It's been a busy last couple of weeks in the Marin casa. Countless trips to IKEA and Cora (similar to a Walmart/Target) our apartment finally feels like home! Here's a quick preview:
The only downfall to this apartment is that the bathroom is inconveniently located outside of our apartment! It has a lock and all, but it sure isn't fun in the middle of the night! If you see where the boxes are in the right hand corner, that's where the next set of steps heading down to the bottom of the building.
After several apartment searches online, I felt doomed that our bathroom would be disgusting and that I would just have to make due, but that's just not the case! There's tons of storage and everything is brand new! Parallel to the counter is the shower which is huge!
This view is coming in from the front door with our coatrack we looked high and low for!
And the kitchen! The tall 'cupboard' on the left is actually the refrigerator - short and narrow = Lauren goes to the grocery store at least once a day!
Because we are on the top floor, we get the luxury of 'sky lighting' - though the landlord really doesn't like us to have the shades open in the day time because the sun is so strong it drains the color out of the wood floors - but sometimes, I just can't help it! Underneath the island is our washer/dryer unit and it is amazing! I was a bit skeptical at first but I have never had such clean clothes in my life! Maybe the detergent has something to do with it too, I don't know, but I'll take it!
The water pressure here is also very strong, which I guess then means there is a lot of calcium in the water. You can see it on things like the sink because the water spots just never go away. There is special soap you have to put in the washing machine along with your detergent and fabric softener. Then you also need to clean the stainless steel stuff every couple of weeks with some simple white vinegar. Man, do I sound like a housewife or what!?
Not much to say about this picture except to ignore my finger in the top left hand corner! The steps on the right lead upstairs to the bedroom.
Here's a better shot with the lovely picture collage my dear sweet husband put up for me :o)
And here's the bedroom! We are at the very top of the building and as you can see, the ceiling is slanted. I'm not sure I have been up there one time where I haven't smacked my head! You can't see it very well (because I'm a horrible picture taker) but on each side of the bed there are built-in shelves with doors covering them up. Very nice for clothes, shoes and storage of extra things we didn't end up needing or wanting! This bed, from IKEA, is so unbelievably comfortable I find it hard to get up every morning! Sure beats the old bed Tonico used to have (right Shawn!?)
And here is our living room! Europe is known for having little to no closet space, our's having none, so we had to purchase a wardrobe. Who knew there were so many options?! We spent at least three hours in the wardrobe section of IKEA. They even have this cool thing where you can sit down at a computer and design your own! We are pretty happy with what we got!
And this my friends, is my favorite part of the house - the patio! One of the perks to the apartment - I can deal with a bathroom outside the apartment if I can have this huge space outside! The little pots are my first attempt at tulips (just for Jenna) and some herbs for cooking! We just love it out here and can't wait to get our grill set up and running for the summer!
Finally, I leave you with this shot I took while waiting for Tonico to pick me up one afternoon. This is Parc du Cinquantenaire and it is just about 2 blocks from our apartment. There are lots of different museums on each side of the park and lots of people out and about all day long. There are lots of parks like this in the city and it's so nice to have one so close! It's finally starting to feel like home :o)
Yay! Tulips! :) Love your place!
ReplyDelete