So you can see a little more of the detail here, some of the colours and shapes building up gradually.
Since last posting, there’s been paint, wallpaper and more tiling. The wallpaper is so subtle that it wont show up greatly here; I’ll try to remember to take some close ups.

The most daring dash of colour comes on the main wall. I think it really emphasises the space in the apartment:

Currently it’s sanded and the surface has been beautifully prepared for the colour that is to come (a deep flat green).
Here’s a long shot:

And looking back:

Those two ‘mini-walls’ to the side will enclose a floor-to-ceiling cupboard which will be installed between them.

Here’s the study:

The big box is currently housing my bath, although I’ve had to return it as it wasn’t finished properly at the factory. Ho-hum…more delays until the new one arrives…

That piece of wood on top of the box will hold the bathroom sink (see an earlier post for a drawing of how this will look). It cost me the earth and I hope it’s worth it. I’ve just been coating it this weekend for waterproofing, etc.

And speaking of the bathroom, here’s where we’re at:

This is the view from the bedroom into the bathroom:

And finally, the bedroom:

Only a very short amount of time left, or so I’m told…I’ve become used to my contractor’s very loose definition of a deadline.

OK, so everyone’s seen for months the incremental changes that are happening on my apartment, but now you can actually start seeing some of the detail emerging.
Here’s how the apartment overall is looking, now that the plasterwork has mostly dried:

Oh yeah, about that detail. We had a little false start with the window frame colour, which turned out to be a deep green colour. Oops, must check my notes on that (fortunately work was halted half way through - the painter was not happy):

Light and bright:

Here is the bathroom, where the mosaic is being laid:

A few days later, it looked like this:

This pattern was incredibly cheap (compared to what I paid in the bathroom).

In the bathroom, mosaic is also being laid:

…while the concealed parts for the show are being fixed in:

Throughout the apartment, I’m using these lights:

Looking good, huh?
Hard to believe that I’ll be moving in in 3 weeks!

God bless Halogen for creating this lovely warm glow. It’s the first time I’ve seen all the lights on - dashing my worries that I’d chosen enough lighting for the whole space.

The plaster work has also begun in earnest and the whole pad is looking great! I got such a rush when I walked into this:

Are you with me? I’m only four weeks from moving in and there still seems to be so much to do.
The bathroom is ready to be tiled:

…and I bought the floor on Monday (natural coloured Chinese oak with minimal knotting).

I’ll take some shots of the lights as soon as I get the chance.

…well, about a month off now.
I know I haven’t posted for a while - but here are a series of pics that I took a couple of weeks ago. In my next post you’ll be able to see a dramatic difference.

The bathroom
I’m not that good at drawing, but here’s my artist’s impression of the bathroom (I’m pretty pleased with this drawing actually!!). You can see how that’s being built up in real life below.

The rest of the apartment is also looking good; lights have been placed in the ceiling:

And the study (which I’m considering calling the ‘Media Room’ - isn’t that what they call it in Wallpaper*? ;)

The last week I’ve been in Ibiza trying to escape the craziness of this project but my contractor rang me with an 11th hour request for the dimensions of this, the bedroom wall. So there I sat on my summer holiday, trying to ‘draw’ in a Word document in a hot and sticky internet cafe….

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, the week since my last post has seen the most dramatic progress on the apartment. As always I walked upstairs with some trepidation (always worried that I’m going to walk in and something major has been built off-plan), but was struck by the amazing space:

The ceiling is now in, and I think that’s really contributing to the feeling of space somehow. My feeling on the bedroom wall is that it’s a little high, so I’m thinking about bringing it down a smidge. Any thoughts or comments please post a comment!

Here you can see the laundry and toilet (that’s a defininte WOW…[ahem…]):

The bathroom:

…and the Study:

Most of the wiring has been done, the plumbing is almost finished. I’m due to get the kitchen in a matter of weeks and I’m promised that the keys will be turned over by the end of the month.

Biggest worries right now:

- DETAIL!
- are the bathroom tiles the right colour?
- budget: yikes!
- where is that expensive shipment of bathroom materials?
- what height should the bedroom wall be?
- have I missed anything here?

Excuse the slightly neurotic tone of this post; those who have been through this will know exactly what I’m talking about…

If you have any ideas of things I need to think about, please give me a yell it would be most appreciated.

Hi. So OK, I’m back with photos. The builder’s vacation is over, and I’m relieved as my apartment has been sitting idle for the last 3 weeks or so, and I’m getting more eager and excited about moving in.
So anyway, work is underway again, and things continue to take shape.
Here’s the living room:

And study, where you can see the skeleton of the shelving on the walls:

The lighting has been placed, and you can see that the insulation has already gone in. Double thickness I asked - Dutch winters can be quite chilly to say the least!

A lovely alternative view:

I was pretty devastated to find out that I couldn’t move this wall as planned, as it’s load-bearing and a potential nightmare to the whole building if shifted. I’m over it now; these thing happen in projects. I need to replan the bedroom area slightly. I’m really through with planning already!

I’m told that the whole place is 5 weeks off finishing. I’m skeptical to hear that, but hope to be surprised!

Well, I survived the demolition, but note that there is still a lot of rubbish around the place and I guess more to come as things are refined.
I have wires hanging from the ceiling and a contractor on my back to provide lighting and final lighting plans.
The stress of it all!

I’ve finished planning the bathroom now - the most stressful space to plan after the kitchen. What I’m realising here is that the level of detail is astonishing. You don’t just buy a new bath - you pick colour, size, style, think about placement to the nearest millimetre, order all associated parts, concealed parts (what size do I need?!).

Step and repeat for each and every feature of your apartment. Get the idea? (wouldn’t give it up for the world though :))

As far as the work goes, the biggest surprise has been knocking down the study wall, which really opens up the whole apartment space. I stood there in awe for about 5 minutes when I first saw it:

The walls have been concreted for extra stability now, and in a matter of weeks the walls and ceiling will be ‘closed up’ (ie plaster, etc.):

And the reverse view:

Here you can see the view of the soon-to-be bedroom with entrance to the bathroom:

…and the bathroom:

Just when I thought it was all over, even more rubbish…

Living Space:

However nearly a month later and the ‘real’ work is just beginning, as you can see from the scaffolding that’s starting to appear…

The Study:

Bathroom:

Not really the kind of place you’re gonna get clean in right now…

This is the beginning of what turned out to be 10 cubic metres of rubbish from my walls and ceiling.

It’s all looking very neat and packed up - ready for disposal - which is an improvement from the bomb site that my apartment was last time.

It’s still not entirely clear to me why the doors have remained for so long…

The first rock has been knocked! It was so exciting to see my vision beginning to take shape.
There’s a long way to go, but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

During: Living Space

During: Study
My contractor persuaded me to take down the ceiling, and I stand to gain a lot of extra height by doing so.
it was a good move, and on the floor here you can see some of the straw from the ceiling - used as insulation when the building was built in the 1930s.

During: Bathroom
I’m not too sure how the last owners lived here, as the apartment was in a terrible state when I took the keys - exposed piping, dodgy electricity work and little love or care. An older couple, they lived in the apartment, I’m told, for 18 years before finding the staircase too hard to negotiate.

During: Bedroom
A complete mess as you can see.
The chimney to the right is going :(
This room have a lovely southern aspect, and so catches amazing light throughout most of the day.
I’m planning on having a 2.4m hight partition instead of a wall between the bedroom and the living space, to let some of that beautiful light through; the north facing living room can get a bit dull in the afternoon.