Lights

I went to IKEA yesterday and bought a whole lot of things, including some beautiful light-fixtures. I'm trying to make up my mind about how to arrange them around the place, and end up writing the following.


I got three of these (IKEA Krusning pendant lights) ; one large and two small: these were the cheapest and yet, my favourites. I am rather sure that the large one will be the centre light for the bedroom; and I am wondering about the other two.

Option 1: Put them as bed side lights (picture below) on both sides of the bed;
Option 2: Put one of them in the entrance and the other on top of the sink

 

 

The other lights that I got were two of these (IKEA PS 2014):

 

 

Option 1: Put these as bed side lights while the Krusning are at the centre, which would mix it up a bit;

Option 2: Put these in the guest room, where people can have a bit of an option about how much light they want.

 

Then I picked up two Kappa lights

 

 

Option 1: On top of the dining table

Option 2: Hanging from top of the stairs

Option 3: Bed side lights in the bedroom

 

I also picked up a single Klor (tho, I can always pick up another one, if need be) and there are two things that stand out to me about the Klor

firstly, it doesn't have any visual weight (and hence having it next to a large window would make sense, because it wouldn't block any light from there)  

and secondly, I've read on the internet that it has a narrow range of light, and I particularly like that because I don't like any light shining in my eyes (or more like glaring in my eyes)

 



 

So because of both these reasons, I would like to
Option 1:put it on top of the dining table - see the food clearly and each other in a very soft light;
Option 2:put it on top of the stairs, so that only the stairs light up and not all the bed rooms around it!

 

I have from my previous buys got this light already and I am thinking it will stay where I always wanted it to go, in the kitchen.

 

 

The centre light in the living room, I'm hoping will be a simple close to the ceiling light and give a feel of these kinds:

 

 

Though, wouldn't this last one be a dream:

 



The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Talking about home, as I do on this blog, there are things in and about it for which I often find myself sending a silent prayer of thanks (or more like, they make my heart smile :), and some that when I think about it, I wonder about how I take them for granted! On the flip side, there are things in and about the apartment that I really really wish were there, but they aren't; and some that if I were to think about I believe would be awesome to come home to.

 

So here goes,

Firstly, things for which I thank the universe:

1. The birds chirping and the sunrise I get to see EVERY MORNING before I am even properly awake;
2. The sunshine and the fresh air, my apartment is North-East facing and if there is any light in the sky, I get some of it; also the genius who designed it made windows in such a way that there is no stale air around the place;
3. The double brick insulation (makes a HUGE difference);
4. The quiet and my peaceful kind neighbours;
5. My wonderful Philips light alarm - it was pricey and I had to get from the USA, but I love it beyond words. The fact that I don't have to go to bed in the dark and I don't have to wake up in the dark, and the sound alarm is also birds going nuts, basically it is simply incredible.
6. My dishwasher, Bosch and quiet :)
7. Bed heating - my bed heating is sometimes that thing that makes home, home. It has a particular feel to it, like it is just that size where I can easily sleep on it, but I can also put my feet on the cold part of the bed, if I want. So, it is perfectly sized for me.
8. Audio-books on my phone (I get them from audible) - do you like someone telling you a story as you go to bed? oh I do!! and Kindle does this incredible thing where you can read/listen to the book at the same time, absolute genius, who thinks of such amazing stuff!?! (Whoever you are, Thank You! and can you make the library on kindle a bit better? I really liked my old kindle library and I miss it! Also, does the new kindle do audio books?)
9. Bamix - oh the maker of comfort foods!! Soups, Mousse, Cold whipped coffee, tomato blended with chilly - to make any kind of sauce!
10. Phone - of course, how else would I talk to Mum while cooking and cleaning or just admiring the view while sitting in bed!

and then these are some of my most useful things, but I have come to take them for granted:

11. My washing machine, again Bosch but definitely not quiet.
12. My fridge/freezer - with canberra being as cold as it these days, I am definitely taking this one for granted

 

Thirdly, there are some things that I wish for in my apartment, often with a deep sad sigh! 

1. Heating for the bathroom - sigh, there is none;
2. Exhaust for the bathroom - loud and ineffective! thank goodness i am not too stinky;
3. This is the worst - the taps around the apartment that need an iron hand to stop dripping!
4. The hot-water system that doesn't seem to work - it runs out of water JUST before my hair is completely free of conditioner suds, I promise!
5. The complete lack of power-points, and the crisscross of extension chords all over the place!
6. No spot for bins - a bit embarrassing;
7. The ugly nude bulbs, everywhere!
8. The annoying doors that are self closing - everywhere - including bottom of the steps, try bringing in groceries, you idiotic designer! I do a mental calculation on how to move things when I shop them.
9. The bedroom doesn't look like it is mine! No spot to put the books, no art to stare at first thing in the morning, last thing at night!
10. No art in the bathroom - I really want the da-Vinci Vitruvian Man there (not just because, well, nude-handsome-man-with-a-mix-of-science-and-art-from-Italy-from-about-600-years-ago; not just because it is perhaps a self portrait of Leonardo Da Vince who was gay and vegetarian and illegitimate and Leonardo da Vinci, and by L-d-V, I mean one-of-the-most-talented-person-on-the-face-of-this-earth, like even 600 years later, is-he-for-real; but also because it makes me wonder what it means to have a meaningful life? Who is our life meaningful for? Just the kind of thoughts I would like to be thinking as I brush my teeth and start my day.    
11. A cat? sometimes I really really really wish I could bring home a cat, and call it Summer, maybe... now that Coffee is coming home, I wish there was a Summer too!

