At Natural Bed Company we believe in the importance of keeping craft alive, by sharing skills and employing talented, experienced craftspeople at our workshops.Our wooden beds are handcrafted in Britain, in Sheffield, by a team of skilled Natural Bed Company woodworkers. Our aim is that each bed is crafted by the same person from start to finish, so each craftsman can feel a sense of pride in each bed made; you’ll even get a notification as to whom your bed was made by. Some happy customers have sent personal messages of thanks to the maker of their bed!
This traditional process gives us the opportunity to adapt our wooden bed designs to suit any particular customer requirements, and to offer a full range of standard sizes and size modifications. Sometimes we have been asked to make one of our beds taller, to vary the leg shape, or to add a footboard. Customers may have mattresses that are particularly deep, in this case we can vary the headboard parts so that the headboard does not get swamped by a taller mattress and keeps the look desired.
Nigel, who has over 15 years Carpentry experience and is still a hands-on craftsman, manages the production process, and the team, and is increasingly involved in the design of new bed models. He found a way to create the lovely Chevron pattern of wood alignment for the Hoxton Bed, and responding to a customer’s ideas developed the Hatfield Four Post Bed.
We pride ourselves in the quality of our craftsmanship and finish. The materials used are chosen with care, they are solid sustainably sourced timbers and not veneers. See our Timbers page for more details about the woods we have on offer and where they come from. This means our beds are solid and built to last, and by using traditional jointing methods there’s less need for the use of glues, and there are clever simple methods of assembly.
Wood is a natural substance which can be prone to interesting variations according to how the tree grew. Care is taken to ensure that any unusual features in the wood such as larger knots, or heartwood that is a non matching tone, are used only where they will not be seen.
Our lacquering department continually researches the best finishes to use to obtain a soft, natural and yet protected wood finish. Our current preference is for a subtle almost matt clear finish we call ‘natural’ as it retains the variety of subtle tones seen in the natural timber.We sometimes use stains to add a colour to the lacquer finish, our most popular being Wenge. We can try to get the best wood colour match for customers who have existing bedroom furniture that they want their bed to complement. Small postable wood samples are available on request.
Non lacquered beds can be provided for people who would like to apply their own paint or wax finish, or who just want to avoid the chemicals in lacquers for their own reasons.
Care taken at this stage means that we are able to offer a structural manufacturing Warranty of 12 years.
By: Paula Whiteside