bathroom, bedroom, budget decorating, budget design, dining room, DIY, hall, kitchen, living room, my projects, presentations, property development

New flat, old flat and other changes / Nowe, stare i inne zmiany

I don’t think I should even start apologizing for not being here for ages… so let us pretend those two months never happened 🙂

That would be difficult, though, as since the last post:

  • we finished and rented out our Polish flat within a week of posting the ad (which is a really good time in our market!),
  • both me and my husband started working at different companies (still within one corporation),
  • we moved offices to outside of London,
  • we moved houses in London to be closer to new offices
  • … and yesterday we have become owners of yet another flat in Poland :).

So this is a very exciting time for me and there is really lots going on. I am obviously going to share with you the ideas for the new flat, and can tell you straight away this is going to be tricky, as we want to finish the flat mostly remotely, and as of today there are only bare walls and windows there.

But! First things first, let me show you what we managed to do to our first flat around Christmas; we wanted to make it livable, so that it rents out quickly, on a budget of ca. £250:

  • bathroom

I guess you’ve seen some of our bathroom, especially the cupboard hand-made by my husband; to our great anger and despair, the glass maker did not manage to do the doors on time so our shelves are still open, but the rest was good to go:

Bathroom - view from entrance
Bathroom - view from entrance
The old trick - big mirror visually increases the size of this bathroom
The old trick - big mirror visually increases the size of this bathroom
  • bedroom

The bedroom, with the furniture set we got for free from a friend, a super-old retro ceiling lamp, and bits and pieces of decorating from my mum, with the only new element of the baroque-inspired white wallpaper to add just a teeny bit of glamour:

White bedroom with white glamour wallpaper
White bedroom with white glamour wallpaper
Detailed view of the wallpaper
Detailed view of the wallpaper

To complement the wallpaper, we have used a spare piece as wall art and put it in behind glass, all placed on an old shelf which I finished in a quasi-shabby-chic look. The throw also works the same theme as the wallpaper.

  • living room

Now, the living room, and to be completely honest this is the most haphazardly finished room ever 🙂 One feature wall covered in beautiful black wallpaper… though since it was our first time ever wallpapering, the results are far from perfect! Good tip – when working with a dark wallpaper, it’s much easier if you dab the areas on the wall, where wallpaper pieces will meet, in paint the colour of the wallpaper; this way even if your work isn’t perfect, the gaps between stripes will not be as visible as on our wall.

Living room - feature wall with black floral wallpaper
Living room - feature wall with black floral wallpaper
Living room - view towards the ornamental blinds
Living room - view towards the ornamental blinds

The rest of the room is my parents’ old sofabed under a new throw, a red ceiling light which was supposed to be comlemented with red wall art though we never put it up (don’t ask), my teenage bedroom set, a good old piano, a spare single bed that can be put away depending on the needs of the tenants and an Ikea Lack table 🙂 Plus the really pretty blinds which unfortunately do not show too well in this light – basically when it’s light outside, they seem very pale and creamy grey, but when it’s dark, additional silver elements show as well.

  • kitchen-diner

Finally, the kitchen-diner, with the infamous kitchen units which never got properly fitted together (so that the worktop still floats independently of the units, there is no steel strip at the bottom and a millon other sins we committed with it and haven’t tried to make up for yet). Nonetheless we like the kitchen and maybe, some time, in the distant future, we will finally put it together once and for all 🙂 There is also an extra loveseat and armchair in the other part of the room.

Light and dark wood kitchen with green walls
Light and dark wood kitchen with green walls
Retro kitchen oilcloth
Retro kitchen oilcloth
  • Hall

…and our hall, unfortunately I have a photo only from the time when this ugly carpet was there (with the dog’s bone and toys prominently on display) so try not to notice them 🙂

Open hall with spotlights
Open hall with spotlights

So to sum up, this is certainly not the best example of interior design, but we tried to make the place nicer for the tenants than the usual offering but on a minimal budget, and the result was that we rented it out just a few days after we advertised it!

———
Chyba nawet nie ma co zaczynac przepraszac za to ze mnie tu tak dlugo nie bylo, wiec moze zapomnijmy o tych dwoch miesiacach 🙂

Z drugiej strony byloby to trudne, gdyz od ostatniego postu:

  • wykonczylismy i wynajelismy nasze mieszkanie w PL w ciagu tygodnia od dania ogloszenia
  • zaczelismy z mezem prace w nowej firmie
  • zmienilismy biura
  • przeprowadzilismy sie w Londynie by latwiej dojezdzac
  • …i od wczoraj jestesmy wlascicielami nowego mieszkania w PL – a raczej wygralismy przetarg i teraz staramy sie jak najszybciej mieszkanie ‘przejac’ 🙂

Takze ten czas jest bardzo ekscytujacy i na pewno bede dzielic sie tu pomyslami na wykonczenie nowego mieszkania; juz teraz wiem ze nie bedzie to proste gdyz duzo chcemy wykonac lub zlecic ‘zdalnie’ z Londynu, a w tej chwili w mieszkaniu nie ma nic – stan deweloperski.

No ale! Zaczynac wypada od poczatku 🙂 wiec kilka slow o naszym pierwszym mieszkaniu. W okolicy Swiat Bozego Narodzenia postanowilismy zrobic ile mozemy w mieszkaniu by przygotowac je na wynajecie. Niestety czasu bylo malo a budzet juz zupelnie ograniczony (troche ponad 1tys. zl) wiec spedzilismy troche czasu wymyslajac co mozna zrobic by we w miare przyzwoitym stanie mieszkanie wynajac.

