The To-Do List

I have next week off from work, which means no travel back and forth to DC. I'll be home in NYC for 11 consecutive days. I have not been home for 11 consectutive days since goodness knows when, so to have all this time on my hands is rather exciting but also daunting. There is a running list of things in my head of errands and home projects I'd like to tackle, and the fear that I won't have the time to do them all. I know having a reasonable plan will help:

1) Order the dining room table
2) Sand and repaint the patch of windowsill that was damaged due to the tornado-related rain a few weeks ago
3) Measure all the prints and photographs in prep for framing
4) Ikea trip (doormat, picture frames, other odds and ends)
5) Furniture browsing (coach, landing strip for the entryway, wardrobe for the bedroom to replace the horrible Ikea one we have in there right now, small desk for bedroom, bedframe)
...to be continued...

The Table

I love the idea of people around the dinner table. There is nothing nicer than sitting down to a meal with someone, whether it's a dinner for two, or with your family and friends. A good meal you've taken the time to prepare (whether 10 minutes or hours) should be eaten at the table, not on the coach in front of the television. Colin didn't have the luxury of a real dining room table in his flat in Edinburgh, while I on the other hand, was spoiled during my three years at Eleanor's house, where the dining room table was really the center of most everything that went on. It was a place of solitude at times, especially in the mornings as we worked our way downstairs on our various staggered timelines. That's where I would sit and eat my oatmeal and read the paper before work. A few times per week it was the setting for our group dinners. The table was where we'd all lazily congregate on Sunday mornings, each eyeing the other's scrammbled eggs or toast. It was where Eleanor's Thanksgiving dinners were hosted, where we'd have birthday dinners, and pre-holiday gift exchanges. And even now and then maybe a romantic meal for two. All that made a dining room table the real thing.

But it helps if the table is sturdy, that it's natural, and that it's timeless. So one of the first things Colin and I have focused on, even before we moved in, has been the table. We agreed we wanted it to be made of solid wood. No compressed woodchips and wood veneer. No glass and stainless steels legs. Nothing trendy or too stylized. What we found was that we were both attracted to tables that were a little rustic, a little rough around the edges, something handcrafted with character. Our trolling around stores rarely led to finding anything we really liked, with only one exception (an oak French country table) but we realized the dimensions would not work in our space (too wide). But I kept seeing glimpses of a table here and there in photos on blogs, in magazines, and on the screen, but of course with no way of knowing who designed them and where to look. Until the other day when I saw one on brownstoner. It was a table that was pictured as part of a kitchen renovation. I posted a comment asking where it came from, and as luck would have it, the owner divulged his source. And the source happens to be a woman in Vermont, who handcrafts the tables, and delivers them to our door in NYC. Pictured to right are examples of her work. We've gone with the one with the light stain. 5ft long by 30inches wide. It will seat six.

It's exciting to find a table with all the features we value and to know we're supporting someone's craft in the process. The table has soul already and we hope that the many meals and conversations we have at the dinner table will only add to its character.

We're Back

Sorry for the long absence of posts. Between Washington, DC, packing, unpacking, there hasn't been much time for blogging about the new place. Packing wasn't too awful and the actual move was fairly painless (it helps when you pay three strong men to help). Unpacking, though, has been the challenge as we work through where everything should go, especially in terms of the closets and storage space. We had plenty of closet space in the old place and there is a fair amount in our new home, but we just need to be a tad more thoughtful in how we organize everything. With only a few boxes of unessentials left to unpack (and thinking do we really need what's in those boxes anyway?), we can now begin the actual nesting process. The rationale behind not spending too much on furnishings for our previous apartment was that it was a rental and why be generous in buying nice pieces that may work in a temporary space but not in our eventual home. Now that we own our place and we'll be sticking around for a while, we want to invest in furnishings and art that make it a real home for us, reflecting a place that is serene, functional, comfortable, and classic.