Our, Hopefully, Soon-to-Be New Place

Yesterday, Jason and I went to see an apartment that we have been interested in for a while.  It is in a complex called Madison Manor and has the reputation of being cheap, quiet, and safe.  This complex in by no means a luxurious place to live.  From the outside, the apartments look like nothing special but they also do not look run down or neglected.  We saw a unit that will be available in mid-July.  It is a second floor apartment with a balcony *perk number 1, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms *perk number 2, a fireplace *perk number 3 (or so I thought), and it has a washer and dryer in the unit *perk number 4.  It is about 850 sq feet which is a major decrease in size from what we are in at the moment.  On the website, you can find a floor plan for the unit so I grabbed it to help explain the downfalls on here.  Skip to the bottom for a list of plans to fix up the place!

As you can see, the entrance to the apartment brings you into the living room.  The floor plan does not show you were the fireplace is.  Instead they show a couch.  The fireplace is along the same wall as the entrance and we have a few problems with it:

1.  We can't use it
2.  It takes up a lot of space
3.  It is dirty as sin and looks horrible
4.  There is no screen or anything on the front of it and the brickwork makes it look like there is just a giant hole in a brick wall.

The balcony is awesome...no complaints there!  It is on the second floor so the third floor balcony actually problems a cover for ours.  This way we can sit outside and enjoy conversation even if it is windy or drizzling!  This is a major plus for Jason in particular.  His idea of a perfect summer day is sitting outside on a balcony or deck eating watermelon and talking politics with me!

The living room is going to be a challenge.  Our living room furniture is a bit too big for this room and while it would fit, it would make the room feel smaller and cluttered.  This is an easy fix though.  We plan on selling the over sized entertainment center, the chaise lounge, and two of these cubicle shelving units that we have. We intend on buying a smaller console for the Xbox and dvds and getting a wall mount for the TV to make the room feel more spacious and open.  We also plan on changing the color scheme, currently black with red and white accents, to something lighter like shades of light green.  Hopefully this will help balance the dark brick on the fireplace and keep it from weighing the room down like it currently does.

Our kitchen table is massive and we rarely use it so we are selling that bad-boy and replacing it with a smaller table.  I really want something that is taller like a bar top style.  There is the little dining nook off of the galley kitchen and a smaller table would open up the walking path or even allow enough room to put the desk there too instead of leaving it in the guest room.  The only thing we need to do to the dining room is swap out the over head light fixture.  The current one is a milky white glass that really dulls the amount of light coming out.  As there is no light in the living room we really want to improve this one.

The kitchen is by far the worst part of the entire unit.  The size is fine.  I would like more cabinets and counter space but we get a pantry/closet in the kitchen for storage so I can work with what I get.  Also there is a wall between the closet and the fridge that is the perfect size for a peg board to be hung to store pots, pans, lids, etc!  The problem with the kitchen is that the cabinet and drawer doors are all extremely warped, broken, and just not functional.  I am being serious when I say that 80% of the cabinets can not be closed because the doors are messed up.  The kitchen floor also needs to be replaced.  It is an old linoleum floor that is at least 6 years old and has an 8 inch gash in it.  The landlord said the whole place was getting new carpet and a paint job but that the kitchen floor and cabinets would probably not be fixed.  Well, that's the deal breaker.  If they won't fix it, we won't sign a lease.

The bathrooms are small and doing laundry will be awkward but we can manage!  Two people can definitely not be in there getting ready at the same time that's for sure!  The bedrooms are small too but our furniture will fit and we can make those work too.

So today I have been thinking non-stop about what I want to do to breathe new life into this place.  Here's what the hubby has agreed to so far:

1.  Painting the living room wall opposite of the fire place light green to draw the focus there.  We will also add some wall art and shelving to keep the focus away from the fireplace.
2.  If the landlord refuses to fix the kitchen floor, we are willing to put down some inexpensive laminate flooring to fix it up.  The cabinets remain a deal breaker.
3.  Adding a painted peg board to the kitchen for vertical storage to help free up cabinet space.
4.  Swapping out the dim light fixture in the dining area for a nicer and brighter one
5.  Hanging a mirror over the fireplace to help make it more attractive
6.  Painting accent walls in each of the bedrooms to make them less sterile.
7.  Adding a little table and chairs on the balcony for outside dining.
8.  Adding plants to the balcony for some color and decoration.
9.  Adding shelving units to the outdoor storage room to organize it and make more space for storage.

I'm sure we will come up with more to do before we move in but this is our plan to start.  I really hope the owner makes the changes that are deal-breakers so we can move forward.  I can't wait to do before and after shots of the process!