Fighting A 200 Year Old Rope Bed 

Spot all of the historical inaccuracies😆

Has someone made a 'time to hit the hay' comment yet? Amazing the phrases that persist through time from days long gone.

We still use rope beds in India particularly North India. They are called Khatiyas and commonly used to sleep or sit on them, they are even used to eat meals on. They are very light so very portable. They can be shifted from room to room or on the porch during summers for the fresh breeze. They can be carried to the roof tops to sleep at night during hot summers and brought back indoors when the sun starts ascending. They are used by women to dry vegetables and other food items spread out on a cotton cloth that are dried in summer and consumed throughout the year. But usually the ropes are tied diagonal for more firmness. The ropes are tied in even diamond shapes.

I understand your plight. My wife and I were in France visiting her family and we had to face a 500 year old rope bed and a 400 year old mattress. We both were rolled into the middle of the mattress and almost needed climbing gear to get out.

this man convinced a lady to go live in the woods with out electricity and sleep on a bed that takes 5 hours to prepair and i cant get a lady to go on a picnic because 'there might be dog poo in the grass'

Reminds me of a bed and bedroom my grandfather had on the back of his house. He must have put peppermint in with the straw because the bed always smelled like it and I know that peppermint keeps bugs away. My grandfather thought peppermint was the cure for everything. Your videos are wonderful. God Bless you two and your little homestead.

FYI Straw is the result of harvesting grains used for bedding down animals; while hay is types of grass clover, timothy, alfalfa etc that is cut for fodder. I especially enjoyed this video as I do have and rope bed made of cherry wood that I got when I was 15 . I am now 77 years . My bed was converted by making side rails leaving the pegs in the head and foot board to show the age. I have had the opportunity to sleep on a straw mattress it is great. Enjoy and keep on with theses videos I patiently await ! Keen Ontario Canada.

I love how when she asks what the difference between hay and straw is and says: "umm, I don't remember exactly but.." then proceeds to explain exactly the difference between the two 😂

My grandmother had a rope bed made by one of the ancestors. We kids would fight over who would get to sleep on it when we visited. In the end I inherited it and it is a prized possession. I have slept on it once and loved it. Unlike the above bed, my ancestor drilled holes for the ropes to pass through. It stayed taut through all of the years.

I've never slept on a rope bed but people I know who have say that it's like a cushioned hammock; you can't help but sag, and it's not possible to lie flat; so you sleep half sitting up. Beds in that time were worth a lot, representing a good chunk of one's wealth. So when we see our ancestors left their children their beds, we might go, "Are you kidding?" but that was actually a big deal.

My great-grandmother had a rope bed but by the time I came along they used a cotton cot-type mattress instead of the straw. However, we’ve always had feather pillows in our home. My great aunt made my husband and I a double wedding ring quilt and two large feather pillows. After 29 years it’s still the gift we still use.

The part that really put me in the historical atmosphere was when you took that broom and started sweeping the straw off him! haha. I can imagine a mother in 1800 doing exactly that to her kids as they come inside from playing, or doing their chores, or anything like that.

My grandmother made feather beds and pillows for her 3 beds. The feather beds were placed over the cloth mattresses placed on the wooden slats. She also crocheted lace using sewing thread and tiny hooks with which she edged the pillow cases.

"Sleep tight" the phrase dates back to the time when people slept on beds made of rope. If the ropes were pulled tight, then it would be more comfortable to sleep on.

The cabin is coming together nicely with the addition of a bedroom. That bed is really beautiful. Nice job and thanks for sharing.

this was how my great grandmother would make beds. They did not have a lot, but they did not ever go without there where 11 kids 2 parents and 3 grandparents all at one time! My grandmother will be 90 this year and she loved seeing this as it was good reminder of childhood.

I remember one time we went on a school trip to Lancaster and we went to an Amish village and they made us live like the 1800s for a day. We had to carry buckets of water on our shoulders, make bread from scratch, tidy up around the house, and fill the sack with hay to sleep, hence the famed “ hit the hay” phrase. It was honestly pretty cool and very peaceful, I quite liked it.

So happy you don't have to sleep on the floor anymore. This is another great episode. Thank you.

Justine I laughed out loud when you said 'Let's take this carriage for a ride'. You go girl!

This makes me appreciate those old innkeepers even more! Imagine having to make and maintain 5 or more of these!

I wanna see them do all these reenactments with 3 kids under 5 in tow, with one baby constantly wanting to breastfeed, another crawling around, and another constantly asking questions lol. I myself couldn't imagine how much work all that and raising children took. I'm so exhausted just thinking about it lol

Hay is a nutritious grass, straw is usually the stalks after the harvest of wheat. Cedar shavings are good to keep fleas at bay. My mom said they used to put a cup of kerosene under each bed post to keep from getting bed bugs.

