House Love: tour the old house that Jill and Ron saved

The Library Completed (2009)

The composite photo above gives you the full effect, more of less, of our efforts. It took two months to build. For a closer look, you can download a high-resolution PDF of this photo here.

The centerpiece of the library is the intricate leaded doors that meet a small case mounted on two columns. It was a lot of fun figuring out how to make these various pieces work together. We ran strings of lights through each cabinet, which give each a warm glow. The vintage lamps below the plaster ladies add accent light aimed towards the ceiling. The tall leaded doors came from the sun room of an early 20th-century mansion.

I put two reading alcoves in the wall unit, each with a pull-out reading table for quick browsing.

Vintage details make a difference. The Victorian latches took a while to collect--we needed nine of them. The sconces (right) were two separate finds: the pair of scones themselves and then the slag-glass leaded shades, which fit nicely into the sconces.

An alcove that you do not see in the composite picture.

Every home needs a library!

Back: work on the library