We got the keys

Tonight we went over to our realtor's house and picked up the keys to our place after Tomek finished playing soccer. Then, we drove home, picked up our camera and drove over to our place, giggling like kids as we parked in our secure underground parking spot and went up the elevator to our new home.

We were there until after midnight, opening and closing closet doors, peering in the washer and dryer and fridge, trying out the toilets, flicking light switches on and off, marveling at the functioning blinds on all the windows and beginning to brainstorm about what we'd like to do with the place before we move in.

Well first off, the entire place is undeniably beige:

The hall as seen from the front door:

LB's room-to-be:The living room:Seeing it completely unfurnished for the first time was a bit of an eye-opener. The place is in pretty good shape, but now without all the furniture and stuff on the walls, I saw how desperately it is in need of a paint job. I initially thought we'd just be cleaning, but now I think we'll be painting, cleaning (if not replacing) the carpets, and changing some of the window coverings. I love having functioning blinds, but they are so beige... ugh. And the front hall and living room has this funky (beige) textured wallpaper that has just got to go.

So now I've been awake pondering paint. Tomek is always one for bright colours, but my thought was that the hallway, living room and dining area should be painted a subtle colour, like a dusty blue, and then maybe we could put up some bright wall paper in the kitchen, and then develop a theme in LB's room, another in the main bedroom, and another in our room and en suite bathroom (cha-ching).

I don't want our place to turn into a visual cacophony. I don't know how to make decisions on this kind of thing, especially with the current colour of the carpet. I know that throw rugs over a crappy carpet can improve the area, which is what I see happening in LB's room for now. I think pale yellow on the walls with some cheery red drapes on the windows would be nice, with some kind of throw rug to match.

Maybe we should make the main bathroom and our bedroom the same colour... I'd like to keep the walls painted a subtle colour, but I don't think Tomek would go for a dusty blue in the hall, living room, dining room, master bedroom and bathroom. But there's got to be a way we can add some funk to the place w/o having to cover the walls in anything too bright or garish. Can't accents brighten a room just as effectively as if the entire room were painted a bright colour? I think so... I'm just not sure how yet.

And to avoid the over-crowded storage room look of our current apartment, I think we are going to have to majorly condense what furniture we do have--2 desks, 2 computers, 4 bookshelves, a futon, an arm chair, a tv and stand and a dining room table set just aren't all going to fit in the living room and dining areas. I can see one of the bookshelves going into LB's room, and perhaps we could pick up a big floor to ceiling bookshelf somewhere. And we will be getting a hutch from my parents that matches the dining room table, where we can put the good dishes and stuff we've somehow accumulated. I'd like to get some kind of wine bottle & glass rack, and we'll probably need to have some kind of counter add on to put a microwave on because there is very little counter space in the kitchen. Sigh.

But, I cannot wait to get plants out on our balcony. The lady that just moved out left 3 planter holders on the balcony, in addition to the shelf in LB's room, shelves in our laundry/storage room, a multi-level shelf in the living room, and a cute spice rack shelf in the kitchen. I can't wait to have my spices in bottles instead of bags. And to get photos framed and up on the walls. And to figure out what furniture we are going to put where.

I figure our furniture will have to be condensed down to 2 bookshelves (not 4), one desk (not 2), 2 2-drawer filing cabinets (not 1 4-drawer... too big and ugly), one computer (not 2), one futon, tv & stand, 2 dressers (not 3), completely nix having the armchair and drum set out, dining room table & chairs...

I know I have to be smart about this, condense shit before we move. Figure out what to store and what to get rid of and what to put in the new place. I do not want it to be as cluttered as how our apartment is now. Our new place is only about 30 sq ft larger than this one, and it's broken up so much more - from a one bedroom apartment that basically only has two walls (one separating the bedroom from everywhere else and one separating the kitchen from the living room) to a 2-bedroom place with a real front hall, hallway, laundry room, 2 bedrooms, a galley (walk-through) kitchen, dining area, living room, bathroom and ensuite bathroom and balcony.

Tomek and I are going out there again tomorrow night to write down ideas of what we want to do and to change and to take pictures of what we want changed.

I just want to start moving already, but I know we have to be organized about this, otherwise we are just going to have entirely too much crap.