Small Apartments: Meinhilde’s Before Living Room

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In April 2013, I moved into my own apartment. Through luck and the help of family, I was able to get this small apartment in a house over 100 years old, renovated.

The Living Room

The living room is the biggest room in my apartment. It was also quite dark, with only one north-facing window which looks on to the wall of the house next door 1.5 metres away, and walls painted dark blue. The photo only looks bright because I set the ISO on my camera to something like 3200.

I think this is the original floor from 100 years ago; if not, it’s still probably 50 years old. The hardwood was already sanded down so much that we couldn’t refinish it. Plus, it was very uneven and super creaky. So we ripped up the floor and replaced it with a light-coloured laminate.

  There is a grand old fireplace in the corner. It looks like dark brown wood,  but it was actually painted a streaky brown. Ugly. 

There was no overhead or wall lamp, so we asked the contractor to wire in two pendant lamps.  The room is 15×11.5 feet, or 172.5 square feet, and I planned the layout to be half dining area, and half TV and book room. Hence, two lamps.

Check back soon to see the after pictures!

Also, have a peek at the before and after pictures of the bathroom, the before and after pictures of the kitchen, and the before and after pictures of the bedroom!