Moving a Priceless Antique

My parents filled all of their houses with antiques. That makes it sound like they had a lot of houses. They did, but one at a time. We moved A LOT- exactly eight times in my first fourteen years of life, residing in four states.

We also did a great deal of traveling, and everywhere we went my parents stopped at antique stores. Since I was normally made to sit in the car and watch my younger brothers and sister, I hated these stops. There was many a time that I vowed that my house would be antique free. It would be a cold day in hell before the shadow of an antique even grazed my doorstep, I would rant.

Fast forward several years to the day I moved into my first apartment, and many of those same antiques that I had resented came to furnish my abode. These days my home is filled with a mix of furnishings, but slowly but surely the antiques are taking over.

I love the beauty of these one-of-a-kind pieces as well as the fact that they only grow in value over the years unlike new furniture. Now I appreciate all of the valuable lessons I learned in what to look for in an antique and also how to move them.

Back in August 2013, I shared with you how we moved a giant armoire that I bought on Craigslist. Basically, that involved breaking it down into a thousand pieces, figuring out how to descend a curving staircase with the largest of the pieces, fitting it all into our truck and unpacking it without breaking anything. We did a pretty damn good job, if I do say so myself, and to this day it is one of my favorite pieces of furniture that we own.

On Sunday, we completed another such feat of wonder when we moved our new bookcase from my aunt and uncle’s house on Long Island. Once again the move involved breaking the piece down like a jigsaw puzzle in reverse, but there were fewer stairs and my uncle Jay was a tremendous help. It was still nerve wracking, as I highly desired that the bookcase arrive without damage. This cabinet contained a lot more glass than the wardrobe.

Here is how it started out in my aunt and uncle’s house. I had always admired this piece and was thrilled at the possibility of making it mine, since they are selling their house and downsizing.

The first step was to remove the mirror. Say hello to Huckleberry, my cousins dog who supervised the dismantling of the bookcase while Kahlua and Crème waited impatiently in the car.

After the mirror was off, the columns had to be dismantled. Each one is created by two pieces.

Then, the top came off. It is amazing how antiques are created to be taken apart into such small pieces. As Douglas pointed out, they did not have the equipment to move things like we have now. The doorways were also a lot smaller on old houses.

Once everything was taken apart we began wrapping each section in old blankets and securing them with painters’ tape. This kind of tape works best since it can be removed easily without ruining the finish.

We put a bag of clothes in the bookcase so that the doors would be supported from the inside. This just happened to be a bag that we had been planning to drop off at a second hand shop for a couple of months. Sometimes it pays to procrastinate!

Uncle Jay and Douglas then secured everything with plastic wrap. They were meticulous in protecting each fragment.

All of the screws and tiny bits, including the original key, were placed in Ziplock bags. The slightly larger but still small pieces were packed in a box.

Then came the fun of loading everything on the truck. Luckily, the pieces were not heavy. They just required a lot of care.

We had brought a bag of straps with us and Jay lent us a couple of ratcheting straps as well.

Finally, it was all loaded and ready for transport. We said our goodbyes and piled into the crowded cab. Unfortunately, the truck was not ready to go. The battery has been running down quickly these days, and the doors had been left open at some point. I had to go back into the house and inform everyone that we needed a jump. Of course, our truck was blocking the driveway and had to be pushed out of the way so that Jay could bring his car around to jump us. I would have taken a picture, but I had to steer. It just would not be right if nothing went wrong for us.

The bookcase arrived in Westchester safe and sound, now the pieces are strewn around our living room. We are gingerly stepping over and around them as we ignore the fact that we need to move a lot of stuff to make room for the cabinet.

In the meantime, I am liking this part of the bookcase in this space. It almost makes me not want to assemble it, so that it can stay here. I really do need to remove the last of the Christmas decorations, however. How embarrassing!

Happy Homemaking!

P.S. Lest you think that I am not following through on finishing the kitty jungle gym, we worked on it last night. It is not finished, but we are one step closer! Here is photographic evidence; the full post is coming soon.