Your Wood Box

  Zero Items

Antique Tiger Maple Bedroom Sets

Looking to get into woodworking? Why not build Antique Tiger Maple Bedroom Sets?

Dennis Bell, Bell Forest Products

In 1964 my uncle Ken Berry bought an old three story farmhouse known locally as the 'Ab Christy Mansion'. The house was considered haunted and was oft visited at night by local teenagers looking for a scare. We were rarely disappointed.

Uncle Ken, a carpenter, began the long and arduous task of remodeling and updating the 'mansion' to a livable condition. All of the trim in the house was made from curly tiger maple. Even with 80 years of the ubiquitous dust, dead flys and wallpaper debris lying about the tiger maple trim was stunning. Once the bedrooms were cleaned out they virtually begged for antique tiger maple bedroom sets.

Located in Michigan's farm country there was no shortage of antique bedroom sets to be had. My family set about to find suitable antique tiger maple bedroom sets to furnish this six bedroom gothic farmhouse at local auction and estate sales. (Years before one could easily google "antique tiger maple bedroom sets" and have match within seconds.) We found Birdseye Maple, Oak, Hard Maple, Walnut and Mahogany, but alas, no antique tiger maple bedroom sets!

When I left our little farm community in Sterling, Michigan, in 1969, we had not found a single antique tiger maple bedroom set to furnish the 'mansion'. For reasons unfathomable to me, my uncle built an addition on this already huge (by local standards) house in 1970. In 1974 the entire house, addition and garage went up in flames. A local landmark and legend were gone from our little village. Looking back I am pleased that we never succeded in our family's quest to find not one but six antique tiger maple bedroom sets. Had we been successful they would have been lost forever in the fire.