Beadboard Study walls and built-in bookcase

I've spent the last few days working on the Study. I've begun hanging the beadboard on the walls. The beadboard is from a Textile Mill in Atlanta, It's the same stuff I used to build the Kitchen island.



The beadboard was being used as the sides for work tables in the Mill. I had to deconstruct them to be able to use it. First I had to carefully pry off the baseboards and trim, then I had to pull each piece from the 2x2 frame. The nail usually stayed in the frame so I had to be very gentle so the beadboard didn't shatter.

In the above picture I laid a piece of the baseboard against the wall to get an idea of how it will look. There will be a chair-rail piece at the top, same as the baseboard but just narrower, and trim above the baseboard and below the chair-rail. Everything will then be stained the same mahogany color, including the window and door trim.

I've been wanting to build a set of built-in bookshelves for the Study but hadn't come up with an idea that I liked. Yesterday I grabbed a piece of paper and began sketching ideas on it. Half way through I realized that the idea in my head was for some type of columned look. I realized that I just so happen to have a few columns laying around... the ones I saved from the Anderson House.

Originally I had wanted to use the columns for the second floor porch but I wasn't able to save enough of them for that. I continued sketching and eventually came up with this:


The columns themselves are just over 8' high, they come right up to the picture-rail(which will be removed from this wall). The entire bookcase will be 10' high, floor to ceiling.

I brought 2 of the colums inside to test fit them, they fit perfectly! So I brought them out onto the front porch and began working on them. They were in pretty rough shape. One column was very rotted at the base but I was able to take it apart, cut away the bad pieces, and use it to fix up the other 2 columns. While I had one of the columns open I decided to leave something for a future restorer to find. I wrote this on the inside of the column as well as putting a copy of my sketch for the bookshelves in with it.


Once both columns were structurally sound I began the long task of scraping and sanding them. They've got what looks like 3 or 4 coats of very heavy, thick paint. The first coat at the bottom looks like it might be milk paint.

The wood has beautiful color and great graining. I took one of the finished columns(minus the crown and base) back inside for a test fit.


The columns should be finished by today, then I can begin building the bookcase.