Can we talk about the finish on the built-ins at the Boston Public Library?

Lucas Nguyen · 2026-10-09T22:00:04.533257+00:00

I was in Boston last spring and spent two hours in the reading room just staring at the built-ins instead of reading. Everyone talks about the fancy carving, but what got me was the finish on the shelf edges, thin and even with no drips or build up after 130 years of use. I've been in a lot of custom homes where guys spray on six heavy coats and call it durability, and honestly it looks like plastic and chips in a year. Seems like we lost something when we stopped building up thin coats that let the wood breathe. Anyone else been in there and noticed the same thing, or am I just weird about finish?

💡Thought Shares

Loading…

Can we talk about the finish on the built-ins at the Boston Public Library? | Cabinetmakers - Thought Shares