One of my favorite channels. I'm a history freak and study the home life the most..

If you are near any everygreens the fallen and dead pine nettles sometimes referred to as "pine straw " would be much softer, and along with the cedar- it would make a natural poppuri for the room to smell fresh, as often early homes lacked the "clean smell" we are use to in modern the modern day. Also seen fur pelts could be used atop the straw to make it less like laying on a porqupines quills lol .. So great to find this channel....

Humbleness. Gratefulness. This takes me back to when I was a boy. Like the sun, you two keep shining bright and bless you

The wholesome part of me likes to imagine that this was an actual good home life for some young couples back yonder and it makes me smile :)

This is a good channel. I have recommended it to my History students. They love it. You guys provide us with a clear, visual interpretation, and real life moments of how most Americans lived during this time period, especially those along the frontier and in small towns. Great job. Keep up with the good work.

My Grandmother just brought me 2 1800s dressers and a 1800s hutch which have been in my family since then. Now I will proudly keep, cherish and carry these beautiful works of art (imo) further into history. That bed you have in this video.. is gorgeous! What an amazing piece to have! Thank you for showing!

This gives new meaning to the phrase "making the bed."

Hay is grasses you feed livestock, straw is the stalk of grain after the grain is harvested like oats, that's why it's used for livestock bedding.

I enjoyed watching your struggle with the straw mattress . My husband and I were reminiscing about the horrid uncomfortable beds we remember from childhood 🙃 we were both brought up in Britain and I come from ( what is now ) the Republic of Ireland . Thank you 💕 for your hard work and entertaining us . I wonder if men really helped the women as much in that era ...

Justine is hilarious! Ron says, if it holds my arse...Justine says then it'll hold anything!

This reminds me of my grandmother's bed in the Azores, which had a canvas mattress stuffed with dried corn husks. They never wasted anything if it could be put to some good use. Periodically, you'd have to use a roller on the mattress to even it out. Still was quite comfortable.

Rope beds often had winlasses on the ends of the bed to tighten up the ropes. You would loosen the ropes in the morning and tighten them just before turning in to keep from over stretching the ropes over time. A cinch loop was also used to draw up the rope and make it tight. (Make a loop knot 1/2 way across the bed when the rope was snug. Pass the bitter end around the opposit side peg and return the bitter end through the loop. pull on the bitter end until the rope is tight.) Note that sacking bottoms were troublesome as they would develop stretched out pockets even with it was pulled tight.

I love this video! I’ve never actually seen a bed roped, this was fascinating, and you guys are so fun and wholesome.

Love your stories - Justine is quite bold I think!!! Love her and Ron interacting

9:39 “you want to take a nap?” Yes please. I’m tired for them. Shit. 😂

The look of pride on your faces was so genuine and adorable! Love the new room!

I have owned 2 pegged ropebeds from Virginia for 30-35 years. We roped them of course, and all guests have slept on them...a custom mattress lays over roped bottom. One bed is very high poster at both ends, PINE. The other is CHERRY, more modest. Very well loved and comfortable! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰❤

Fun fact as a Boy Scout there was a outting where we would stay in a super old fort with that during normal days was literally a exhibit. The bunks with a rope setup with a straw filled mattress were literally insanely comfortable. Like you’d never think so but it was more comfy than my bed at home.

What a delightful couple! You two must never forget what you have because what you've got is more valuable than money!

I laughed at the broom cleaning, I thought Justine was going to sweep him into the next county! People with allergies must have suffered tremendously with that hay mattress! It breaks me out in hives! Looked pretty sturdy, though.

These videos strangely enough remind me of my childhood. I'm not 200 years old, but when I was a kid in the 1980s things were a lot closer to this than they are today. We've probably changed more technologically in the last 30 years than in the years between ancient times and 30 years ago, and not always necessarily for the better. In 30 years it will probably make 2022 look like prehistoric times. I miss the simpler times.

Justine, you were beating the tar out of Ron with that broom! LOL! But that straw bed (achoo!) looked really comfortable except I would have definitely added the cedar chips. And I chuckled when Ron asked, what about supper? and you said, what about it?

What a charming, airy bedroom! I’m imagining the scents of wood and straw. This gives me a new idea of the phrase “make your bed”.

I see that you got your bedroom addition done and with 3 glass windows. You guys are rich. Love the bed.

Well that makes a lot more sense than that waterbed craze of the 1970s.

