Monday, February 16, 2009

flat mini-tour

I am in the process of transforming my empty studio apartment into more of a home with actual furniture. It's challenging because I don't have alot of money and also don't have a car, so I must rely upon the kindness of others for helping me with big items.

So, at the moment the place is still very much a work in progress, but I can give a partial tour of the areas closest to being finished.

First, the kitchen:

kitchen

I am thinking of a green color scheme here (hence the green striped carpet). What this kitchen lacks in counter space it makes up for with the cupboard space. And honestly, of all of the flats I looked at, this kitchen is one of the best. Many kitchens did not come with refrigerators, or even a proper stove/oven (instead there would be no oven and a hotplate thing for a stove). Since this kitchen had an oven, a fridge, and a double sink, it was the winner! I got the toaster oven thing from eBay for quick reheating of stuff and it even has a rotisserie setup (chicken anyone?).

Next the bathroom:
bathroom sink

I plan to get another little drawer set for the stuff currently in the Body Shop bag. The hamper is great there since I have started doing a fair amount of my laundry by hand in the bathtub.

rest of the bathroom

The little stepstool is for me to be able to get in and out of the shower without dying, since the floor of the bathroom is about six inches lower than the floor of the tub. So weird. The little wooden door in the wall is apparently access to pipes or something. I am not exactly sure why they didn't opt for a more waterproof housing for the opening, since it is in a shower oh well.

The biggest improvement that my latest trip to IKEA produced is making the bedroom a bit more private. Here is the before shot:

bedroom/front entryway

Notice that the door on the left is actually the front door, so when I come into my apartment, I am essentially walking right into the bedroom. This is not really the impression I want to give ALL of my guests, so I decided to get some curtains to use as a room divider, and it worked fabulously! Also I found a proper night table to replace my ghetto cardboard box one. Here is the new, improved entryway:

new entryway/bedroom

The only thing left for the entryway is to talk to the landlord about the ceiling light. When I moved in it did not work, and the light bulb was screwed in by a very strong person with very tiny fingers because it is practically impossible to get a grip on the bulb and actually impossible to unscrew it. Recently, the light started randomly flickering on and off and now it does work when I turn it on, but then shortly after flickers off. Since it is actually hanging from the ceiling by its wires, it is a little too dodgy for my tastes. I am hoping by using the french words for 'fire hazard' I can get it taken care of relatively quickly.

The living room is essentially bare at the moment, with an ironing board being the most prominent feature of the area. But as soon as I get paid again I will be able to start working on that area.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love the sheerness of the curtains. It divides the space without making the entry way too dark. It's a great flat. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures as you get the rest of it together.