Friday, November 29, 2013

A Victorian Closet - Some Assembly Required

While driving around killing time one afternoon of late, we happened across a new antique mall. It has quickly become one of our favorites because of its great finds. Since moving here over a year ago we've been hoping to add a nice victorian armoire. There's very little closet space in this house so I'm sure the original owners had at least a few around. Since my style leans towards the more primitive, not all victorian furniture strikes my fancy. I've always loved the spoon-carved Eastlake pieces though, they kind of remind me of folk art, so when I saw this one I knew it was the one. The guys managed to get it home all in one piece, however there was only one minor issue - getting it upstairs.


My brother is six foot tall, so you can tell this is not a small piece.


There was no way that thing was going up and around those steps, so we had to get tools involved.


Luckily, the people who made this thing had the same problem so they built it to be reassembled.


Some pieces actually just snap in place with dowels.


During the build we had it inspected to test for structural integrity.


 I was impressed with how quickly it went together.


I don't think a modern ClosetMaid system would go together quite this fast, and it sure as heck wouldn't look this good.




9 comments:

Julie Ann said...

This is truly one of the most beautiful east lake pieces I have ever seen. Glad it made it to its perfect home in one piece!

Jayne said...

That's beautiful! The craftsmanship in antique furniture is amazing, isn't it? Glad to see that it's cat-tested as well.

Unknown said...

Score! I read an article once about a family who found an unassembled wardrobe in their attic, and like you they said it snapped together in no time. I think they called it a break-down wardrobe if I remember right.
That is one big wardrobe and it's perfect for that room. Nice!

Florida Farm Girl said...

What a gorgeous piece!! Good for you.

Karen Anne said...

That's a delight. I admire Eastlake. Maybe some day...

Tombstone Livestock said...

Good Score on the purchase and good job on the dismantle and reassembly and extra can of tuna for the inspector.

Michelle said...

How beautiful, and it looks like it fits that space perfectly! We just brought home an antique pie safe, a family heirloom that Rick's mom did not have a place for. It doesn't necessarily "go" with the rest of the house, but I love it. I need to take a photo of it for the blog....

Jan said...

What a beautiful piece! How fortunate that it would break down, and that it is deepe enough for modern hangers and clothes. I have one similar, and the clothes have to hang sideways.

Jenny R. Sherrill said...

Wow. That is gorgeous indeed!!!