And so to bed, in an antique.(Design notes)(Savoir Beds)

When it comes to bespoke work in a wide variety of trades, the British have a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. One hundred years ago, the Savoy Hotel in London ordered box springs and mattresses from the company now known as Savoir Beds. As hotel guests marveled at how soundly they slept while staying at the Savoy, they began patronizing the company, which grew as the word spread. By the 1930s the Savoy had purchased the company, which it held onto until 1997. Today, Savoir Beds can create box springs and mattresses for any bed including antique beds, which are frequently not standard in size.

The company's laborious process for making a box spring and mattress is accomplished entirely by hand using only natural products. For the box spring, or divan, as they are sometimes called in England, a craftsman makes a pine frame that is screwed and glued together. Eight-inch-tall hourglass shaped springs are attached to the frame and then lashed together with a strong twisted flax cord in a star pattern, which leaves the surface flat and uniformly even. The springs are then covered with a dense form of hessian, which is tacked to one side of the frame to allow access by the person filling the box spring with stuffing. The stuffing is made from carded horsehair from the tail only, and the frame is edged with a tube filled with a mixture of horsehair and hessian to insure that the box spring will not sag. This tube is double stitched in place, and loose hair is placed in the well left in the center of the box spring. Finally a ticking of linen and cotton is attached, and the springs are sewn into place, each topped by a wool tuft to prevent the stuffing from shifting.

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