This is the kind of blog post that would work better as a video, but I am afraid of cameras and YouTube so I thought I would give it a go in blog form: A tour of my Wellington apartment.
Having spent so much time in self-isolation , I have got to know the inside of my one-bed apartment VERY well. (Sidenote – how annoying are all the celebs who are in lockdown in HUGE mansions, that was truly one of my first thoughts when the lockdown began!) What better time than now to share a little look into the apartment that I share with my boyfriend Lucas. So I’ve given it a tidy and taken some photos to try to show it in its best light.
Personally, I am SO nosy and I love looking at peoples homes I love analyzing how they have decorated them and what things I picked out. Going to an Air BnB is the best because I get to analyse how the place is decorated and what it says about a person.
it’s kind of crappy with little, to zero natural light. At times we have nicknamed it our “shitty little flat” to give you an idea!
I also love looking into the apartments of bloggers and vloggers who post it online, it’s one of my guilty pleasures, but as yet I have never really liked to show much of my apartment online. This is, in short, because it’s kind of crappy with little, to zero natural light. At times we have nicknamed it our “shitty little flat” to give you an idea! I don’t like sharing pictures of it because it is old and decerped and I do not really feel like it truly represents me and how I like my space to be, as it is rented, there is only so much we would change.
However, I think that we have made the best of the space that we have. We have been in this apartment for nearly 4 years now so I thought it would be nice to share a little.
Perhaps, if you are moving to Wellington and wondering what some of the rented accommodation is like then this could be a nice insight. Or, if like me, you just like to take a look inside peoples places for interest’s sake then you might enjoy this too!
Here goes…
All about it …
I live in Kelburn, which for those of you who don’t know, is very close to the Wellington CBD, just behind the Botanic Gardens. Areas of Kelburn can be known for being quite a damp and shady and our place, unfortunately, has these features as it sits on the wrong side of a valley. The apartment is part of a mansion that is broken up into three sets of flats and does not get a whole lot of sun, as well as being badly insulated which means it can feel cold and damp.
We knew about this when we moved in but thought it was a trade-off worth it for the CHEAP AS rent. We pay less than $400 per week for the place and when we first moved in it was even less, so we have been prepared to live somewhere a little bit rubbish in a good location which has allowed us to save some money. Admittedly I did not think we would be here for quite so long, but various life happenings have meant that we have been.
we have been prepared to live somewhere a little bit rubbish in a good location which has allowed us to save some money
Apart from the chilliness and the lack of sun, the apartment has served us well. It has a large living room with a separate kitchen. There is one bedroom and then one smaller room which I have been using as a home office. It has everything we need and is a 5 min drive or 20-minute walk to the CBD.
When we looked around the flat and took it over from the old tenants, they had it set up so terribly and had net curtains all over the windows, which for a dark flat already, was just terrible! We managed to look past this and even though the place is kind of rubbish at the bones, just a few tweaks like taking all the net curtains down have made it much nicer to live in.
just a few tweaks like taking all the net curtains down have made it much nicer to live in.
So, I thought I’d show you round room by room to give you a feel.
The kitchen
The kitchen in our place is tiny. It’s a little offshoot of the main house that you enter the flat through. It’s very flimsy and chilly with practically no cupboard space. When we first moved in it was decorated on one wall with the craziest black wallpaper (who puts black wallpaper in a kitchen, especially a small one, or anywhere for that matter!?!) so I removed this myself and painted it white. Some people might think it a lot of work to paint a rental property, but even as a rental, I couldn’t cope with black paper on the walls!
We have made the best of the kitchen by getting a few pieces of furniture to bring it to a useable standard. There wasn’t even a draw that we could keep cutlery in, so we got a cupboard with a draw in it for this. The lack of cupboards means we have to be as minimal as possible and try and neatly store things. One thing is for sure, I can’t wait to have a bigger kitchen as I love cooking but it can be a bit tricky in this tiny kitchen.
The thing I like about the kitchen is something that people tend to avoid these days as the open plan is the rage, but I like that it is separate from the living space. This means that when I go in to cook, it is like my own little sanctuary, I get a podcast on and a glass of wine and get into chef mode. Our oven is gas, so even when it’s cold, once the oven on and the cooking is happening, the room warms up quickly.
The bathroom
Our bathroom is fitted out with modern fittings but it is also pretty pokey and cold (there is a theme here!) I try and keep it feeling nice by having minimal clutter out on the surfaces and nice soap and candle. It needs a lot of cleaning as can be prone to damp, but because it is small, this isn’t so tricky. I am SO looking forward to owning a house one day and putting underfloor heating in the bathroom!
The lounge/dining room
Our living space has tall ceilings giving it a feeling of being huge, which is good for a small flat but because there are four doors coming off it, it also has a feeling of being a bit of a corridor. For this reason, it has been a juggle to make the furniture fit properly but after a few trial and errors, and sales on Trade Me, we have got there. The room also has this random ugly storage shelve unit that is built into the wall, so we just put curtains over it and store our camping gear and sewing stuff in there. Basically, the space is really odd and cobbled together but we make it work as a living room and dining room.
