scary 'before' shots of my new studio

I wasn't sure if I should even bother posting these images yet because they're so scary (well, the kitchen and bathroom and hallway are - they look scarier in person than these do in these shots - believe me)...but I figure the worst that can happen is for you to feel really sorry for me (for leaving this - the apartment that has clearly ruined and spoiled me) and the best that can happen is for you to offer up refinishing and decorating suggestions for me (please!) as I roll up my sleeves and get to work on creating some 'after' images.

My new studio has decent bonework - albeit old bonework - that I'm pretty sure will make for an inviting home once I fix things up. My biggest concerns are related to the age of the building and some of the 'stuff' (read: bugs, toxins, etc) that may escape from cracks and holes in the walls as well as a lack of storage space (including a decent litter box spot for the cats). And the bathtub is disgusting. And the linoleum in the front entrance way is U-G-L-Y.

BUT...I have lots of ideas on how to improve upon the place, so we'll see what kind of polished diamond I can create out of this 'diamond in the rough' I've got at the moment.

The handy thing is that I have both this apartment and my current apartment for at least a month of overlap which means I can get into the new place and make it livable before moving my stuff and myself into it. In fact, I've already started. I've begun painting the main studio space and I've hired some hard core cleaners to come in and super-clean and super-disinfect the place next week. I don't trust myself to get into all the nooks and crannies - and frankly, the idea disgusts me (yes, it's that bad).

WHY am I moving again? Oh yeah - to save money. And, despite the renos, a lot will be saved. Right. Fun project. I keep reminding myself...

Anyways...without further ado, the scary 'before' photos of Ottawa apartment numero trois...

These shots are of the main studio space. It's decently sized and will pretty easily fit my bed, kitchen table and couch. It's got a nice big set of bay windows which let in a lot of light. I've already started painting the walls white (they're currently a pale lilac colour) and the window frames a soft, airy blue. Since my new place doesn't have a balcony or rooftop garden I'm hoping to get permission to hang window boxes outside these bay windows so that I can still have a little bit of a garden (although I think my big pot of tomato plants that D and I grew from seed will have to move to his balcony. Not sure that they'd do as well here or that I'd even have enough room for them).

This is my very scary looking (and small!) hallway and closet (the only closet in the place). Definitely need to downsize my wardrobe and look into alternative flooring options.

The bathroom...I've already removed the tall white shelving unit on the left which opened things up a lot. I'm hoping to hang shelves up on the wall that don't close the space in as much. **and take note of the nifty(what!) wooden poles that the sink is propped up on. Nice.

And lastly, the kitchen. Before taking these photos, I'd already started ripping the ugly (and crooked!) shelves off the wall. I also ended up removing the ledge along the left side because it was a space waster that I couldn't foresee as having any real and useful purpose.

So...there you have it. Take a good look because I'm hoping the final project will look VERY different and WAY better than this. Appealing even.

And thus it begins.