It’s been five years since we closed on Rosehill Cottage. Five years since we did a lightning fast renovation so we could list it as a rental in time for the holidays. Five years since we began welcoming guests into this charming space.
For me, five years in any one place would be enough to start thinking of the next projects (okay, let’s be honest, five months is enough for me to start dreaming up my next design vision). But five years in a home that sees guests from all over is absolutely time to start sprucing up. We’ve made little updates here and there, replacing items as they’ve been worn or broken, getting new bed and bathroom linens, and making sure things stay fresh.
But we hadn’t made many huge furniture changes, beyond swapping in a few pieces we inherited from family — new swivel chairs here, a sideboard there.
Then this summer sent me into overdrive with updates we could make without doing major renovation (though we still have one more must-do major project we need to slate in at some point — the primary bathroom). One of the projects was upgrading the upstairs beds from full to queen and giving them proper bed frames.
The Vintage Charm of Two Beds
There’s nothing more charming than two beds in a room, side-by-side. Often, these are twins. But, in this room, we had nothing if not space. I couldn’t tell you why we originally went with full beds. Maybe I couldn’t fathom the idea of two queens anywhere but a hotel? And they’ve been fine. No one’s complained. However, I know that, in the summer especially, there are often big groups that come in, and they’ll fit four to six people up here — two in each bed and two on the queen sleeper sofa.
And with both groups big and small, this room has seen some wear and tear. We had the bamboo headboards bolted to the wall and, group after group, they would get ripped out of the wall. We’ve discovered bed frames, the simple metal kind, do not stand up to Airbnb guests. While I love the bamboo headboards (I didn’t get rid of them…they’re sitting in the attic because I couldn’t bear to part with them), it was time to get solid beds.
I’ve always been smitten with the nostalgia of a Jenny lind bed, and my mom had actually just gotten a new bed for my parents’ room at their cottage nearby. She asked me if I’d ever heard of Plank+Beam — I hadn’t — but she went for it. And she raved about the bed. By some stroke of luck in the universe, Plank+Beam reached out to me about a collaboration just a month or so later, and I immediately said yes.
Two beds in a room have that sense of summer cottage charm. But two Jenny lind-style beds? I simply cannot. It’s perhaps the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
Plank+Beam Lind Bed Review
Plank+Beam is a Charleston-based company that makes solid wood furniture, and I already knew from my mom buying this same bed that I could expect a quality product, though the price point is great (currently $599 on sale).
The Lind Bed style is exactly what I was looking for, with spindles and darling turned wood details. I opted for the linen white finish to keep this space feeling light, feminine, and airy. While I had headboards only previously, I wanted a full headboard and footboard bed frame to anchor the space more and feel more weighty. These beds are incredibly solid, and I’m not concerned that guests will ever feel as if they’re creaky or wobbly.
There is one thing to note — if you’re not someone who enjoys putting furniture together, I would absolutely splurge on hiring a TaskRabbit to assemble the bed. My mom said it took her about half a day, and she’s someone who likes the puzzle of furniture assembly. I do not, and the baby makes it difficult for Adam and I to tag team a project like this, so, after about 20 minutes of looking at the pieces, we made the call to hire someone. Zero regrets.
Styling Two Beds in a Room
Two beds are basically asking to lean into charming nostalgia. This isn’t a place where you hold back on the details or try to make things feel modern. It’s a traditional look, and it should absolutely stay that way. I placed the two beds within an alcove, which doesn’t leave room for nightstands on both sides of each bed but I think that feels like too many casegoods anyway. Instead, there’s a small vintage nightstand in between the two. In an ideal world, I would probably have wall-mounted sconces on the far sides, but that’s a bridge too far at the moment.
I found these Laura Ashley sheets, which are so darling with the Rifle Paper hydrangea wallpaper. The ruffles are the loveliest touch. And you can absolutely never go wrong with a classic white matelasse. Solid wood bed + 100% cotton bedding, just as a timeless two bed room should be.
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