Settling into the new place…

This past weekend I moved into my new place. It’s a one bedroom basement suite, well actually more like a one bedroom plus den. There was great space, high ceilings (for a basement), and big windows. I saw the potential in it, which is why I took the place. I got in on the 14th in the early afternoon, so with the help of my dad and brother, we moved all my small stuff that day. The big stuff came the next morning. It was nice to have it split in two days, especially because I had to clean the old place too.

Without tooting my own horn, I have a good eye for improving houses. I don’t have to do anything to the kitchen, which is terribly small but brand new at least. The living room is also good, with me just needing to put up better drapes. There is no overhead lighting in the dining room area, so I will be visiting Ikea for that. The office/den area is good too, with great lighting. My biggest two projects, that had to be dealt with as soon as possible, were the bedroom and the bathroom.

The bedroom was improved by day 2. The previous tenant had painted the walls a beautiful dark blue-grey, but it needed some “lightening” to counteract the cave feeling. The baseboards and closet doors were dark cherry wood, so the first thing I popped off (seriously, I don’t think I unpacked anything before I did this!) was the dark closet door. I have a tension shower-curtain rod, so I put that up with my pale beige drapes. Instantly, the room felt lighter and bigger. My dresser and side tables are all a light maple, so that really added a brightness to the room. My bedside table lights are a nice soft cream, and my duvet is white. Lastly, I am adding white drapes (floor to ceiling to add height) to add more to the brightness. For some drama and interest, I used a giant black and white picture of Paris (from Ikea & only $60) as a headboard and it looks gorgeous!

The next day, I tackled the bathroom. It had terrible yellow lighting, a 1’ by 2’ mirror (like that’s good enough for a girl), some weird totally ineffective towel hanging thing, awkward shelving (square when it should have been rectangular, so I moved it to my storage closet instead), and a basic showerhead. Everything I’m putting in can be taken down and brought to a new place (or left in and I can be credited with making it better!). So with the help of my parents, we put in a light that had three adjustable spot lights, so I could direct some light into the corners by the shower and toilet. I got a pretty oval mirror with a frosted edge, and some simple brushed nickel towel racks (hand and body towels). Today I’m venturing to Ikea (at the very least to get the new catalogue!) to get a better shelf thing for my bathroom stuff.

I actually really enjoy the challenge of working with small spaces. If I have the money to pay for the solutions, that is. It’s been an expensive month, but it will be worth it! I'll try to post some pictures soon...