Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the library restoration.
The restoration of the library continues with a focus on refinishing the floor and recreating the doorway to the Men’s parlor.
Flooring
The floor was quite literally a jigsaw puzzle for such a compact room. We were fortunate enough to get our hands on antique donor wood, which we reworked into the disrupted areas due to the previous kitchen.
Before tackling the flooring Sometimes you have to go backward to move forward. Working in antique donor boards Ready for stain and polyurethane
Carpentry
We were surprised in Part 2 to discover a doorway to the Men’s parlor. The hard part was bringing back the original plinths, casing, rosettes, baseboards and more. We spent quite a bit of time scouring for artifacts looking for the originals in the basement. At times we got lucky, such as having the original door that fits like a glove. We also had several plinths and rosettes. When it came to the casing, we were not so lucky. We ended up having to recreate all of the casing on both sides of the doors.
Original Reproduced

Casing, rosettes, plinths, and baseboards installed. A little bit of planing and the door is a perfect fit. Recreating the transom was a project in itself. Both the library and Men’s Parlor have faux transforms The other side of the doorway
Recap
It is fun to look back on how much this space has changed, from a second B&B kitchen to being carefully restored to a library. We’re now in the home stretch of finishing this room! Next up is paint.
Kitchen in 2019 Kitchen removal in early 2020 Floor removal in summer 2020 Restoration of trim and floor prep in 2021 Before adding casing to parlor door Baseboards, casing and refinished flooring in 2021