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The graceful tulip-shaped design of Worthen Furniture’s Victorian Iron Bed is patterned after a vintage bed found in Pennsylvania.
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A detail of the Iron Sleigh Bed created by Worthen’s artisans
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The Modern Classic Canopy Bed is offered in more than 50 finishes.
While combing through houses for sale, a Worthen Furniture employee saw a home on Three Chopt Road that caught their eye — the family had not one but six custom beds from the Richmond-based furniture company.
We reached out to them, and they have five children, so they bought a bed for each child,” Worthen CEO Lud Kimbrough recalls. “They’re all different styles, and they just love them.”
To Kimbrough, the ability to have custom furniture that blends with any style are just two of the reasons why Worthen’s products both stand out and stand the test of time.
“When you change the decor around the bed, the bed seems to change as well,” Kimbrough explains. “We see the same bed being chosen for a mountain cottage, coastal cottage, a hunting lodge, and a bed and breakfast on Nantucket. You would think they would all be interested in different styles, but that classic style is able to look correct in any of those locations because it’s timeless.”
Formerly known as Brass Beds of Virginia, Worthen handcrafts and hosts an extensive stock of brass and iron beds in its Richmond area plant. Since rebranding in November 2022, the firm has expanded its services to include additional custom furniture and an increased focus on collaborations with boutique hotels and interior designers.
Kimbrough says Worthen has the ability to customize any style of bed. Popular designs in Richmond have included canopies, classic brass beds, picket fence iron beds and even dog benches.
The meticulous construction process holds true to the time-proven techniques of the firm’s founders while still allowing room for modern touches. “Each of these processes [has] a different artisan that's hand-crafting,” Chief Marketing Officer Chris Thurston explains. “It's hand-built like they did it hundreds of years ago.”
Worthen works with customers to get the details just so, with options to customize specifications such as size, height, color, finish, footboard style, as well as an engraved nameplate.
For brass beds, the metal is bent to its desired shape, with options to add lacquer, giving the metal a shiny finish. Those going for a vintage, patina style, can skip the lacquer finish. Since brass is a relatively soft metal, it is affixed to a steel structure to ensure durability.
Iron beds are a bit more complicated. Once the iron pieces are bent to their desired shape and the metal is poured into molds, they are grinded and sandblasted. The pieces then undergo a powder coat painting process to prevent chipping or cracking.
This detailed process allows the beds, which may weigh more than 100 pounds, to be heirloom pieces that get passed down across generations.
“We also hear that people [in hospitality] are wanting to buy more furniture that lasts for sustainability reasons,” Thurston says.
Maintenance for both bed types is simple. For the brass beds with lacquered finishes, homeowners will need to occasionally polish to keep the metal shiny. Unlacquered brass can remain unpolished to maintain its rustic appeal. Iron beds require no maintenance.
“We have customers who bought beds 30 years ago, and they're ordering beds for their children or grandchildren,” Kimbrough says. “The durability of it lasting forever makes it an investment.”