I inherited a 200+ year rope bed from a New England farmhouse. As I recall, the wood is pin oak and it is extremely hard. My mother modified it, kept all the wood intact and adapted a metal frame underneath. Uses a 3/4 mattress. I slept in the bed for years and it is very comfortable and makes me pine for the Maine woods.

Hay is made up of green plants, like alfalfa. Straw is the stems of wheat. The left overs after the heads have been harvested. That bed is beautiful. Nice job. Thanks for sharing. "Lets take this carriage for a ride." 😄

The room looks really nice! Can't wait to see what it looks like finished. ❤❤ Justine, I was waiting for you to 'sweep Ron off of his feet'. 😉😉🤣🤣

An old farmer told me that the difference between straw and hay is that hay has the seed heads on it. It's better for feeding your cattle over the winter.

Oh my days. Just found these guys .. 1st video. Talk about 2 awesome human beings flowing with chemistry. This video softened my heart. Thank you.

After my husband and I got married we bought an antique bed frame. It had the rope “box springs “….we immediately adapted it to fit a box spring. That bed still being used by one of our kids 37 years later.

In my grandparents house ( may God have them) still have this kind of bed and I slept on it. Is very nice and comfortable (what you never would think when you look at it) Their farm is in the mountain of Santa Catarina Brazil in a very small community of Germans.

just one of the many day to day things we learn how people lived (slept). Did a fantastic job on the bed, esp. the mattress. Many years ago while doing a tour in Williamsburg, VA they made mention of the rope bed and how the expression "good night, sleep tight" came from. You'll have a good rest if the ropes are tight. Justine, took to much delight in that broom to Ron, lol.

Straw: The stems left over after threshing grain from wheat, barley, rye and oats. Used for animal bedding. Hay: Dried cut grasses/weeds. Used for animal feed.

I made a rope bed, and a tightening tool with 2 pegs. Strung it tight with my tools, and made a corn shuck mattress. I first made a mattress stuffed with corn shocks 8 years ago for camping. It’s still fine. The shucks don’t deteriorate like straw. Next fall get permission from a farmer to harvest some shucks. It will take a pickup load. Then make sure they are dry and strip the leaves off the nubbin. Far far superior.

I so enjoyed this video. I am reminded of the time. That I stuffed a mattress with pine needles. I had no straw. The mattress was so soft and smell so good. Thank you for the precious video! Also, I love the bed and the bedroom.

I love your channel. It's living history, and the fact that you are married and doing this channel together, is that much more realistic.

First thing: It was being filmed! LOL! Love your work!

I just recently started watching a few of ya''ll videos. Ya'll are doing an amazing job and all Ive seen. Living simple, and I can tell, your happy. I know its harder in some aspect but you guys make it look easy.

I thank you so much for actually doing what I had heard about my parents growing up with, they later started filling their mattresses with feathers. I feel strange when I look back at the family history and see how much things have changed in just 3 generations. Thanks again for re enacting or perhaps I should say visually illustrating the stories from my younger years 😀

I read that in victorian times in London there use to exist the "two penny sitter" where the very poor in winter would pay two pennies to sit on a rope to sleep on with a rope infront of them so they wouldnt fall over head first while they slept. So your rope and hay bed looks like a warm dry place to stretch and relax ones body. Always fun to watch your videos, thank you and take care guys

I love watching you two work together. There’s so much harmony there.

I don’t know what it is about these simple videos that just crack me up!!!!!!!!!!

Glad to see your lovely new room and cozy antique bed. Sweet dreams Justine and Ron!

What a beautiful bed and a lovely new room! It will be wonderful to sleep up off of the floor. For additional support, Ron could build a platform box out of wood to put underneath so that the body weight is on the flat wooden top of the platform and not dependent on the ropes. It will also be easier on the frame of the antique bed.

What a beautiful bed! I had one of similar design when I was a kid, but it was for a regular modern mattress. I don't remember what happened to my old bed but I wish I still had it with me. Just love American colonial furniture!💕

I just stumbled across your channel and I am obsessed! I love American history and this is such a wonderful and unique way to learn more about this time period. You complement each other so well and are adorable! I would sleep in that bed any day as it looks so comfy!!! Thank you for all that you do and the time and detail you put into your videos. I just may have to take a trip to visit Ste. Genevieve someday and stay in Kandye’s cabin! 💕

My daughter’s bed was originally a rope bed (with the holes), but now it has wooden slats. Custom mattress because it’s an odd size, but no straw. That would itch! 😄

A young couple with ropes and a bed, I'll just bite my tounge so to speak. Seriously, another nice video. I was unaware of a stacking bottom bed. On a side note; I've noticed a lack of modern background noises in your videos. That makes your videos so much more convincing that we actually getting a glimpse back into the 1800's. Thanks again.

