Repainting An Old Metal Bed
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When we were offered the exact type of bed we’d been about to buy for free, I couldn’t pass up the offer! Here’s how we got on repainting an old metal bed frame to fit in with our decor and saved ourselves hundreds in the process.
A few weeks ago we decided to buy a new bed for our daughter who was sleeping in a toddler bed. She doesn’t sleep well and after one too many nights sleeping on her floor, we thought a double might be the more comfortable way to go.
As we’re planning on having another baby sometime in the future, we thought a bunk bed might be a good idea rather than needing to replace the double with a bunk in a couple of years time.
When it comes to furniture, I do like to try to buy things that will last. So our new plan was to buy a triple bunk bed which had a single on the top and a double bed on the bottom.
I found a wooden bed frame online which I LOVED. It was beautiful. It was also £400. Add on the cost of two new mattresses, bedding, pillows and duvets, we were looking at close to £750, if not more.
That’s a lot of money!
I looked for the bed we liked on eBay and on Facebook Marketplace but with no luck. I was at the point of really wanting to buy but not wanting to spend the money which is why I hadn’t ordered it yet.
Repainting An Old Metal Bed: Free Metal Bedframe
While meeting a friend for a (socially distanced) hot drink, I mentioned the bed situation. She said she had one in her garage that had been intended for her house but in the end, she didn’t need and it was just sitting in her garage doing nothing.
My friend had actually already tried to give it away to one of our other friends but she couldn’t fit the bedframe up her very narrow Victorian staircase.
I’ll be honest, I did Ummm and Ahh a bit. It wasn’t anything like the one I had planned to buy. But it was free. And it was much more environmentally friendly than buying new, which is something I’m trying to be more conscious of. In the end, we agreed to take a look at it and see if it could be resprayed to fit in with our daughter’s room.
Repainting An Old Metal Bed
We went to take a look and my husband agreed it could be repainted pretty easily. I’ll admit it wasn’t the easiest getting the bed over to our house but we managed with lots of rope and tying things to the roof!
After going to Wickes for several cans of multi-surface paint, we assembled the bunk beds in the back garden ready for respraying (and to make sure all the parts were there!).
One thing I will say is that the bed needed far more paint than we anticipated. Initially we though around four cans would be enough but we ended up using double that. At £7 a can it was quite a significant cost although of course was much less than we would have spent buying the other bedframe.
Actually respraying the bedframe was a pretty easy job. We did a coat, left for a few hours and then did another coat and touched up any areas that weren’t looking so good. If you’re making a significant colour change you may want to use a coat of primer first, which will add to the cost.
Here are a few tips for repainting an old metal bedframe:
- Always respray the metal bed frame in a well-ventilated area and while wearing a mask. Lay down some floor coverings if you’re doing it inside. Or even outside for that matter.
- Give the bedframe a good clean before starting, and sand down any rough or uneven areas.
- Take your time and don’t overspray the same area as you’ll end up with the paint running.
- Always leave a sufficient amount of time between coats of paint.
We actually popped out to get new bedding between sprays of paint and managed to get same-day delivery from Argos for new mattresses so, in the end, this was a really easy one day project for us.
Below are some pictures of the bed in our daughter’s room. As you can see it looks great and she was really happy with it! Overall we saved about £280 which is a huge amount of money and we stopped an old bed from being taken to the tip.
Have you ever tried repainting an old metal bed frame? I’d love to hear how it went!
