December project?

I have been a bit stumped on what to do for my December addition of New Year's Resolution 2010. It seems overly nuts to start the saws and get to my last bits of trim in the kitchen. It is not only 15 degrees outside, it is nearly Christmas, and interior wood projects mean releasing great havoc. So, I have been waiting for the muse to hit me. What shall this month's project be??? Well, I think it found me.

Yesterday I spent a productive late morning into the afternoon - what? It is hard to determine the adjective. Was I "helping", "attacking", "creating", "motivating", I'm just not sure. I am sure I was having fun. Now, let me also point out I was invited. Maybe never again, but this first time, maybe she didn't know what she was in for! You see, my dear friend wanted to organize her dining room. Make it a haven and a quiet sanctuary. They are a wonderful, busy family of achievers, and life had overtaken the room as a storage area. Well, my friend had done a lot of work already in organizing and moving the stored stuff. She had uncovered a wonderful 60" round table, with some stains of use- easy to fix and clean lines in the legs and top. With the table are 6 antique Heppelwhite "O" back mahogany dining room chairs. The chairs are solid, just needing to be recovered, although a good banging out in the wind got rid of the dust of unuse (is that a word?). And these treasures are just a bit of the cream, for the real pudding is the room itself. Such bones! 9.5' ceilings top the triangular lintels above the two windows, two doors and two enormous built ins flanking the fireplace. The windows are glorious! they are from mid thigh to 8.5' high and wide with only 2 above 2! The wood floors are a deep golden color, original and wide, square nails, super tight. The other pieces in the room are a Duncan Phyfe Federal Style mahogany bow front china cabinet, and an adorable oak curio sized glass front piece that can go anywhere. The biggest piece in the room is a butter soft, off white leather sectional in 3 parts. Well, with all this bounty, how can we go wrong! We also uncovered a gorgeous little green enamel Jotul woodstove in the firebox, unfortunately the firebox was repaired in the last century and not made readily useable for a woodstove. No worries, woodstoves are wonderful, but messy, and we can make the look without the mess. We made some good headway yesterday, achieving a sanctuary in half the room, and now to just keep advancing across the room until every inch is reclaimed and displaying its beauty. To give the room light I pulled off dark curtains and cleaned the inside of the windows- which weren't really dirty atall, just lacked shine. and then I went collecting. Scattered around the house are the most fabulous collections! A group of handmade artisan vases in greys and black-soft like soapstone, silver Paul Revere style bowls- trophies awarded to the daughters, early 20th century pressed green glass, deep blue-purple pearlized Nippon china, handsome, richly warm handhewn wooden bowls made by the man of the house- I was just amazed at the beautiful things. An enormous high glazed navy and rich burgundy pottery bowl was filled with electric green hedge apples, sprigs of white pine tipped with cones and arching branches of a red berry-drenched Sargenti crab. Placed on the round table, it gave a blast of nature to the room. A quick trip to Lowe's traded the pretty, but useless Jotul for an electric stove that resembles so closely a real wood burning stove, one of the daughters cried out in alarm when the other daughter opened the door and reached inside! White pillar candles on the hearth add more than their physical warmth. Now, keep going! The simply done gorgeous woodwork wants oil, and then beeswax to give it depth and luster. The room is going to be so delicious and lovely. I just can't wait for my friend to have her happy sanctuary. A place to read, or write, or craft. To bask in the low light of an Ohio winter. To sit with her daughters after school as they do homework and learn about their day. To draw her family away from the television and do a Christmas puzzle.
It makes me want to get tidying Cowfeathers! Now, warning my friend to lock her doors, lest I come bumping down the country roads in the middle of the night to organize her china cabinet like the Shoemaker's Elves.