Apartment Show & Tell + Improvements

I thought I'd share some pictures of the apartment since I haven't shown the pictures to many people other than my parents and Eliza.  This post is going to be picture heavy.  Hooray!  Break from all my jibber jabber.

To start, here's some pictures of the place when I first looked at it with Johan and the landlord.  Based on the other apartments I looked at online with Ali, I knew right away this was the place I wanted.  It was a decent size, amazing location above the subway, 15 minutes walk from work and Johan and Ali/Niki, and the price was right (~$500 CAD/mo)

Picture of the living room looking down from the upstairs "tree house"

Landlord filling out rental agreement

Here's the kitchen.  1 stove top, and a laundry machine.  The sink is pleasantly large and deep.  Above the sink is a drying compartment.  You put your wet dishes in there and you can press the dry button to have them dried fast.  I just leave them to air try cause it's hot enough.

Mini fridge/freezer combo.  It looks pretty small but I've found it to be large enough.  Honestly, how many of us have fridges that are half filled with stuff we don't even know about or use?  This makes us think about what's in the fridge/freezer because if we're not using it, then it gets eaten or tossed out.  Also there's a large "cupboard/closet" under the stairs.  You can't see inside but there's a hanging bar so that you could potentially hang jackets in there.

Photograph from the living room looking back  into the apartment.  The door in the middle is the entrance .  To the left are stairs going up to the "tree house".  The tree house is about a 4 foot tall area above with a large/deep closet and enough room for a queen mattress.  A nice way to separate the sleeping quarters from the rest of the house!  Eliza wanted a "loft" so I was on a mission to get her what she wanted.

Aforementioned deep closet.  It's sort of difficult to use while bending over/kneeling on the floor.  I don't have much stuff so it's all in the downstairs closet.  I predict that will change when Eliza takes over :P

Apartment came furnished with a wall mounted 32" flat screen.

Also furnished with a new computer desk/chair and a 3 person wide sofa (ugly couch cover!  when Liza gets here we'll be finding a replacement for it).

Also came with a closet there.  Pretty basic.

Anyone want a spare 30 inch flatscreen?  Landlord said I could throw it away if I want.

Alright.  The downfall of this particular place is that it's one of those shower + toilet bathrooms.  Where the shower is not separate from the rest of the room.  Not a deal breaker because the rest of the place is the full package.

 Okay!  So those were all pictures I took before I moved in.  Here's a few improvements/changes since I've moved in.  It's obviously a work in progress but it's starting to feel much more... "home-y"

Added shower curtain for Eliza.  Others thought it couldn't be done but there it is!

The space between the wall and the shower was a bit narrow so after these pictures were taken  I moved the shower rod out into the room a bit more.  It obscures the mirror slightly but who needs the mirror but who needs the mirror when you're in the shower?  The curtains primary purpose is to keep the rest of the room relatively dry.  It works well!  Eliza will be pleased...

The landlord had initially installed these really white lights.  I hate white light.  It feels so sterile.  So first order was to replace all the white lights with warm lights.  I also bought a paper lamp (in the corner) which really gives the space a much warmer feel to it.  I've also hooked my computer up to the flatscreen so that we can watch shows/movies on a bigger screen.  The setup works really well!

Here's some warmer light pics of the living room and kitchen.

I wished I took night-time pictures of the apartment with the white lights for comparison.  The white lights really made the place feel... gross.  So really happy with the changes.

Finishing Rant:  Frick, fluorescent lights are expensive!  The cheapest I can find are $4/bulb.  That seems ridiculous to me.  I hear it's about the same in Canada so relatively speaking, they're really expensive for locals here to afford them.  Also, I went to about 4 different stores (including a hardware store) and you can't even find old school incandescent light bulbs.  I guess it's an energy/waste reform.

Anyways, there's a sneak peek into the new digs.  Hope you like :)

ps - visitors welcome!  We're planning on buying an inflatable mattress for guests.