This is so fascinating! Such accurate presentation on what normal life was like in the 1700 and 1800's I'm definitely subscribing

1:49- He's making sure they "sleep tight"! ☺️👍

Okay hay is a grass product with the seeds attached. Straw is the chaff (stems) of grains, such as wheat, oats, barley. Since there are no seeds to it, straw is simply a bedding material. Edit to add; I do like your bonnet.

What a beautiful bed! Straw mattresses are so comfortable and they just need a good shake to puff them up again! Good job assembling and weaving the rope!

"What about supper?" "What about it?" 😂😂😂😂

Gosto muito do seu canal um abraço para vocês do Brasil 🇧🇷❤️ Deus abençoe sempre vocês

Another nice video! Enjoy the bed. It may have been the camera perspective, but at first I thought the bed would be too short for Ron. I was relieved to see that it fit him quite well!

If remember correctly, straw is what is left after cutting a field of wheat or similar, like mentioned previously. Just started watching, love this channel!

Ohhhh, now it's looking like a real bike! Love the quilt... we have one similar that's a 3/4 size.

Straw is the left over from oats and wheat, the stems. Also, oat straw makes excellent sleepy time healthy tea to drink. It also has vitamins in it. Hay, usually alfalfa or field grasses are cut and dried for cattle, sheep, goats, horses, etc food. Alfalfa is also excellent for human consumption as tea or even pick the blossoms and leaves fresh and add to salads. I am an Herbalist 😊. Also field corn silk, dried makes good tea to keep kidneys healthy😄 FYI you will find the straw settles and you will often need to keep adding...voice of experience 😁 Brook

I loved this episode! All the funny parts with you taking the broom and all the jokes made my night!

Looking good! I love the rope bed! Sleep tight! Also, my Gran was raised with this type of bed (they were poor!) and was taught you never sit on the bed. There was always a chair to sit on to our your shoes on.

If still interested Straw is a stalk, usually a waste product of wheat, that's used as bedding for barnyard animals. Hay-typically alfalfa or a grass-is used as animal feed.

All that hay makes me want to sneeze just watching it!

Great job with the bed .I love watching you two ! I'd be afraid of sleeping with bugs .The cedar is a great idea !

Cool to see bed being made! Don’t light any candles near that hay bed safety first! Be safe! ❤️❤️

yes !! Straw is a stalk, usually a waste product of wheat, that's used as bedding for barnyard animals. Hay-typically alfalfa or a grass-is used as animal feed.

Oh how fun is that!!!! Whi cares hiw accurate anything is. I can imagine the noise from the ropes on the pegs when moving around at night....CREAKKK! That was fun to watch. I never saw a bed that had that set up. Thanks for showing that!

Such a beautiful bed. . I love the new room also. I know that will be better than sleeping on the floor. You two did a great job on the bed

Altho I’m trapped in our technological society, I almost envy the days when one could lay in bed with only the sounds of the caw of the crow or a nearby rustling brooke. No automobiles, no fighter jets, no radios or notifications from a smart-phone. Just the comforting sounds of nature coupled with one’s own inner thoughts and the sweet voice of loved ones. Seems tranquil.

Watching this and comparing their life style back then to our current lifestyle with all the confort . I feel I am the queen 👸 of that century !! Lol

"We look like two dead people in our coffin " 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆

I enjoyed the video of this, that's practically what our ancestors did 200 years ago, everything was handcrafted , no computers , TVs and your groceries were grown in your backyard , and I bet the food taste's better being cooked over a fire place or on a wood heater stove , I really enjoy and appreciate what you guys do , I'm a 32 year old man who is autistic and I'm fascinated with history and nostalgic things , I'm learning a lot here . I'll stay tuned for more content👍.

Nice! The bed actually looks comfortable. 👌 Wait...is this the new room Ron built?? Looks good! Nice windows!

The way I would be so afraid of the ropes snapping! Lol

I had a few smarty comments to say here, about flattening the bed , but I'll keep em to myself. As always well done!! Super cute and funny watching the set up... Def a death trap, those ropes lol

I am sure the mattress was better than the floor. I'm happy you have a bedroom. I think having the windows would help in the summer. Another fun video. Thank you, Ron and Justine.

I once had an antique rope bed with all its pegs. I'd had a custom mattress made as it was not quite a double bed but also the mattress had to be five feet long. No idea what my dad did with it but I loved it.

You two are so darn cute together! Thank you for putting a smile on my face today