Zdjecia powyzej pokazuja rezultaty naszej walki z nieterminowymi sprzedawcami (czytaj: brak szklanych drzwi do szafek w lazience) i bardzo ograniczonym budzetem (czytaj: wykorzystanie naszych starych mebli, mebli ktore dostalismy od znajomych, odmalowanie kilku rzeczy, samodzielne kladzenie tapety ze skutkiem mieszanym – hej! robilismy to po raz pierwszy ok?? – i kilkoma drobnymi nowymi zakupami). Kilka rzeczy dalej nieskonczonych, typu kuchnia (caly czas nieprzykrecony blat i brak cokolow, nieoslonieta sciana i inne takie), te nieszczesne szafki w lazience (szklo to jedyne czego moj maz sam w tej lazience zrobic nie moze, i cholera tak nawalili 😦 ), oraz totalny misz-masz stylow i kolorow w duzym pokoju.

Zdecydowanie nie jest to przyklad swietnego designu ale biorac pod uwage ograniczenia czasowe i finansowe jestem w miare zadowolona z efektu, i obecni najemcy mam nadzieje tez.

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dining room, DIY, inspiration, kitchen, presentations, room of the day

Room of the day / Pokoj dnia

Apartment Therapys house tour at Harmony & Vances
Apartment Therapy's house tour at Harmony & Vance's

…and another view to show the whole space:

Apart
Apartment Therapy's house tour at Harmony & Vance's

Why? Because of its very natural approach to eclectic spaces. It’s no nonsense, relaxed, with a splash of colour here and funky design there, and somehow it all comes together. Even though every item has its own history and comes from somewhere else, it’s all so.. simple. Feels young and refreshing!

bedroom, furniture, kitchen, lighting

New season in IKEA Part 2

OK – so I’m finally back from my day of window-shopping (well, not exactly – I actually bought some side plates, two books on design and color, and hand cream!). First, let me share with you the furniture side of my IKEA findings.

– a space-saving solution for small kitchens. Also, table top is bought separately so one can get a bigger one if space permits:

Ikea Billsta table and Sebastian bar stools
Ikea Billsta table and Sebastian bar stools

– one of the more stylish double desks I have seen on the high street (and it is not easy to find a desk for two…)

Ikea BESTA BURS double desk
Ikea BESTA BURS double desk

– an interesting dining table ‘for surfers’ as my husband called it :). Not sure what the name is though…

Ikea oval dining table
Ikea oval dining table

– …and that’s how the Bernhard chair looks in reality – was very comfy as well!

Ikea Bernhard leather chair
Ikea Bernhard leather chair

– nice idea for kitchen fronts – in wide-and-glossy units-dominated kitchens, this vertical beech set provides a welcome change:

Ikea Solar kitchen units
Ikea Solar kitchen units

– Now the tricky part – what the hell is this wallpaper / material on the wall? I thought I’ll find it in the online catalogue but there are no matches to ‘wallpaper’ and I am pretty sure it is one, as it reflected light when photographed with flash. Really pretty French country style, with roses and birds… anyone knows?? I attach a magnified view of the design as well. HELP! I see it in my mother’s bedroom and I need it desperately and why oh why have I not asked anyone of the staff?!

Ikea wallpaper / fabric?
Ikea wallpaper / fabric?
Ikea wallpaper closer look
Ikea wallpaper closer look

– …and finally to lamps / shades. I have chosen three of the new designs that seemed most interesting:

Ikea Knubbig table lamp
Ikea Knubbig table lamp
Ikea Tallvik table lamp
Ikea Tallvik table lamp
Ikea Klavsta lamp shade
Ikea Klavsta lamp shade

That’s it for now. To follow – some nice fabrics I found, as well as a few finds from another shop 🙂

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accessories, furniture, kitchen

New season in IKEA

Got an e-mail last night that IKEA has just issued their new catalogue which you can see here.

Here are the first of my personal favorites among the new additions:

– lovely hand-made glasses which will add a wow factor to any kitchen for little money:

Ikea PS Kalla glasses. Designer: Gunnel Sahlin.
Ikea PS Kalla glasses. Designer: Gunnel Sahlin.

– sleek and modern leather chairs which emulate the designer look very well, costing under a hundred pounds! Also it seems they are stackable…

Bernhard leather chair. Designer: Ola Wihlborg.
Bernhard leather chair. Designer: Ola Wihlborg.

– amazing design adds glamour to this very cute crown-like basket:

Ikea PS Krona basket. Designer: Maria Vinka.
Ikea PS Krona basket. Designer: Maria Vinka.

…more to follow (probably) as I am just on my way to IKEA to check out other new items.

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accessories, kitchen

Cutlery with a twist

Looking for designer additions to your kitchen but don’t want to break the bank? One of my favorite designer discount online shops is Brand Alley. Today, a new Home & gift boutique sale started, where you can get these beautiful sets for a reduced price (to buy, you have to set up a free account).  Hurry, or you’ll miss the chance – sales last only a few days at a time!

Meyer Prestige Circus 16 Piece Cutlery Set
Meyer Prestige Circus 16 Piece Cutlery Set
Meyer Tech 24 Piece Designer Cutlery Set
Meyer Tech 24 Piece Designer Cutlery Set
Meyer Prestige Urban 16 Piece Cutlery set
Meyer Prestige Urban 16 Piece Cutlery set
Meyer Hybrid 24 Piece Designer Cutlery Set
Meyer Hybrid 24 Piece Designer Cutlery Set

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