Our WWI Army cot

By Chelsea

Hi guys! My favorite part of this blog, hands down, is sharing ideas. Ideas that I hope will inspire you to put your own creative touch on your home. Whether we share the same style or not, my wish for this little corner of the great wide web is to inspire you to fling the door to freedom and creativity within your own home wide open. You are one of a kind and completely unique, and so should be your home!

Today I'm really excited to be sharing a fairly unique idea. This one seemed kind of far-fetched a few months ago, mostly because I wasn't sure Matt would be on board. I really need to give him more credit! My guy, (usually), has a pretty open mind, and with his 'thumbs-up' I moved forward. I can't believe the day is here that it's a finished, functional, loved-on project! 

If you follow along on Facebook, you may have seen this photo a while back:

I asked if anyone knew what it was and wasn't surprised when, within minutes, one of my history buff uncles posted the correct answer: An old army cot! During a typical Craigslist search for some furniture to refinish, I stumbled on a listing for a handful of WWI Army cots. WWI, people! I was completely lost in curiosity. I drove out to take a look in person. It was love and intrigue at first site. The criss-crossing legs, the faded color of the wood, the old metal brackets...it was an easy purchase, (and for $40 nonetheless)! The seller, who had a handful of these, said they belonged to his grandfather who was a doctor during the war. 

Since my cot was used by a WWI doctor, (and you don't have to have a great imagination to guess what happened on these cots during those days), I really wanted to replace the original cover with something...cleaner. Vintage Army cot canvas covers are not quite a popular search, so the first company I found, Hoggan's, was basically my only source. I wouldn't imagine that WWI Army cot canvas cover replacements are in high demand, but for some reason it took almost two months for my cover to arrive from when I placed the order. But, the price was great and the quality is superb; worth the wait in my mind.

With the new canvas cover on, (an easy replacement that Matt and I took care of in 10 minutes), our WWI Army cot is being given a less eventful second life as a comfy reading, (or napping), spot in our living room!

I topped it with a pile of pillows that I made from mismatched placemats, ( how-to here), and a felt zipper pouch, all from World Market's clearance section. The whole lot of pillows cost under $15!

It's an honor to get to reinvent something with such deep history.

And it's quite enjoyed these days.

If you are local and interested in getting your hands on a WWI Army cot, please contact me! I've kept in touch with the seller and told him I'd refer any interest his way. I'd be happy to put you in touch; he's got quite a stash!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

~Chelsea