Our Experience
You may not know the Stephen Plaud name but you’ve probably seen our beds. For over 26 years we’ve been producing custom beds for leading furniture stores, Decorators and Interior Designers. In our collections you will see faithful attention to period detail so that our designs complement valuable antiques.
We’ve sold almost 10,000 beds across the country, shipping to every state in the union. We believe the reason we’ve been the ‘bed-maker of choice’ for so many is because we will make any style four poster bed – from museum-level antique reproductions to contemporary designs with a myriad of custom options in-between.
At Stephen Plaud, we are proud to deliver American Craftsmanship at its finest.
You can read about a recent project How Giant Clamshells Form.
Our Guarantees
We want your experience with Stephen Plaud to be remarkable.
Our Heirloom Guarantee offers a 100% Guarantee on the craftsmanship for any standard or custom built bed we produce.
Our Construction
Our Materials:
Our fine furniture starts with fine materials. We source only from mature trees grown in managed forests. The hardwoods are carefully sawn to produce the prized wider and thicker fine furniture-grade lumber. Each piece is evaluated for strength, color and grain matching and properly seasoned so it will work in all types of climates.
We work primarily in Maple, Tiger Maple (also known as Curly Maple), Mahogany, Cherry, Walnut, Oak, Ash and Poplar. We will procure exotic and unusual domestic or foreign woods by request.
We use only top quality hardware for our bolts, brackets and bolt-covers. We have these custom-made for us to match our exacting requirements.
Our Joinery:
We embrace the high standards set by craftsmen who gave New England its reputation for fine furniture making. So the parts you don’t see on our beds are as high quality as the parts you do.
We use only time-proven methods such as true hand-fitted mortise & tenon joinery to give our beds structural strength. This type of joinery creates tremendous stability not found in assembly line beds with less exacting standards. Poorly done or worn out joinery is the major cause of squeaking.
Our beds don’t squeak because of our hidden eight-way through-bolting system whereby the posts are bolted to the rails. (You don’t see the bolts because they are hidden behind attractive bolt-covers made especially for us.) Plus, our traditional approach to construction allows for seasonal wood movement that always occurs with temperature and humidity fluctuations.
Finally, we provide special tools so that it only takes two people about 15 minutes to assemble one of our beds.
Our Attention to Detail:
In our workshop, we combine the advantages of computer-driven precision with the hand skills of dedicated master craftsmen. The crisp, delicate hand carved details you see are the result of using finely honed knives, chisels and gouges and years of training. The gentle or intricate curves feel smooth because of our wood-turners’ lathe expertise.
Since we can do our own hand carving and wood-turning, we can duplicate any type of post as well as add custom hand-carved details. Bring us a picture or drawing of the design you wish to incorporate into the final piece. We welcome the opportunity to create an original one-of-a-kind bed for your customer.
Our Finishes:
The crowning glory to our beds is our renowned finish. Our highly skilled artisans build each finish layer by layer. Be it a traditional or contemporary look, we offer an exhaustive portfolio of finish options.
We offer a silky-smooth finish or hand-planed texture, two levels of distressing (gentle or generous) and any combination of oils, sealers, stains, paints, glazes, varnishes, waxes or lacquers. Our color options include standard paints, stains and glazes or custom matched colors to achieve just the right look.
Our Custom Capability
At Stephen Plaud, we are all about “Custom”. We specialize in offering Unlimited Options on our beds. Because our master craftsmen make each bed to order, we can change any element on any bed in our line beyond the wood, size and finish.
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Post Height -
Sleeping Height – If you have an extra thick mattress, you don’t have to have the bed higher than desired.
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Headboard – Like one on another bed better? No problem
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Rails – if you want the rails to show, we have many exquisite options
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Finials – We have a wide selection but we can craft anything
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Canopies and Valances – from Quarter Testers to Full Architectural Valances and everything in between
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Eliminate or add a Footboard
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Eliminate the posts at the foot of the bed– sometimes the foot posts are not desirable
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Accommodate non-standard mattresses – length or width
As you can see – everything is possible. All of these options are explained more fully in the Custom Options and About Ordering Sections
We can even create an entirely new bed of your own design. And – we will do our best to coordinate with your requested delivery times since we maintain a flexible production schedule.
While beds are our passion, we make all kinds of fine custom furniture. Upon request, we will quote complimentary custom pieces such as nightstands, chests & bureaus, armoires, entertainment centers and dining room tables – just ask.
Remember:
If you can’t find the frame you want among our designs - we’ll make a custom bed for you.
If you can’t find the finish you want within our offerings- we’ll create one for you.