CHILDRENS (CHILDREN'S) ANTIQUE BEDROOM FURNITURE

Furniture was made for children in America from the earliest days of the colonies. While there were some chests, tables, and stools made as miniature versions of adult furniture, most small-scale bedroom furnishings were designed specifically to suit the needs of children. 

Cradles, made of wicker or wood, were among the first furniture forms in America. Early wooden cradles were simple - basically a  box fitted with rockers. Such pieces typically had high headboards and footboards, and sometimes a hood to help provide protection from drafts; later examples were raised off the floor on swinging frames. Cradles generally had solid wooden sides, but one type of mid-18th-century cradle-developed by a Windsor chair maker and consequently known as a Windsor cradle - featured turned spindles.

The most common type of children's bed were trundle beds (there were fancy four-posters similar to those made for adults, but they were rare). The simplest beds, however, were just open boxes set on block legs; these were fitted with the same type of roping used on full-size beds as mattress supports.