The Library Pt. 4

Guess where I am right now? Yes, it’s true. The library is officially complete and I’m curled up on the day bed with a mug of hot tea. Dreams do come true. But not without having worked for them. I can take a sigh of relief now that it’s over, but it’s been a journey to get here and it started all the way back in June of last year. If you’d like to rewind where it all began nearly 8 months ago, please refer to The Library Pt. 1-3.

Working on this room has taught me a lot, both in renovating old walls and cultivating a renewed sense of patience. It’s difficult to know what parts of the process to share because the days and months have stacked on top of each other, blurring the details of all that was done up until now. The following snippets of writing are some memories I’d like to archive here.

Scraping –

First came the task of scraping the old paint off day after day to get it back down to smooth plaster so we didn’t have to spackle as much. My mom came over to help in this task and showed me the razor scraper was much more efficient than the blunt putty knife I had been using. Switching to this method increased both the speed and ease of the job, though it was still hand-crampingly daunting and dusty. Thank you, mom, for all your help in this!

New Year’s Eve –

It was dark and cold. The snow picked up and around 9:30 pm, Gavin got called into work. My eyes welled up as I heard his voice from the other room on the phone, “Okay, I’ll be right in.” He hugged me and closed the door behind him. Silence.

I slowly climbed the steps and stared at the paint-chipped walls in the library. I still had a job to do.

I did what Gavin had done with fixing the large cracks in the hallway. I got the tools together, put on my glasses and respirator and got to work. First I used a dremel to widen the cracks and smooth the edges. I brushed them out and one by one filled them using premixed cement and a trowel.

The process was long. I put a dime-size amount of cement on the end of the tool, slowly building it up inside the crack little by little until it was completely filled and I could smooth it flush. First one complete. Standing on the 10 foot wooden ladder, I looked over my shoulder to see all of the other cracks glaring back at me and sighed. As midnight approached, I propped my phone up on the top rung of the ladder and watched as people in Time Square shouted and danced. The countdown began, “10! 9! 8! 7! . . .” I stared at the image of 2020 flashing on the screen. I wondered what this new year would bring.

I went back to my job for a little while longer after that. Eventually I climbed down and looked at my work. Still two more cracks to go, but I was proud of myself for what I had done so far.

Preparation & Painting –

I’m in a downtown coffee shop now, waiting for my doctor’s appointment. Before this, I stopped in a health foods store across the street and enjoyed browsing the supplement isle. My quest for both naturally sedating my anxious self in some moments while seeking an energy boost in the others was what I was looking for. The man that worked there was knowledgeable and helpful in my search for herbal remedies. (He suggested a tincture of Kava for relaxation and L-Tyrosine for mental focus, if you’re wondering). When I got back in my car, I opened the little bottle of Kava & squeezed a few drops of the brown liquid up the glass dropper and into my mouth. I was deeply taken aback at the disgustingly bitter taste that assaulted my taste buds before turning my tongue numb. Wasn’t expecting that. Nonetheless, as I sit here now sipping my peach oolong tea, I’m feeling pretty relaxed. So back to the library . . .

After scraping, spackling and sanding for weeks, the room was finally ready for paint. My dad stopped over to see how it was going and helped Gavin bring the scaffolding parts upstairs.

My mom painted the trim and I worked on painting the ceiling. Before she left, we were anxious to see what the wall color would look like. She put a little smear beside the window. I looked at it later. Yellow, very yellow. It’ll be fine, everything’s fine I reassured myself.

I had chosen to bring back the original yellow ochre color of the room and matched it as best as I could to the modern paint we have today.

After painting the window trim, door and cove white, it was time to start rolling the yellow. You cannot believe how amazing it feels to be at this point in the process! As I rolled and rolled, I kept thinking to myself, this color reminds me of something. It wasn’t bad at all, just couldn’t put my finger on it. It was like going back to school. And then it clicked. It was the color of a No. 2 pencil. My mom and I laughed when we figured it out. The more I covered the walls with it, the more excited I got. It was bold but the room was starting to feel exactly how I wanted it to. Authentic, cozy and inviting.

We had covered the bookshelves in plastic during the scraping process. After the walls were painted (two coats), I was excited to see what it’d look like with the yellow walls. My mom and I rolled the plastic up and stood back. My hope of bringing out the gold and yellow spines of the books was brought to life.

Bookshelf-

With my attention now drawn to the books, I decided to organize them a second time and spent 12 hours total removing each section of books, wiping them clean, washing the shelf and reorganizing them by category, height and color.

It was a slow process but holding and examining each book gave me a renewed appreciation for every single one. Many date back to the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s. Gently flipping open the hardback cloth covers, beautiful signatures in ink pens and crooked typewriter letters can found inside. The central theme of these old books consists of right living with both God and man, something our country was founded on long ago. So much wisdom is housed within these handmade wooden shelves that my grandpa built. 755 books total reside here (not counting the ones in the cupboards underneath).

Chandelier –

Another factor Gavin and I had started thinking about was the overhead light. He suggested a ceiling fan with a light. We looked at different stores and every fan I saw made me cringe. Nothing seemed right. It was when we were at home in his workshop that Gavin had the idea of using the brass chandelier that was resting a few feet from us on the floor. I immediately thought, yes! That’s it. And we got to work shining it up and getting it ready to hang. I’d like to thank Gavin for installing it. He had to go back and forth to the store twice and fabricate an anchor to secure it flush to the ceiling (it’s really heavy)! Eventually we climbed down from the scaffolding and I flipped on the switch. It was perfect.

I’d also like to give a big thank you to the family who gifted this chandelier to us. It came from a landscaping client Gavin was working for. And what a blessing it is to this room and this house.

It’s evening now and I’m back home sitting in front of the wood burning fireplace. I’m grateful for that too. Before we installed it, there was an old cast iron stove in its place that a family of raccoons were living in. We’d hear their nails scrape and scurry inside. The smell of them in the summer time along with finding a tick on my neck that they brought in was not fun. Let’s just say we’ve come a long way!

Shopping & Decorating –

After Gavin & I got the day bed put together (separate occasion), it was time for the mattresses. On a Monday night, we set out to decorate my long-awaited day bed (which was what started this whole project in the first place).

We stopped at a local brewery where Gavin confused a woman with his glowing heated jacket where she pondered, “Does your shirt have a light on it or am I just that drunk?” Later after we purchased the mattresses, we went to Target and perused the pillow isles and Magnolia decor. I had so much fun with Gavin and felt like I was on a shopping high. I’ll give him credit for picking out the comforter and some of the pillows. The man does have good taste. We got home and tried it all out, getting the sheets on the bed, tucking in the comforter and arranging the pillows. It was such a good feeling finally seeing it all come together.

The following nights after work were spent hanging curtain rods, rummaging through the art studio to find old artwork and figuring out where to hang everything (thank you Gavin for your patience with my indecisiveness).

Unveiling –

And finally, the tassels were hung on the curtains with care and the room was deemed officially complete February 19, 2020. It’s more than I could ever imagine. I’m appreciative for all the long days and nights spent on this project. Now being able to enjoy this space, I’ll continually be reminded of what it took to make this room into what it has become and will forever cherish the memories that were made along the way.