Sunday, November 18, 2012

Where we live: Before and After edition

Every time I talk to a family member on Skype for the first time they ask to see the house. I forget that none of my family has ever been here. I think my brother-in-law was in Krakow in 1997, and maybe my youngest brother spent a day here when studying abroad in Italy. I don't know. Other than that, none of my family has made it to Poland ever. And certainly none of them has ever been to Martin's family home. And neither have most of you...

The top floor of the house, the top apartment, was used as the boys area when Martin lived here int eh early 90's. After his family moved to America it became a sort of landing pad for members of the family who were in between homes, or studying, and then, of course, reserved for Martin's family during the summers they returned to Poland for long visits. So, the upstairs, where we live, has never really been treated as a full time family home. It has served this purpose, but never for more than a year or two at a time and otherwise it has been just extra rooms for sleeping, until now.

I'm saying all this to soften the blow of what the rooms looked like before we fixed them up. Just in case anyone was wondering. All of the before pictures were taken the first week we were here.



Here we enter the apartment.

Before: That is one looooong and narrow hallway.

This picture is taken from the other end. Rugs, that's it.

"Front room"

That little the door in the center of the room is to a small toilet and sink area. It smells like death so we don't really use it. But it's nice to have in a pinch. Surprisingly not that big a deal to only have one bathroom for our whole family.

Kitchen:



After:

Lot of onions. Lot of potatoes.


Living Room
Before:



In between:


After:
I love the color on the walls. Just a light, warm blue color. Really pretty. My goal is to hang as few things on the walls as I can to keep the room feeling big and open. Unfortunately this means that there is still a bit of an echo which can also make it feel a little less cozy.



The Malm  thingy turned into a art area for the kids. They love this space and so do I. They spend so much time there now, coloring, cutting and pasting. Those buckets are supposed to hang in the kitchen I think. I don't know. But they hold all the colored pencils and glue and staplers and beads, etc.

Bookshelves: Not many adult books unfortunately. Al of those are still packed in Texas waiting for our forever home.


Lina and Kacio's room
Before:  Looks a lot like a jail cell. Felt a lot like a jail cell.


After: Still very much like a jail cell. With two little inmates, constantly fighting over who can wake the other one up first.



Lina's princess bed. 


Boys' Room
Before:

After:










Bathroom. I only have an "after" picture. But you can just imagine it completely empty.



The catch-all room. Two fatal flaws make this room basically a huge closet and storage space. 1) too small for a bedroom... 2) frakking cold, really cold, as in see-your-breath-when-you-breathe cold no matter how high the temp. on the heater. Insulation issues. I was hoping to turn this into a little studio for sewing and keeping knitting supplies, etc. I even painted it a really pretty light turquoise blue. But I don't know if I'll be able to stand the cold. So, for now, it's a huge storage space.

Before:

After:



Now, I know what most of ya'll are thinking after seeing these pictures... "Wow, she home-school's, "crafts," cooks and bakes, is learning a whole new language and culture, gives birth to 10 + lb. babies AND her house is immaculately clean. How does she do it all?"  I know. I know. I am that amazing......... and so is the lady who came to clean our house right before these pictures were taken, it only took her 5 HOURS to mire through all the muck and grime to unearth our humble abode (sometimes amazing people just don't have time to clean., that's my excuse explanation)... except for our room because it was just too much of a wreck for her to get into...

Our room
Before:
please, everyone take a moment to notice the light fixture. It is still here. Three spotlights hanging from an old retractable cord. I hit my head on it all the time. Sorry, Mike, I know it was totally rad back in your day but now it's totally gross. We can't be bothered to change it. It is just our room after all. Nobody can see our shame in here...



After:
...unless I post it on the internet! What the rest of our house usually looks like. And sort of representative of just about everything I do. A little haphazard and a little sloppy, but at least I try. (Martin "makes" the bed every day. I can't be bothered...what's the point? It's just gonna get messed up again later anyway! ;) No. Seriously.  )

An entirely new looking house brought to you entirely by IKEA, Martin's ability to figure out any instruction booklet they could slang at him, and my ability to  keep the baby from eating all the screws. 


This is where we live folks. 
The end.




18 comments:

  1. Nice place! I guess you're not really "roughing it" too bad as it seems big and clean.

    No fireplace?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, it's funny. We used to live in a 1600 sq. foot house in Austin. This was plenty of space until we had anyone come to visit. We rarely had visitors. This house is about 1300 sq. feet, give or take a 100. It doesn't feel too small really except when the baby is sleeping. We spend most of our time in the big room and in the kitchen. And so it works.

