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A half tester bed has a canopy over the head end only. The tester — the frame overhead — projects from the headboard or is carried on two posts at the head corners, and stops part way down the bed. There is nothing above your feet.
It is one of the least-understood bed forms and one of the most useful: the effect of a four poster where it registers, without a rectangle of timber over the whole room.
We make them to order, in solid timber, to your mattress and your ceiling. The pattern shown is #930A.
Why choose a half tester over a full four poster
Ceiling height. A four poster needs headroom over the whole footprint of the bed. A half tester needs it only at the head end, usually the part of the room furthest from a sloping ceiling. In an older house that is often the difference between having a canopy bed and not.
Light. Nothing overhangs the foot of the bed, so a window at the end of the room stays a window.
Presence without dominance. A four poster claims the middle of a room. A half tester belongs to the wall it stands against, which suits a bedroom that also holds a wardrobe and a dressing table.
Getting in and out of it. No post at the foot corners.
The argument the other way: if you want curtains that close all round, you want a four poster.
The forms we make
Post-carried. Two full-height posts at the head corners, with the tester frame spanning between them and returning to the wall side. The more architectural version, and the one that reads most like a four poster from the doorway.
Corbelled. The canopy carried off the headboard itself on shaped brackets, with no posts at all. Lighter, and the option where floor space at the head of the bed is tight.
Either can be made with a framed and panelled headboard in the manner of our panelled beds, with carving in the manner of the four poster #961, or with Gothic tracery to match the Gothic collection. The canopy can be a plain moulded frame, a carved or fretted frieze, or a boarded ceiling with mouldings.
Drapes are optional and most clients leave them off. Where you do want them, it is worth being plain about where our work stops: we do not supply rails, tracks or fixings, and we do not make curtains. The canopy is left ready for a curtain maker, in solid timber they can fix into. Tell us at the design stage that curtains are coming and we will draw the canopy with that in mind.
Sizes we commonly make
We commonly make beds 4ft 6in wide with a 6ft 3in mattress length, 5ft wide with a 6ft 6in length, and 6ft wide with a 6ft 6in length. Any other size is possible.
Send us the mattress size, the mattress depth and the ceiling height at the head of the bed, at its lowest point. The canopy height and projection are drawn to suit.
Timbers
Oak, cherry, mahogany and walnut are the standard four, and the half tester is made in all of them. Oak for a panelled headboard; cherry where the detail is Gothic, because the finer grain holds the tracery better.
Specials, quoted on application: character oak; pippy oak in light, medium and heavy grades; oak selected for medullary ray, within or without the timber; and clean timber with no knots at all.
Finishes: polished, painted, limed, sand-blasted, rub-through paint, natural, or colour matched to a sample. We can match furniture that is 100 years old to new reproduction purchases made the year before.
Order free timber and finish samples and hold them against the wall at the head of the bed, where the canopy throws a shadow.
Made to your size
Every dimension is open. Common changes: canopy height set to clear a beam; projection shortened or lengthened; posts made lighter; headboard raised for a deep mattress; footboard left off.
The bed is made as a kit of parts and assembled in the bedroom, so it dismantles and moves. Send us the stair and doorway dimensions first. See bespoke, commissioning and the beds page.
The structure is guaranteed for as long as you own the bed — the frame, the posts and the joints — with ten years on ironmongery and finish. Our guarantee sets out the position in full.
Prices
Guide price on request, quoted by size, timber, finish and the amount of carving. Special timbers, colour matching and natural finishes are priced on application. Standard lead time is typically ten to twelve weeks, and a one-off commission four weeks longer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a half tester bed?
A bed with a canopy over the head end only. The tester frame is carried on two posts at the head corners or corbelled off the headboard, and stops part way down the bed.
Why choose a half tester instead of a four poster?
Ceiling height, light and floor space. The canopy only needs headroom at the head of the bed, nothing overhangs the foot, and there are no posts at the foot corners. It suits older houses with sloping ceilings.
Can a half tester bed have curtains?
Yes, at the head end: a head curtain and side curtains where the canopy projects. Curtains that close all the way round need a full four poster. We do not supply rails or fixings and we do not make curtains, so the canopy is left ready for a curtain maker to work to.
What size half tester beds do you make?
Most often 4ft 6in wide with a 6ft 3in mattress, 5ft wide with a 6ft 6in mattress and 6ft wide with a 6ft 6in mattress. Any size is possible, since every bed is made to order.
