Library Progress

Gutted library room

We're making steady progress on the library remodel project that we started earlier this summer.  In July, we gutted the library, which was a former bedroom.  This room was the most mutilated in the entire house, and had undergone numerous bad remodel jobs.  Very little of the original plaster walls remained (approximately 25% at most).  Most had been replaced with drywall and 60s era dark wood paneling.  During the remodel process we discovered that one of the original windows had been removed at some point, so we reinstalled it.  We didn't have the original window, but we had salvaged a window from the kitchen when we installed the French Doors.  It was nearly the same size so it worked perfectly.

North wall of library

In the past month the drywall was installed and sanded, and we primed and painted.  The room is far from complete, but it is already much more livable.  In the picture to the right you can see a box we bumped out on the North wall over the newly installed window.  Our plan is to build custom bookshelf cabinetry that has a built-in look.  The bookshelves that you see in the picture are made of solid fir and are out of an old school building in the Seattle area.  The wood from these shelves will be salvaged and refinished into the new cabinetry.  This project is a ways out once more of the house is finished.

South wall of library

For lighting we had a light box installed centered over the window, and two wall sconce boxes on the South wall.  We are currently shopping for authentic vintage lighting fixtures to feature in this room.  It may be some time before we find the perfect thing.  The South wall of the library will feature wood stained fir frame and panel plate rail, which we will be installing in the coming months.  The closet door on the South wall will be replaced with a stained 3 panel door that matches the doors in the remainder of the house.

Honeysuckle wallpaper: Bradbury & Bradbury

Most of the paint colors throughout our house are from the Sherwin Williams Arts & Crafts collection.  The ceiling in the library is painted Roycroft Vellum (SW2833) to match the ceiling color throughout the rest of the house.  The wall color is Ruskin Room Green (SW0042).  We felt that green was an appropriate color for the library as it is very calm and grounding.  Our current plan is to hang wallpaper on the South wall above the plate rail, similar to that in the picture.  We have ordered a sample from Bradbury & Bradbury to verify that the red is compatible with our rug.


We installed push button switches and Bastile style switch/outlet covers throughout the room.  Switches are from Classic Accents.  Classic Accents offers standard single pole as well as 3-way, and dimmable push button style switches.  Switch/outlet covers are from House of Antique Hardware out of Portland Oregon.

We're considering the installation of a Murphy Bed on the East wall.  Currently, we don't have an official guest bedroom since we converted that room into a TV/entertainment room.  We would like to be able to treat our guests to something nicer than a pull out couch.  This is still something we're considering, but it will come down to size and scale.  We found an interesting company that sells frame kits, which would allow us to build our own cabinetry.  This could be an option, but no decision has been made.

As you can see, we've made good progress.  Building the wall paneling and plate rail is the next big project, which should be a fun and interesting job.  Stay tuned for more details on that!