 

There are other things that I think about when I am thinking deep thoughts about my apartment, like,

1. Putting up my art
2. Having a sound-insulated spot to play a violin (badly and repetitively, in my case)
3. Properly placed book-shelf

4. The non-existent outside area that I am sure will creep to the top of the list very quickly once Coffee gets here or summer does!

 

So, if you are reading this, what's your list of the good, the bad, and the ugly?

PS, this post is inspired by another post on Apartment Therapy

list of things to do for electrician:

1. New power points in living area - on the both sides of the sofa; underneath the TV;
2. New light source on top of dining table
3. changing of exhaust in the powder room
4. changing of exhaust in the bathroom and putting heating light in there
5. installing more power points in the bedroom - on both sides of the bed
6. installing bedside ceiling lights
7. changing ceiling light for the room
8. new power points in the study and new light there (also put mirrors up there!)
9. string light in the kitchen - get two, maybe?
10.power points in the guest room and new light.

Bedroom

My bedroom has the most wonderful thing about it that it opens to a window in the east, that looks out to a treetop against the sky - which really is most often very blue - and then it is super quiet. but apart from the view, the state of the room, uhm, leaves a bit to desire.

somehow, half my collection* of footwear has arrived here and my bed and floor around it has turned into a Salvador Dali-isq dimensioned wardrobe; and I have been thinking that minus the clothes and the shoes, the room is actually rather sterile and I simply wouldn't be able to sleep in it.

so, here is my to-do list about this room
1. remove mirrors to study where they can go opposite the wardrobe in a kind of gallery for mirrors;
1b. tidy up the rest of the room, by removing clothes/shoes and bed linen
2. put a book shelf in one or two corners of the room - right now I am thinking of corner diagonal to the door
3. add a hanging bed light for the other side of the bed
4. put a lamp shade to the naked bulb on the ceiling
5. add art on the wall on top of the bed
6. add photos on the wall opposite the bed
7. update the bedside tables - paint or polish or concrete?

so, basically, BOOKS, ART, PHOTOS, LIGHT - yes, sounds about right!

*my entire collection is simply wonderful with exactly these: eccos hiking boots, eccos winter boots, eccos running shoes, eccos summer flats, eccos summer high heels, summer sandles, jazz dancing shoes, thongs - and one pair of black high heels and one pair of red lace ups that really need to be donated!

Living Area

Apartment therapy are currently hosting their annual small cool contest which is all about, as you may have guessed, small apartments that are rather cool! I have been busy and therefore haven't been perusing all of them, but I am fairly certain that I can assume  that any of the really popular choices have in common, at least, these few things:

1. their "surfaces" make sense - either because they are clean and nearly empty or perfectly curated; and
2. when you pull out one piece of furniture it is not likely to bang into another!
and just maybe, I think, there might be this thing,
3. where to reach from part of the house to another, it probably doesn't involve walking thru a maze, like this:

 as it happens, my own living area is failing these three criteria rather miserably - and I've put a badly clicked picture of my apartment below..

and while it doesn't show how wonderful, I think, my antique oak table is or my wonderful Jarrah sofa is - it does show rather well, how miserable the lighting is, the flow is, and  how untidy the surfaces is.

the solution, as it happens, isn't all that difficult - it is simply to move that green sofa upstairs, perhaps to the bedroom or the guest room, and rearrange the main lounge is a more sensible way, but somehow I've not been able to manage it.

So, on my list of things to make my living area actually liv-able, and then maybe even beautiful, I have:
1. move the chair and re-arrange furniture
2. clean surfaces - which really involves finding alternative spaces for things
3. If it makes sense, put a rug in there (or two!)
4. put up my art on the walls
5. improve the lighting - by putting multiple source lightings around the place!

Shopping Headaches!

in the process of upgrading my apartment/ my car and my dog - i'm wondering at what point does the joy of shopping get replaced by the massive headache of winning all the multiple battles that the process entails?

first off, is the question, do i need this? then, what sort should i get? maybe i should speak to other people to get an idea - which resets us to convincing them about whether we indeed need this/what sort/can afford this. then you start looking for options, then you meet salesmen and ensure that they are not cheating you, then you negotiate (Repeat/Repeat/Repeat!); then you speak to your own people, who were not listening to you in the first round and get you to convince them all over again. then maybe you buy what you wanted, then, you pay for it for the rest of your life!

so, at what point does the joy of shopping get replaced by the massive headache of winning all the multiple battles that the process entails? way too soon, i'd say, waaaay too soon!!

Guess who is coming for ever?

a chocolate coloured Labrador pup called Coffee;

this pup is yet to be born, in fact his mother is yet to be pregnant - but my heart, be still, my live-in best friend is soon coming home! I am so tempted to get a Burmese cat that would be great friends with my darling, but let me have a chat with the breeder and see what can be done!