Some commissions arrive and you think: right, this is going to stretch us. This was one of those.
A customer came to us with a vision for a complete bedroom — a king-size bed at the centre of it, two bedside cabinets flanking it (we wrote about those separately), and a brief that was unlike anything we'd been handed before. A witch. A Buddha. A snake. Mushrooms. Beetles. Butterflies. A lotus flower. And on the footboard: something completely different — flowing Celtic knotwork, carved in relief from solid oak, with more painted details woven through it.
The headboard reads like a scene from a story — because that's exactly what it is. On the left, a young witch with long flowing hair sits quietly among red-spotted fly agaric mushrooms, holding her broomstick, purple flowers growing around her. In the centre, a patterned snake winds through the composition, past a pair of gleaming emerald beetles, through more mushrooms. To the right, a serene Buddha sits in meditation on a cream lotus flower, butterflies drifting overhead. All of it carved by hand, then painted — colours brought out carefully so nothing shouts, everything belongs.
The footboard is a different world entirely. Braided Celtic knotwork carved into flowing oak boards — deep relief, so the light catches it differently depending on where you're standing. Painted butterflies lift from purple flowers on the left. A spiralling ammonite sits like an eye in the centre. Musical notes wind along a staff through the grain. Mushrooms cluster at the right edge. It's quieter than the headboard, but just as considered.
The corner posts are solid rustic oak — tall and bark-textured, giving the whole frame a feeling of something ancient and rooted. Like the bed grew there.
This bed has gone to its new home now — made as a bespoke commission for someone who knew exactly what they wanted and trusted us to make it happen. If you'd like to commission something similar — or something completely your own, built around the stories, symbols and characters that matter to you — we'd love to hear from you.
You can see it in our handmade wooden beds collection, or view the full listing here.
