Virtual Tour

Okay, everyone. I hope I didn't crash anyone's computer with all these pictures, but Eric insists that many of you are eagerly awaiting a virtual tour of our apartment. I'd been waiting for all the finishing touches (and for it to be clean enough for photos). But, finally, I decided to just go for it. I mopped the main room the other night and snapped some pictures. I really should learn to use our camera if I'm going to have a blog--the pictures are oddly blurry in some places--but I think you'll get the general idea.

So--right off the hallway at the door is the main room: living/dining/kitchen all in one. The living room is one end:


Very cozy, but we like having a small sitting area. It's much nicer for conversation. The windows are really nice, though we have had to adjust to all the noise from the street. Here's another view:



Continuing along that wall to the hall doorway looks like this:



In real life our books aren't that blurry. That's our stroller folded up on the side. It's pretty big when folded out, but it's not too hard to just collapse it each time we bring it in. The kids sometimes lie there and spin the wheel that is up off the ground. That closet there is the pantry closet. We've stacked almost every square inch of it!

The family computer/my work area is next to the sitting area:

Thanks for the printer, GI Grandpa! It's working great. Eric and I both use the computer, but he also has his laptop in the back. We wanted this one out in the main room so that we could watch movies if we wanted. The kids occasionally will play and let me blog--but usually I have to wait for them to fall asleep. Continuing around that corner towards the kitchen:


The wooden filing cabinet was a great yard sale find, providing some much needed storage space. The hutch houses our regular dishes and silverware, which is actually really nice. We usually have a wheelchair or walker parked on each side of the room--things aren't always this neat!

The dining table:


We're trying to figure out some way to lend interest to this wall without overwhelming the room--but no ideas, yet. Having the table in the kitchen area really adds to my counter space. Also, now the kids can play at the table while I make dinner. They don't usually want to, but it's a nice idea.

The kitchen is my favorite part of the apartment:


The countertops are granite, which is a really fantastic counter material. I really, really love it. Stainless steel, on the other hand, is just for looks. It has no functional value, and is pretty hard to keep clean. I don't think I'd pay for that look in the future. I love the gas range, though.

Even though the kitchen is really tiny, it is very well designed. I like this little corner a lot:


I can stand there and chop, mix, work on the stove and wash dishes without really moving. And, since the room is totally open, I get natural light from the living room windows. Such an improvement over the old place!

Joseph's bedroom is the first one off the hallway:


In this picture you can see the edge of Joseph's wheelchair, plus the hand-powered trike and the mobile stander. The walker is missing from the pictures (I took photos on different days). Things get crowded with all this equipment! The window looks out to a very narrow space between the two buildings. An old, reclusive woman lives across the way and we never see lights or life from those windows. Odd, but I think we have a good amount of privacy.


Joseph loves his little bed. His room is usually cooler than the main room, so we often play and read stories in here. I'm going to make him a quilt sometime soon. But he hates having blankets on at night (even in winter), so it isn't too pressing.

I took a picture of the closet in Joseph's room because it is representative of the closets in all the rooms:


Our room is the next one down the hallway. Our movers were skeptical, but we just fit the bed in there:


We have just enough room to get the closet open on one side:


And just enough room to open the dresser on the other side:


The bathroom is next off the hallway:


Huge toilet. Tiny tub. Wierd.

There is no linen closet, but the apartment came with a perfect-sized shelf unit:


At the end of the hallway is the study/laundry room/place to put the stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else. It's never very neat, so I didn't even try to improve it:


The closet has a washer and dryer and lots of storage. We keep the freezer back here. Our very dilapidated pink chair has a sheet thrown over it and Eric often sits there in the window to do some work. The desk is also back here:


The back patio is off this room and now has a very little grill and a salvaged park bench (Eric found it on the side of the road and dragged it home).


I think we're finally settled in and really enjoying this place. The neighborhood is growing and changing so fast and it is really exciting to see it.

So, those of you who haven't or won't see this place in person, I hope this satisfies some curiosity. Happy Labor Day!