Cleared Out

Mike and I have had some crazy, busy weekends and this last one was no exception. Although we did the bulk of our move a week ago, we still had some loose ends to tie up with the apartment. Originally, we thought we would need to repaint the whole place back to a neutral color since it would be easier for our landlord to rent it out but luckily one of our good friends is actively hunting for a one bedroom place and our complex is strangely cheap compared to most other places. If he ends up taking the place and he likes the dark blue/grey, our landlord agreed that we could keep it that color and we promised our friend if he moves out we would donate our slave labor to paint it back to whatever color it needs to be. I call that a win-win.

Other than that, we got everything cleaned up in about a day. Our landlord was actually really happy that we had taken such good care of the place and that the carpet is as good as it was the first day Mike moved in thanks to our no-shoes-inside policy. I took some pictures after we had gotten everything cleared out and cleaned up and it doesn't even look like the same place.

I've heard in places such as San Francisco where the vacancy rate is extremely low, people often "pass down" their apartments to people they know. Our friend was worried that it would be weird to live someplace where you knew the previous tenants so well but I think with any place, it takes a while to make it feel like your own. Even though Mike and I hold the title to our new place, we are still struggling with this feeling as well. I'm hoping after a few DIY projects and some time, this place will really start to feel like home.

CZ in the Rough

This evening Mike and I started boxing up the apartment. We are so thrilled with our new home and looking forward to all the possibilities of a bigger space but I can't help but feel sad about leaving the apartment behind. Mike actually moved in to this place few years before I did as a temporary living situation (i.e. the rent was cheap) but after deciding to live together last summer, we settled in and made it someplace we'd both enjoy coming home to. I once called it our "diamond in the rough" but Mike more aptly named it the "CZ in the rough." Either way, I'm going to miss our little apartment -- popcorn ceiling and all. So before I introduce you to the new house, here is a little glimpse into what we've been working on for the past year.

Kitchen - This room wins the award for most improved. Mike definitely thought I was crazy when I started putting stickers on the wall, but these vinyl decals really livened up the all-white kitchen. Other improvements included: 

Before

After!

• Adding a shelf and hanging bar behind the sink.
• Spicing up the outlets with bright red covers.
• Replacing the small poster with a gallery wall (the large picture is actually just a framed $5 tea towel from Crate & Barrel).
• Replacing the old trashcan with a stainless steel one of the step-can variety.
• Adding a magnet strip behind the stove to hold the knives.
• And finally, replacing the builder-grade, bright gold knobs with oil-rubbed bronze pulls.

Dining Area - Before the blue-grey tone it currently is, all the walls in the apartment were mauve. Just kidding, they were pepto-bismol pink. Seriously, they were hideous. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of them because I primer-ed that pink away faster than you could say Home Depot. We also:

• Craigslisted Mike's dining set in favor of adding a large piece of butcher block and stools to our island. The table and chairs were actually really nice but just didn't fit in the small dining space. Also, it was taking up precious bike storage space!
• Hung pendant lights over the island.
• Added the same decals to the built-ins as in the kitchen and added wine glass storage to make a bar. We also swapped out Mike's old filing system (aka shoe boxes) in favor of three magazine holders and hanging files. 
• Hung a large mirror to reflect light and make the space look larger. 
• Added curtain panels to soften the vertical blinds. 

Entryway - Wall-to-wall carpet has never been something Mike or I have been particularly fond of. Even though we both take our shoes off at the door, the carpet around the entry way was filthy. The biggest DIY project in the apartment was installing tile around the front door and A/C unit. After getting permission from the landlord, we ripped up the old and broken square of wood that was right in front of the door, used a razor blade to cut the carpet wider, and installed the tiles. This was our first time ever laying tile but I think we did a pretty good job. We lucked out that the floor beneath was even so we didn't have to use a liquid leveler. Other improvements included:

• Using the outside of an Ikea bookshelf to both hide the ugly A/C unit and provide a drop-off for mail, sunglasses, and other small items. Living in Northern California, there are only about 5 days total that we really need the A/C so we really weren't too concerned about the functionality of the unit.
• Adding a shelf and hooks behind the door to hang our coats and my purses.
• Designating an area for our work bags with a bin.

Living Room - This is the room we changed the least. Mike already had a big, comfy sectional that fit well in the space so I gifted my couch and called it a day. Things we added include:

• A new TV console from IKEA which is our favorite purchase from there. I love the clean lines, shiny surface, and the fact that the center compartments flip down. I have no idea how we are going to move it without scratching the heck out of it.
• A lamp in the corner since the room has no overhead lighting. 
• A small desk in the opposite corner with my monitor. I was in Grad school up until last August and needed somewhere comfy to study and write papers but didn't want to be closed off from Mike if he was sitting on the couch working.
• A shelf over the TV that matched the one by the front door. I bought some nice frames from CB2 a while back but didn't get a chance to print or buy anything to fill them yet. 

Bedroom - There were pink walls in here as well (actually, two different shades of pink) but instead of going dark grey, we opted for something light. I chose Decorators White by BM for this room and in the hall. It's a pure white with just a few drops of black mixed in so it always leans on the cooler side and never looks yellow. The pendant light is one of the first items Mike and I bought for the apartment when I moved in and is also when I discovered that Mike is terrified of being electrocuted. He was even more unhappy when he had to rewire for a second time after I knocked it loose with the comforter while making the bed one morning. Other changes included:

• Buying a large frame from the art store to make an upholstered headboard. I re-used the fabric from our old duvet cover but since it was a softer/ stretchier fabric, I was afraid to pull it as tight as I should have. I like the colors but this will likely get redone for the new place. 
• "Frosted" the mirrors to look like french doors. I always wanted a balcony off my bedroom and this is as close as we could get in this place. Plus, I generally dislike the look of full-mirror closet doors. The 'frost' is just vinyl that sticks to glass with water so it's easy to pull off (but they won't be coming with us to the new place).
• The bar stools we got for the Island in the kitchen came in a set of four but were still cheaper than anything else we could find. Also, they were the only ones that could accommodate an unusually tall table. Instead of selling the other two, we opted to use them around the house and pull them out when we had company for dinner. Without the back, they work perfect as a nightstand.

Bathroom  - For such a little space, our only bathroom went through numerous changes. After living here for six months, I decided one day that the old, rusty light had to go. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the last time it had been painted, the painters didn't properly primer the existing high-gloss paint so I ended up pulling all the paint off the wall in one big sheet when I went to switch out the light. I had always wanted to paint a bathroom black so I figured what the hell and went for it. Big Mistake. Anytime the shower steamed up the room the walls looked like the inside of cave with water dripping down it. I did end up going with a black and white look, but the large white wall does a lot to keep the room bright and clean looking. The only other big project was framing out the mirror with wood that Mike cut by hand. 

It's been really fun trying my hand at interior decorating with this space. Mike and I have both learned a lot and are glad we could practice on the apartment before tackling a home. One of my favorite blogs has a tradition of taking pictures of their empty house right before they move out which I think would be interesting. Also coming up next is a tour of the new place!