About a year ago we bought a huge corner sofa on trade me and it has been a game-changer. Even though the flat is small, having a large couch makes it feel a bit more luxurious and comfortable and let’s face it, we spend ages on the couch!
The living room space is really dark despite having a huge bay window. To make the best of the light, we have situated the sofa to look out of the window at the lovely green trees that surround us. Sitting it like this also creates an artificial divide between the sitting area and the table dining area. In a small space, having some kind of feeling of a divide between separate rooms makes the place work a little better for double use, I read this once and believe it to be true.
this also creates an artificial divide between the sitting area and the table dining area. In a small space, having some kind of feeling of a divide between separate rooms makes the place work a little better for double use
We have decorated the space with our bits and bobs collected over the years and put up a few shelves as this definitely makes it feel more like home. A mirror opposite the big window also gives a feeling of a bit more depth and light.
Heating
There is no central heating here (of course as this is so hard to find in NZ) so we have a plugin heater in almost every room.
We recently discovered that a decent-sized oil heater will warm up the big living room really well and have been feeling cosier recently. Oil heaters are the best – we had a fan heater for ages as we read this was the best for a large room and it just never warmed up properly – this was a mega mistake and we have learnt that the hard way.
The bedroom
Our bedroom is probably the most annoying space in the house, it could do with being about a metre wider. Because of its narrow shape, the bed can only go one direction.
We could have it with our heads against the window, but having the bed facing out to the window and with the door in view is basic feng shui which I choose to follow as it makes for better night sleep. This means we have had to situate the bed with our heads to the wardrobe, we got around this by buying a bed with a big wooden headboard so we can sit up in bed and read a look out the window.
having the bed facing out to the window and with the door in view is basic feng shui which I choose to follow as it makes for a better night sleep
The window also has beautiful antique stained glass in it which is nice to admire!
It is a bit annoying not having enough space to have bedside tables but we got some clip-on lights that we clip to the headboard so we have the feeling of our own sides and we just have a little pile of books under the bed. I guess this is just another one of those simple things that will delight me when I have a house of my own!
A good thing about our flat is that there is a big wardrobe space and it fits all my clothes, this is something I have not really had before and as my wardrobe gets rather large and overflowing, having a whole wall to store stuff has been great even if it is behind the bed. Also, the fact that I can see it all means I don’t forget what I have and I can keep track of stuff and sell it if I haven’t been wearing it much.
Little Home Office
Our spare room has been a number of different things over the years, from a guest room a few times, to a “man-cave” for Lucas (lol), to a sewing space and now a home office. It has been such a luxury to have this space during the Covid lockdown as I have been able to have my own room for using as an office and getting stuck into work with no distractions. The set up is pretty makeshift but it has worked really well – I am actually annoyed I haven’t had this for much longer, I feel like I would have done so much more blogging! For such a cheap place, to have had this little spare room has been magical.
Outside space
The thing about our flat is that we have an awesome sheltered terrace/balcony thing, but we NEVER use it because it has no sun on it at any time of day. – such a shame. We hung a washing line across our terrace, and it is basically a giant drying room, that’s all we use it for. If we sit outside, we usually sit on the front door deck which is shared with our neighbours and not private, but it gets sun for most of the morning. This is kind of a shame, but it’s ok, at least we have outdoor space and we can dry our clothes and get a little bit of sun if we want it.
I feel so lucky that the flat is surrounded by trees and nature and green. We get quite a lot of visiting native birdlife around too from the Zealandia sanctuary which isn’t too far away. And our outlook is also super green and secluded, its almost like we are in a bit of a jungle treehouse sometimes.
Home Sweet Home
It’s crazy to think that we have lived in our flat for so long. When we first moved in, I thought it would be a great cheap interim place, but ironically, its cheapness has been what has made us stay for so long.
We are so lucky to be living right next to the botanical gardens because they are like our own massive garden that we can use when we need sun and space. During the Covid-19 lockdown, they have been beautiful and we have spent so much time in them on our daily walks.
I’m not sure what else to say about the apartment. It’s home, it’s kind of crappy and not forever, but its been goof to us and I kind of love to love to hate it. I have enjoyed getting creative to try to make the best of a bad space feel nice (as much as you can with rental) and I might even be a little bit sad when we eventually leave.
I have enjoyed getting creative to try to make the best of a bad space feel nice (as much as you can with rental) and I might even be a little bit sad when we eventually leave.
I hope you enjoyed having a nosy around my flat. Sorry if it is very ME based and doesn’t share much of Lucas’ life! He truly does live here too and has his corners of stuff, but I didn’t think I would share that!
Thanks for reading and come back soon.
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Peace
Josie x