My Best Ever Op-Shop Find

Last year, when my littlest girls were getting ready to move out of their cots, I set to work to find them some big-girl beds. I had my heart set on a pair of matching antique wrought iron frames and, despite many hours trawling eBay and Gumtree, my efforts were futile. There were plenty of one-only beds that fit the bill, but not pairs. And the pairs I did find were not quite the right style. I decided to find something new but of a similar style, and I fell in love with these beds. I would have gone for it if I'd had only one to buy, but needing two, as well as mattresses and bedding, the budget just wasn't going to stretch. In the end, I settled for a pair of very affordable reproduction antique beds that did the job, even if they didn't set my world on fire.

Then, earlier this year, I wandered into an op shop and spied a bed. A single bed. One wrought iron antique bed that was EXACTLY what I had been looking for. It was all there, hiding against a back wall, with the price tag of $25. I couldn't pass it up and decided to buy it for Lola. Life had taken a turn and big decisions were being made, and I knew I'd be needing some new furniture soon anyway. I paid my money and arranged to pick up the bed in a few days time.

When I returned later that week to collect our new-old bed, I went to the back wall to pick it up, only to have the volunteer on duty say that no, my bed was out in the back room where the on-hold items are kept. "So what's this?" I asked, pointing at what I thought was my bed. "That's the other one," she said.

So that's how I came to find my pair of matching wrought iron antique beds, exactly - EXACTLY - the style I had envisaged. They're in beautiful condition, with just enough paint chips and rust to look entirely not-brand-new. They have so far withstood a lot of bouncing and jumping. And at $25 each, they might just be my best op-shop find ever.

We still have a long way to go to finish this room - bedside tables, a rug on the floor, pictures framed and on the walls. Slowly, slowly...