West Wall showing the colonial revival mantel from the 1893 redecoration

East Wall showing several pieces from the faux-bamboo bedroom suite

This is the only bedroom on display at the Gibson House. This room belonged to Rosamond, presumably from the time of her marriage to Charles Sr. in 1871. The couple maintained separate bedrooms according to the custom of the time for those who could afford the luxury of privacy; their bedrooms were connected by a dressing chamber and bathroom, as well as small bells triggered by hanging ropes that are still visible. The most outstanding feature of this room is the fifteen-piece bamboo-motif bedroom suite. The suite, dubbed “Japanesque” in style, is a unique Victorian interpretation of Asian aesthetics. Rosamond records, “My bedroom furniture, of bird’s-eye maple, was made by John Vaughn, and all the pieces were quite lovely.” The furniture, manufactured in Boston, was a wedding gift to Rosamond from her mother.

Other family members occupied bedrooms on the fourth floor. The two south bedrooms, likely used by the young children and their nursemaid, are divided by a built-in sliding door that allowed for both the proximity and privacy of the nursemaid. The occupants of the larger north bedroom changed as the family grew and changed. The fifth floor provided quarters for the female servants.