds! I think they are going to be worth the expense!!

Love these beds. I have something similar for my daughters in their bedroom. They were French provincial, I got both beds on eBay for $75. What my husband did was after the beds were assembled he attached a piece of plywood rather than slats. This way we didn't need a box spring, and it made the bed more secure. They were a little rickety when assembled. We painted them white also. I bought the prettiest bedding for them from simply shabby chic from target. They were just adorable. But now my girls are 'tweens' and complained the bedding was babyish, so we changed it out for zebra print (their choice). Let me know if you'd like to see pics. It's currently 5:45 am and my kids are sleeping, lol.

Polly, I'd love to see pics! If you can include one of the plywood portion, I would appreciate it! The restorer said the beds are low to the ground, so not sure I want to eliminate the boxspring. But I will take all things under consideration!

Your beds are absolutely gorgeous! My older son bought a vintage bed, and thought he would need a mattress and box spring. The problem was with both being fairly thick, a good part of the headboard/footboard got covered up. He ended up using slats and a thicker mattress to bring the height up somewhat, and keep from hiding a good portion of the beautiful bed.

Can't the restorer fix the beds to take a standard twin? I have an old 1920's vintage French quarter-sawn walnut bedstead, and they were able to fix it to take a regular full-sized mattress, although it's a bit tight--no hospital corners on that bed. But in all the years I've had it and all the times we've had to take it apart for moving, I still can't even see where they made the change.

Your beds are gorgeous! I can hardly wait to see them restored. I just Googled "mattress 75x36.75" and got many hits. I have no way of assessing whether or not any of the hits would fit your needs, but at least we know they are out there.

Those are absolutely fabulous beds! Please be sure to post pictures of them after they are refinished. I would love to see them; I adore vintage french furniture.

You may want to talk to an upholsterer about a foam mattress. I have cut foam with an electric knife, as is used for carving turkey. You might be able to order a latex mattress and simply carve to fit. An upholsterer is likely to have experience carving foam for cushions and a supplier if you don't want to try it yourself.

Thank you all!

Patty, good idea to just make the mattress thicker and no boxspring! Might save on costs too. I'll have to see how far off the ground they are and make a decision then. I think I might prefer a boxspring for ease of making the bed (the mattress would be higher and easier to access).

Writer, I am not sure they can make it a true US twin without compromising the integrity of the bed - although who knows, maybe over the years it has already been compromised! With the curvature of the headboard, it might be more costly to upgrade.

Bbstx, thank you! I know the custom mattresses are out there and they weren't that bad price wise but I will definitely google to see what comes up now that I have the correct measurements.

Lizzie, will do!!

Viola, interesting option. I definitely am not the DIY type but I will see what my upholsterer says.