Our new apartment: we are settled at last!

As you know, we moved on August 17th, and I’m happy to say that we’ve been 100% settled since Friday September 14th (just 4 days after the goal I had set). And even more–I finally have pictures to share!

Let’s start in the front of the house. We occupy the second floor of a 3-unit building, and after unlocking the door the first thing you do is come up a big set up steps under a skylight. As soon as I had my camera out and ready to take pictures, I heard a key in the door and . . .

. . . welcome home, baby!

Just in time for a little photo shoot. Because what everyone wants when they first walk in the door after a long day at work isn’t a hug and kiss as you may expect, but a camera in their face!

. . . right?

Anyway. The first stop for incoming people is the shoe bench (actually two of them side by side, courtesy of Ikea).

The front of the house is basically a big kitchen/living room/dining room area, which I tried to photograph from a number of angles to give you a sense of the space.

The dining room area is a nice size for our little round table (inherited during our undergrad days from a certain Darius Fong), but I wonder how a larger table would make it feel–cramped? We want a table that can seat more than 4 people, but we’re a little afraid that if we upsize, our guests will end up being packed into their dining situations like sardines.

Oh, and that door against the wall leads to a little balcony which my husband loves to sit out on. I’m still a little leery of spiders and getting debris and leaves on my bottom from those plastic chairs. But I’m working on my phobias as we speak.

We turned this rolling cart thingy from a coffee station (in our previous apartment) to a wine station.

And above it hangs one of my favorite paintings, from the walls of Mama Kitty and Big Jake’s house.

It reminds me of my Wisconsin roots and makes me feel . . . I don’t know. Good. Nostalgic. Peaceful.

In the dining area we put our big ole shelf:

Not a perfect fit for that wall, but close enough.

It houses things that delight me: my cookbooks!

Glasses and pictures!

And a bin at the bottom for Alice’s bibs and little utensils and such.

After a month of packing and a month of unpacking, having everything in its place and not a single box remaining anywhere to be seen feels glorious.

My husband and I are matched in this sense–we are creatures of order. We love harmony, routine, and our spirits have a much easier time being peaceful when our surroundings are peaceful.

So I feel like I’m breathing easier than I have for the past couple months. And being done with everything move-related is probably why I’ve been able to go from losing pregnancy weight to finally gaining some.

More shots of the livingroom area:

In these pictures, the fireplace/mantel area looks a little cluttered to me. In our defense, we had to use decor and furniture to cover a series of hefty cables coming out of the wall above the mantelpiece (originally there to connect a TV) and to the right of the mantelpiece (surround sound), as well an unsightly pipe coming out of the “fireplace.”

And in real life I don’t think it looks as busy as it does in these still shots, for whatever reason.

I have presented my defense, and I rest my case.

I’m so glad to finally have this painting out, since it represents Spain to me (the artist was a friend of my mom’s from her painting circle in Madrid).

And the framed cross stitch from our friend Kathy brings our church in Delaware (EP) to mind–and into my prayers.

This is my new morning devotional area:

It’s such a peaceful, wonderful spot for early morning meditation and prayer.

I love it.

As for the kitchen, I didn’t take that many pictures . . . maybe because we didn’t really do anything to make it look so nice. It was already nice. Which is an apartment first for us!

I guess in the above shot we were in the middle of dinner preparations, hence the slight disarray on the counters (i.e., the rice cooker). Please pretend in your mind that it’s all picked up before we move on. Thank you.

One of my favorite things is that the three hanging lamps above the bar-height kitchen counter are on a dimmer, so late at night we can have a nice, quiet glow coming from the kitchen area.

Alright! So if you can stand to see more, let’s move down the hall. Our first stop is what we call the 3rd bedroom/computer room/library/{insert name of guest staying with us}’s room. So far it has been John’s room, my mom’s room, Jon’s room, Ben’s room, and Julia’s room. Maybe we should simplify and just give it its own proper name. Like Harvenschtein. Or Hepselforthgard. Something with an H, definitely.

As you can see, we own a lot of books.

Which is why I love the wall shelving we got at Ikea–our tomes have outgrown our bookshelves, and used to be sitting in piles on top of them. No longer! Now they all have a proper place to sit.