      No, we aren't roughing it, really. The house definitely has it's quirks that can be frustrating but it's fine for now. And it's free, which makes it splendid.

      Delete
    2. Clearly you missed the "fireplace" picture (and I didn't point it out). The cardboard square nailed to the wall is our fireplace. The drawings along the bottom are the logs on fire. Each set with it's own personality.

      No we do not have a real fireplace. I am making up for that by planning on not one, not two, but three wood burning stoves in our new house...

      Delete
    3. Free is good :)

      Ah, yes, how could I miss the fireplace in the above pic... very nice! Just be careful leaving the laundry so close to those burning flames ;)

      Awesome on the plans for the wood burning stoves - If you can get a good source of wood and insulate your new house pretty well, then living in your new place will be also closer to free in the winter time. Please post if you find some nice stoves!

      Delete
    4. So, apparently I'm not allowed 3 stoves. Only 2. Sigh. That one in the kitchen was gonna be reeeeeeally cozy. I will let you know what we find!

      Delete
    5. I have heard that with a South view and good windows you barely have to heat at all in the winter. We have neighbors to our property and their home is always warm with very little heating needed.(they have massive windows) Martin's uncle warned us that we should be careful or we might be too hot in the summer. Too hot? In POland?! That was a first.

      Delete
    6. If you insulate your house well (and plan a decent height for the rooms) it should stay cool in the summer as well. We went with OknoPlus "Thermo Plus" PVC windows which are triple pane (or technically quadruple-paned for the added break-resistant layer for would-be thieves). They also advertise solar control protection against the sun which might be worth looking into for those South-view windows. Wasn't this last summer rather hot across Europe? (but this is coming from a non-Texan so I'm sure you guys are used to something a bit more extreme) :)

      http://www.oknoplus.com.pl/20,glas,122,en

      Delete
  2. I love the wooden floors everywhere. They don't make them like that anymore...

    Marta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So what is the plan? You implied this isn't the Forever House so are you avoiding putting any money into updating the place? Maybe insulate the Catch-all room?

      Delete
    2. This is Martin's family home. His parents own it. We are living here while we build our new house which we are hoping to break ground on this Spring. We are actually looking into some extra insulation for the little room. I think it's as simple as weather stripping where the slant meets the wall. We will be fixing this house up so that it looks presentable and pretty on the outside and comfortable on the inside but we won't be investing money into it really.

      Delete
    3. I agree, Marta! The wood floors here are really beautiful and they all creak just a bit which I find charming.

      Delete
  3. I am following your blog because like you I am from Texas (Austin) and moved to Poland this past August with my family. We are living in Warsaw and I find myself relating to much of what you have said. We are still adjusting and enjoying the move so far. I'm finding myself freaking out a bit about the upcoming winter and freezing weather... and no one told me it gets dark here by 4:30!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Christina! Wow, I am impressed. Moved to Warsaw! We will both make it through the winter, I promise. I plan on doing this by staying inside a lot and drinking mulled wine. What's your plan? ;)

      It is only going to get darker. The days are sill getting shorter and will continue to do so until the winter solstice, December 21st. But hey, after that they will start to get longer again! So that's something to look forward to, right? Right?! Oh, goodness, the darkness.

      Please feel free to write to me anytime and complain or ask questions or wonder aloud with me what the heck is going on here sometimes. Please!

      Delete
    2. Hey Olivia,

      I'm writing this from the school I teach and waiting a few more minutes before I go and get my three children and bundle them in all the warm clothes so that we can begin our walk to the bus stop. It is 3:15 and already getting dark, but on the upside it is snowing outside :) So far the freezing weather has been doable but only because of the snow. I think there's something about snow that makes me feel "happy." Being from Texas, you know we don't see it much so there's always that inner child in me that is giddy.

      I have to go, but I'd like to vent about the stores here. I miss being able to go to the grocery store and pick up most of what I need including vitamins and here I'm told I need a precription for vitamin a and vitamin e... really! I miss whole foods and sprouts :( Also, where do I go to buy hallmark type cards and office supplies? As a teacher I'd like a nice selection? Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you and your family are well.

      Delete
  4. Flashback to my childhood home in Poland! Same wood floors, wood on the walls, wood on the slanted ceilings, wood doors with frosted circle glass insert.... IKEA is one of my favorite stores by the way, now if they only had Target in Poland, huh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! Target! If only for one thing really...children's clothes. Just not as easy to find here at decent prices without compromising quality. Target or some other similar store would do so well here I think.

      Wood everywhere!! ;)

      Delete
  5. Love it. Looking cozy. I miss y'all and I love reading your blogs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss you! You guys ever wanna bring the kids to Europe, just give me a ring!

      Delete