Modified Antique Bookcase
My client purchased an older home, most likely built in the late 1940's, and, upon moving in, found that her antique bookcase was too tall to fit in her living room, which has only 94" of ceiling height. She asked me to reduce the height so that it would fit while giving the appearance of not having been modified. An exception to her request was to add felt pad levelers to compensate for a floor that is not level and to protect against scratching her newly refinished wood floors.
I stayed true to the original construction in making the modifications, using hand tools, nails and hand-rubbed stain, to retain the rustic character of the piece as it was before I worked on it. The levelers, and a slightly shorter bottom shelf space, are the only visual clues that it was modified.
It's not often that I get a chance to work on an old, hand-crafted piece like this, and I am grateful for the opportunity.