I should also point out that those frames will not hang empty forever–I’m ordering prints from photos I’ve taken of Chicago, which should arrive semi-soon.

Rotating clockwise, we have the dual desk action area, with a writing desk for my husband . . .

. . . and, next to it, the smallest computer desk we could find for our desktop.

Next to which is a closet.

I’ll show you what’s in it!

All our instruments (acoustic, classical and electric guitars, djembe, violin), sewing stuff, games, our filing cabinet etc, all organized by my amazing husband. And apparently, a rotary phone on top of it all.

So that you can take a call in total privacy.

And if you visit, there are even hangers, and some space for you to hang your clothes! So c’mon by. Or something. You’ll feel right at home in Hepselforthgard!

As long as your spine doesn’t object to our bony futon.

Next up is the guest bathroom, which I found an awesome shower curtain for at Target.

My husband made sure to equip the bathroom with a clock, in case you get distracted by your intense grooming rituals and need to know exactly how much time you’ve spent plucking your left eyebrow.

Next up in our trek down the hallway comes Alice’s room on the right, but you’ll get pictures of that tomorrow–that room deserves its own post.

I didn’t photograph the laundry area (I figured you guys had seen it before), but there are a series of bookcases we moved into the widest section of the hallway because, let’s face it, they just weren’t going to fit into the 3rd bedroom.

Believe me, we tried.

Hence, our ‘media’ bookcase with DVD’s and some CD’s:

(from Ikea! And the laundry area is behind the doors to the left)

(and in case you’re disoriented, I turned around to snap this picture, so we’re facing towards the front of the house, and the door you see on the right goes into the bathroom we just visited) (metaphorically speaking)

And, turning around again to face the back of the house, here are the bookshelves (the door at the end of the hall is our back door) . . .

. . . that precede the final door into our bedroom.

Yes, our books have yet to be organized and alphabetized and such, but don’t worry! With my husband in charge, it’s bound to happen. It’s only a matter of time.

Finally, we have our bedroom! It gets so much lovely morning light.

Which makes getting up so much easier . . .

. . . though not easy, mind you. Nope, not at this stage of pregnancy.

And if you like the bedding, you must know that it all came from Rummage. I love, love, love shopping for bedding at Rummage.

And at risk of being repetitive, we LOVE that the big light hanging from the ceiling (which came with the place) is on a dimmer. It makes night time reading extra fun and cozy.

We’re loving our bedroom set from Ikea, and I think my husband made a great choice with the bedside tables and lamps.

As you can see, my night time reading appears to be all about . . . well, food.

We’ve decorated our bedroom pretty minimally, and for the time being we’re really enjoying that. There’s a lot of empty wall space, but I don’t feel moved to fill it up. For now, we’re keeping it simple with a few pictures of us.

I love this open space.

And the dressers were 100% necessary to house my clothes . . .

. . . which, at our old apartment, used to live in a closet in our 2nd bedroom.

No more! I love having my clothes in my actual bedroom. No more naked dashes across the hall . . . at least none out of strict necessity.

Sorry–was that way too shocking? I can’t quite tell. Hunh. I’ll have to remember to turn on my self-censorship/propriety gauge system tomorrow, because obviously I failed to do so when I got up this morning.

We even have a built-in hidden shelving area in a nook by the window, mostly used by my husband. Since it’s invisible from most areas of the room, it doesn’t necessarily have to look matchy matchy . . . but if it ever starts to get under my skin, I reserve the right to go hog wild and purchase 20 matching bins.

May I highlight the current bin action happening?

Thank you.

I neglected to photograph the master bathroom connected to our bedroom, so I’ll just refer you to this post to refresh your memory. But having a bathroom right there is so awesome–I can’t even believe it.

Thus endeth our tour. Tomorrow it’s all about Alice’s room!

30 thoughts on “Our new apartment: we are settled at last!

  1. Amy W

    Wow, your apartment is amazing – I’m very envious! It all looks so light and airy, and I love the way you’ve decorated it all. : )

    If I knew you better and wasn’t thousands of miles away, I’d definitely ask if I could come and stay!

  2. Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef

    i love it! we have tons of books too, and i can’t wait until we have a bigger place so they can all be out, instead of crammed into boxes in our spare closet. unlike you, our guests cannot hang clothes up when they come to visit. haha. and as for the table…have you considered getting one with a leaf or two? then you can add/subtract as needed with guests.

