As I get older, I am starting to realise that it is difficult to keep a woman happy in the bedroom. These are a few thoughts that may be worth considering. Comfort is essential, so buy the best mattress you can find, if one person likes a firm mattress, while the other prefers a soft one, then why not buy two half mattresses and zip them together, then everyone’s happy. Put the mattress in a quality sleigh bed, waterbed, or even a four poster or canopy bed, spoil yourselves.

The feel and look of the bedroom is often left to the woman within married couples. Her softer, more romantic side takes over, and the room is more ‘girlie’ than many others in the house. It seems that the decision regarding a new bed is probably mutual, both wanting the bed to fit in with the period or style of the home, but often with the lady getting her way if she fancies a four poster bed.

I was once that when a couple want a coffee table, the man is usually only really interested in putting his paper, his tea, his feet on it, and how much it will cost, while it is the woman that is concerned with what it will look like, and how it fits in with the rest of the furniture. It is similar for a four poster bed. The man is usually more interested avoiding a bad back and a pain in the wallet than all of the finer details of the drapes and the colour of the material. I have, however, noticed that men often like chunky posts, raised fielded or linenfold panels, while the women look at the more subtle details like the shape of the posts, beading, mouldings, dust collecting areas, and whether you can get the vacuum cleaner under it. And of course, boys like oak.

I have sat at many shows exhibiting furniture, with a four poster taking prime spot on the stand, and regularly hear comments about these beds.
‘I’ve always wanted one of those, ever since I was a little girl.’
‘How romantic.’ (Women)
‘I’m having one when I win the lottery.’ (Usually women)
‘I’ll have to find a man that has enough money to afford one of those’, and a big enough house to put it in, I thought.
‘Can you get the handcuffs around those posts?’ (Men and women)
‘I’m going to have some fun in that!’ (Elderly lady, nearly married!)
‘I wonder if he can put mirrors in the roof?’ (So male)
Or one of my favourites, ‘The trouble is that when a man has enough money to be able to afford a bed like this, he no longer has the energy to be able to get his moneys worth!’

Some of these comments make four posters sound expensive, but when you think about it, is it? Why not have what you want? You spend virtually one third of your life in bed and if a four poster is what it takes to satisfy a woman, make her happy, why not appeal to her romantic side, tickle her fancy, and give her one, a bed that is. Beds can be made any size, with many styles of posts and panels, colours, woods, with or without carving. Four poster beds can be put around your existing divan base, a waterbed, or even a remote control adjustable comfort bed.

I smiled one day after completing a delivery, having erected the new four poster, gently shutting the customers’ front door behind me, walking down the path towards the van, on a hot summers day, with the house windows open. I heard the sound of thundering feet running up the stairs, and the young couple shouting ‘Whey hey’ and ‘Yippee’, and in over five years, I have not received a phone call from them saying that the bed has falling apart.

But seriously I realise that this article has been written referring to heterosexual couples. I am not in anyway bias, but while writing this it has come to my attention that we have not had any enquiries from gay or lesbian couples. This could be a reflection on my poor marketing, what seemingly single customers have lead me to believe, or maybe there is only a demand for four poster beds within heterosexuals. I would be grateful for your comments, as it could well be the topic for another article.

Stephen Edwards has been making and selling four poster beds for over 10 years, and has not had any complaints about his beds, other than people not wanting to get out of them. You must also remember that he does not make the mattress, and when someone says how well they slept in his bed, what they really mean is, how comfortable the mattress is that he supplies to go with their four poster bed.