I’ve Moved In!
The view from my new living room.
I’m in! Yes, I moved into my new apartment a few days ago. And yes, I would definitely have liked to have been a client of mine, so that the other me would have placed furniture and pictures, removed packaging, had the place cleaned, and added flowers and champagne. But the fact is that it was I who was moving, so I was the one doing all that for myself and feeling the fatigue of it. And I haven’t yet got to flowers and champagne…!
Hocine (the contractor) has finished to about 98%, as he said. He was still finishing the wallpaper in the dining room as the movers arrived with all the boxes and furniture. Which wasn’t ideal, but hey, it’s done and I’m in!
On the day itself, Hocine finished up the wallpaper, the movers packed up and delivered my stuff from my previous apartment, my new bed was delivered and there was an Ikea delivery… Busy, busy! My bed, from the online bed store Tediber, is very, very comfortable, I’m so pleased with it! And I love waking up to the gold glow from my bedroom wallpaper, Sakura - Yellow Lustre by Little Greene. I’m just missing reading lights, a rug and curtains. These are nice-to-haves at this stage, priority 3 on the list…
There have been the usual questions that arise when you move into a new space. Is it more logical to put the plates in this kitchen drawer or in this cupboard? Should I store all my shoes in the hall wardrobe? (turns out this isn’t possible, as I didn’t realize I have that many pairs, so a seasonal rotation will be put in place!). How best to organize the books on the shelves?
On top of this, a couple of days after the move, the furniture from my parents’ house was delivered. It had been in storage in Ireland for the last six months. I was very moved as it arrived and the movers helped me to unpack the boxes. It’s so lovely to have these familiar things with me, despite my children complaining that ‘everything is soooo old!’ — that’s teenagers for you! Hopefully they’ll see the beauty in years to come, my grandmother had such a great eye for antiques.
Thankfully, I had already done myself the favor of planning where all the big pieces of furniture would go, so I won’t have to move them. There is some adjustment to be done, for harmony’s sake. For example, I asked that the antique black and gold lacquered chinese cabinet be placed square to the wall. And I now would like to turn it to a 45° angle so that I can see out the window when seated at the head of the dining table. And when winter comes around and I want to see the fireplace from the sofa, I’ll have to move a side table. But apart from that it’s all good.
In terms of decoration, I’m very pleased with the wallpapers and paint colors.. The Little Greene Bombolino mustardy yellow in the salon really sets off the black and gold of the chinese cabinet. And also the medium glowing brown of what I’ve always known as ‘the stationary cupboard’. And the aubergine sofas go so well with the Little Greene Beech Nut — Cordoba wallpaper. The deep red hall is embracing and welcoming as you enter the apartment. And the warm beige clay color is soothing in the bedroom corridor, and goes really well with the creamy white doors and base-boards.
After the move, the firm that provided and installed the windows sent a different, much more careful team to correct the mistakes made by their colleagues who installed the windows (you may remember my first blog on this subject). They have fixed most of the problems. Unfortunately, the damage to the wooden parquet floor is another matter. The manager of the company came to discuss this with me. He said, and I agree, that if we sand down and re-varnish the damaged planks, they will be a different color and thus more visible than the current damage. He has proposed to reduce the cost to compensate for this.
I’m really not happy about this. Maybe in the bedrooms, it will be sufficient, as the beds mostly cover the damage. But we will most likely change the position of the beds in the future, especially in the boys’ rooms, as they are currently against the wall. And what about in the library where there are about four damaged planks which are in the middle of the floor where no furniture will be placed, and thus very visible? I’m going to ask Hocine (my amazing contractor) what he advises.
Otherwise I’m so happy! The natural light is wonderful, as the windows are so big. At the moment, we don’t need to turn on lights until around 9pm, given that the longest day of the year is in a weeks’ time (and la fête de la musique!). And the apartment is lovely and quiet. Although, I did have to go and see my upstairs neighbor to ask her to turn down her radio which I kept hearing at 5am…
The view of green trees and the Parc de Saint Cloud in the distance is absolutely stunning! Last night I could see fingers of rain clouds reaching down to the trees. I could sit and look at it all evening. Which I plan to do as soon as I’ve ticked off the things marked priority 1 on my To Do list!