  3. Kimby

    Jenna, I’m so glad you’re settled (ahead of schedule!) with a lil’ bit time to spare… sit back, relax, and enjoy your new place. It’s gorgeous.

  4. Suzie

    Love it Jenna! I too like all the light coming into the house. I love dimmer lights, they’re so cozy 🙂 Can’t wait to see Alice’s room.

  5. Erica

    love it!!! and I LOVE your clothes organization station, it looks like it could be in a decorating magazine. well done, guys!!! can’t wait to come visit!

  6. Kendra

    Jenna, everything looks great; very inviting and cozy! And I really like the fireplace and the sink in the 2nd bathroom.

    1. Kendra

      Oh, I also really like your dressers. They look very elegant…and I also have an extensive collection of books! When I move, I need a place that either has enough space for shelving or has A FEW existing built-in bookshelves! lol And Lord knows, what will happen if my future husband has just as many or even more than I?! I foresee a library wing!!

  7. Luke

    Looks great! We are totally the same way – a place for everything and everything in its place. Organization is so peaceful.

  8. Kate

    Looks fabulous and fresh and cozy and urban – lots of my favorite things! Was it painted from the before picture? Looks more golden before you moved in. So happy for you and can’t wait to see the nursery. So fun. I remember those days so fondly. The excitement can’t be contained! I feel it from you for sure.

    1. Jenna Post author

      Nope, it’s the same color, but I took the pics at different times of day, so that could be it (plus the color balance in the camera may have been set differently).

  9. Julie M.

    You guys have been busy little beavers!! That is one beautiful apartment. I can tell why you fell in love with it; the light is amazing and I really like how open it is. With regards to the dining table, you really need to track down a table with some leaves or fold down ends. We have a table in our screened porch right now that is currently set for four but can seat up to 12 once you pull up both ends and add some leaves to it. I think something like that would work wonderful in that space. 🙂

    1. Jenna Post author

      I think so too, Julie–now we just have to shop around until we find the perfect table. Maybe before Thanksgiving . . . =)

  10. Veronica

    Squeee! Just lovely! I love how everything is simple and clean lines, neutral colors. So well put together. And your revelation of the naked dashes doesn’t shock me at all, but I grew up in a naked home so I’m not the best judge of what is shocking. lol! My Mom STILL goes around naked so you have to yell through the front door before you come in to warn her to run and put on some clothes. No joke. And you thought Mama Kitty was a character. Her and my mom could cook up some fun together. 🙂

    Looking forward to that pretty blue room!

    1. Jenna Post author

      Oh man . . . your mom and Mama Kitty together might cause some kind of tear in the space/time continuum. It would be too much personality at once! =)

  11. Megan

    Lovely! It all looks so peaceful. Seems like the perfect place for you to relax and prepare for Alice.

    I love all the bins. So much better than drawers. Babies like bins too. Kyle stuck all my shoes and purses and diaper bag in one of his toy bins yesterday 🙂

  12. Carrie

    How did I miss this post?!?! Oh, Jenna, it’s so lovely!!! I really can’t wait to come visit sometime! (If only I could make that happen NOW!)

  13. Layla

    Jenna, you’ve mentioned that table a couple time in your blog I believe, and I think I have a great solution for you.
    Keep it until Alice gets past the toddler age, and begins to know how to eat neatly, at that point, you can treat yourselves to a newer one, maybe one with leaves like suggested above.
    Until that point though, embrace the lack of stress this one offers in the sense that if it ages because of the baby, it’s not a big deal…and throw on a table cloth to decorate it in the meantime.
    🙂

    1. Jenna Post author

      We actually got a new table back in November with leaves that we LOVE! I happened upon it as I was antiquing with my Mom when Alice was under 2 weeks old. I saw the table, loved it, took Adam to see it, he loved it, and we bought it. It’s been great to have dinner parties and be able to actually seat everyone!

  14. Shandra Richardson

    I am like almost two years late, lol but I LOVE your place. It full of light and simplicity! I love your style and most of all the picture of you and Adam:)

  15. Shandra Richardson

    I am like almost two years late, lol but I LOVE your place. It full of light and simplicity! I love your style and most of all the pictures of you and Adam:)

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