Four Poster Bed

I previously mentioned the four poster bed which came with the bedroom suite I didn't order (it was substituted for a larger four poster bed which I did order); well, after tackling the rest of the suite, I got started on the bed.

Bed: Before

Bed: Before

First I carefully peeled the fabric bedding and trim away from the frame, and put it away for safe keeping. I may dye the bedding and glue it back on, however I think I will do something different with the canopy.

During

I sanded it back as best I could and then painted it black, like the rest of the furniture.  Whilst I was waiting for the paint to dry enough to do some distressing, I decided to play around with the bedding. I grabbed a red fabric marker and coloured in the top part of the bedding.

Painted and waiting for distressing.

Painted and waiting for distressing.

You can still see the floral pattern through the red marker, but I am liking the blood red against the black so far.  I'd like to use something more tattered and threadbare as the canopy, so that it looks a but like cobwebs. I'm not sure how I can achieve that - I thought about tea-dying some cheesecloth but I think the cheesecloth would be too large a scale. Maybe an old, worn handkerchief might have the right drape? Regardless, I certainly prefer it without the ruffled valance around the bottom, so that will be staying off.

I'm loving this miniature bed I found on Pinterest. And here's a real-life four poster: