It's been awhile since I made an update, but this is where I'm at now: Crown moulding is installed and painted. Double-curtain rods and sheer curtains are up, but talked to my aunt who mentioned that I should consider reinstalling them above the window to give the windows a longer sleeker look. Took down the art deco chandelier to have it cleaned and fixed, but I accidentally tipped it over while it was on the floor and it shattered into a thousand pieces. Turns out it was made of cheap pewter. So I found and installed a Turkish style chandelier I received from a seller in Turkey on Etsy. I also installed similar styled Turkish sconces (I'll be replacing the globes with more colorful ones soon). I pulled up the carpet from both rooms. I painted the fireplace insert black. I painted the ugly gold lamp stands black, and added new shades. Things still left to do: I'm still looking for a chandelier for the living room. Repair and refinish the floors (the floor needs a number of boards refilled). Figure out what to do about the gap between the floor and the quarter-round/baseboard that was revealed after I pulled the carpet up. Replace current projector screen with a floor-rising one so that I'm no longer covering 80% of the front window at all times. Install a picture rail about an inch and a half under the crown moulding. Update/add electrical outlets (which will include an upgrade to my breaker). replace carpet in the living room with a Persian style carpet that's approx. 9' x 12'. Replace couch and coffee table. Retile the front of the fire-place. Have a number of the cracks in the plaster repaired. Acquire and hang paintings and framed posters on the walls. And that's just the Living Room and Dining Room. Sigh...

Sorry with typos. The old library is going from a house to a retail business. Any thoughts are so very appreciated as we try and keep the historic character but need to display retail. ❤️🤠❤️

Try to find some old house forums and/or local people who do plaster repair. Beware that people whose skill set is drywall are going to tell you that it all needs to come out. Very rarely does all plaster have to come out unless its been neglected or water damaged over a period of time. It may be you use a range of different techniques depending on what kind of damage. You may find that some walls have only minor cracks that can be simpy filled ,while some walls may have major bowing and large loose areas. arger damaged areas can either be re-done using old methods OR.... just attach drywall patches and fill in gaps with plaster (using bonding agent to get old plaster to adhere to new plaster). Whatever you do, please dont do the thing of putting drywall OVER the old plaster and butting it up against the baseboard and window and door trim. Thats just plain ugly Ceilings might be the one surface you decide to have drywalled - looks like we are seeing ceilings in your pics? Gravity has greater effect on ceilings, so damage can be a lot worse than walls. And, since theres no trim to contend with up there, its a lot easier. If you want to start a thread and post some pics over on the old house forum, I think youd find a lot of us could advise in more detail.

Denatured alcohol to dissolve the existing shellac, and new shellac applied after cleaning. Followed by a sprayed Renner clear in a satin finish.