Many people have been asking us over the last year how we’ve been able to “survive” in the little upstairs area of our house that we call it our apartment. The truth is we’ve been managing quite well. It’s taken us about a year to actually get a rhythm and configuration of our space, and I can honestly say we live pretty comfortably up there with just the two of us. Add a few more extra people, now that’s another story! (The most we’ve had up here for a meal was nine and I don’t think we could have fit another person) I’m really grateful to have this space while we work on finishing the downstairs area.
What makes living in our ‘apartment’ so manageable is that we are making really good use of the space we have. Sure, there are days (almost every day) that I wish I could use a full size stove/oven or have more counter space, but I’m really grateful to have the little kitchen I have now. We’ve played with different ways of arranging our furniture, and we finally figured out a layout makes the space feel the most open. Of course we know eventually when the downstairs is finished, we won’t be confined to the upstairs. But while we are living up here, it’s really great having a the space we have, and we look forward to completing the downstairs.
We put in a lot of late nights over these months and we still have far to go, but we would have never made it this far without the support of our friends and family. I thought I’d share with you what our whole ‘apartment’ looks like today, versus what it used to look like with the progression of photos over the past 20 months. Come on in!
September 2014: (the upstairs before)
Late September 2014: (new collar ties to support the roof structure)
October 2014: (after the insulation and lowering/replacing the floor joists)
November 2014: (after the sub-floor, and framing the walls)
December 2014: (drywall and painting)
Late December 2014: (installing our floor)
Today:
^ For a closer look into our bathroom, you can see it all here.
If you have any other great storage saving tips or arrangements that we are not utilizing, I’d love to know! Share your ideas in the comments below.
