Four Stories Up

When I think of apartments, several mental images come to mind. The first being flashes of nasty, grimy apartments that I have been to in my lifetime, and that can be found in many corners of the globe. The second being the ritzy apartments that can be found in major cities (like NYC) that I have only seen in movies and TV. The third being the apartments my friends are slowly beginning to migrate into after leaving home. The last image is a newer, less familiar mental image. It is of the apartment that I live in, and of all the many interesting apartment buildings in Karlsruhe.

The word "apartment" brings a lot to my mind. Some thoughts negative and others positive.

Apartments hold a particular intrigue to me. As a child I grew up knowing that to live in a house was an amazing blessing, and only people on their way to the top had to live in apartments (unless you lived in said ritzy apartments). I always wanted to live in an apartment though. They were just so different from what I was used to.

I currently am living in an apartment for the first time in my life. And I love it! Of course I live in a beautiful apartment, so that makes it hard not to like. It's not the Ritz. But I think it is just perfect.

I will describe it to you!

To get to my apartment you must walk up "four flights" of stairs (more like eight in my opinion... there isn't an elevator since the building is like 200 years old) and then you will arrive at the fourth floor landing. Here you have the option to open two doors. The door directly in front of you takes you into the main apartment. The door to your left takes you to the mini apartment (my room).

The main apartment is where Johannes, Christiane, Martha, and Frieda live. It is very open, big, airy, and sunshiny. The walls and ceilings are all white and the whole apartment has light colored hardwood floors. There is a modern flair to everything, with a touch of traditional here and there.

My room is big, white, and full of light. The floors are a light hardwood, and the walls and ceilings are white. It is a very odd shape because it goes along with the shape of the roof (we are on the top floor), but it is roomy and big all the same. I have my own bathroom which also has white walls, and the floor has really pretty jade tiles. All of the furniture and accessories in both my room and bathroom are from Ikea; which gives it a modern feel. I think the coolest looking thing is the big, white flower light that hangs in the middle of the room. I am not quite finished decorating my room; it is a work in process. But I like how it is shaping up.

My flower lamp! Isn't it the coolest?!

So that is my home here in Karlsruhe! I love it so very much. Whether I spend time in my room, or hang out in the main apartment, I feel very at ease. The sense of "home" hasn't quite happened yet, but I don't think it will be too long before that feeling occurs.

From now on when I think of apartments I think this home will be the first thing that comes to my mind. And that doesn't bother me one bit.

I Blame HGTV

Growing up my Mom and I would watch HGTV together in the evenings. This was usually after everyone had gone to bed, because otherwise the TV was taken over by my Step dad or little sisters.

My mom and I loved watching all the shows on HGTV. Our favorite show had to be House Hunters. It was so fun guessing what house the family would choose and then groaning and telling them they should have picked one of the other houses because of x, y, and z. Other shows we favored were the ones (there were several types) that would renovate a family's house, room, backyard etc. My mom and I would discuss and talk with each other and the TV about the good choices or terribly tacky decisions the home owners and the designers would make. We would even talk about how we would make our backyard look or what we would change about the house if we could.

I loved those evenings with my mom. It put my already creative mind into overdrive. I hoped that one day I would become an interior designer (still kind of a secret wish). I'm sure I annoyed the heck out of my parents by begging to redecorate my room every time my interests or style changed (which was frequently). They were gracious enough to let me change it up several times. My last room redesign was vintage Hawaiian, which I still adore and plan to use it some how when I get an apartment. But that won't be for a bit since I will be out of the country for a year. But recently I have found myself in an exciting situation: I get to design my Germany room. I just about died in a fit of excited giggles when I found out that I was free to design away. I'm still giggling in fact...

My German parents are moving within the next two weeks from Freiburg to Karlsruhe and thus have found a new place to live. Their (our!) new apartment is absolutely fabulous. Huge rooms, nice hardwood, and it's on the top floor of this super neat looking building. I fell in love when they showed me pictures of it, and I'm sure it's going to look even more amazing once furniture and such is moved in.

My room is kind of like its own apartment. It's apart of the main apartment but you can't access it from the main apartment unless you walk out the front door and go through my front door. My mini apartment is essentially mother-in-law quarters: I have a nice sized room and then my own bathroom. Its really funky shaped because of being on the top floor of a building with a really interesting roof. But I think it gives the room character and it lends to the feeling that it is my own little place.

My German fam told me that they would by me furniture and then when I got there we could go shopping at Ikea so I could personalize the space. I was on German Ikea till like four a.m. last night avoiding sleep because I was so absorbed in researching what items I wanted for the room. I am such a goober! There is just something so delightful about taking an empty room and filling it with items that I selected and look fabulous together. And since it's a blank slate I could run anywhere with this design. But I decided not to go with something wild and crazy and not me, just because I could do whatever I wanted. I want this room to be very me, with a German twist. It is going to look lovely and I can't wait to get over there and start decorating.

That's all I have got for now. I could give you a nice philosophical thought on people and decorating, but I am in a planning frenzy and must get back to German Ikea.