Life Update
Re-imagining My Apartment Interior
A rant and a *vision*
It’s Summer 2021 and year 2 of living in this apartment and I’ve finally resigned myself to accept that not only would I not be able to finish my degree in three years, I will also not be able to finish this degree in four, and five at this current moment as my supervisor is now on medical leave.
As I cope with this uncertainty of this degree of infinite length, I look to a new sort of permanency — that there will be a few more years in this apartment so I might as well make it nice.
Note: none of these are affiliate links and mostly I tried to use google images unless there was a specific product I was trying to describe.
The Kitchen
Of all the spaces in my place I actually invested the most into the kitchen when I first moved in. Even though it’s only a kitchenette (or perhaps especially it’s a kitchenette), I was mindful in what I bought and what I saved for later.
My choice for a thrifted pourover coffee contraption ($2!!! vs. the usual $25 for this model) is:
- much less cleanup than a machine because this pourover has coffee going directly into the mug so I only have to wash a) the mug, b) the pourover rather than a) the mug, b) the pourover and c) the carafe.
- a gift that keeps on giving because every morning I see that sweet, sweet $23 saved my brain just lights up in the $aving$ that I’m still truly enjoying.
But that’s a tangent (somehow, this entire piece is lol). Other than getting a square omelette pan I feel like my current kitchen is pretty complete. I have a one-egg pan, like three medium-sized pans (between thrifting and gifting) that are the perfect size for instant noodles, one normal pan and one large pan for meal prep.
(Can you see a pattern? The egg pan and instant noodle pans form a specific type of meal I cook regularly, which explains why I have so many of those sizes).
The Workspace
I live in a one-bedroom basement apartment which means space-wise, there’s a “living room” space. When I toured the place, the previous tenant had it cut into two hamburger style , with one half being one desk behind his couch and tv.
I … never got a couch because I also don’t have a TV and primarily watch stuff on my laptop. It was never really an issue because I did most of my actual work in my lab pre-pandemic, so there was enough separation between the two spaces that I felt comfortable eating and working in the same space.
I think now is the time for a few minor changes here and there.
[] Book storage
I desperately need book storage advice! Thus far, I’ve just been piling them up on the ground, which started to work for a while but then got too unruly. I looked into thrifting a few bookcases around town but the local thrift stores don’t actually accept/ sell furniture other than “smaller” pieces (e.g., just a wall shelf).
Option 1: Get wall shelves and drill ‘em in
Problem 1: I don’t have a drill and I’m unsure if it’s a worthwhile investment just yet. However, I know that every piece of home improvement tool that I’ve bought so far has been incredible useful, so it might be wortwhile.
Problem 2: I’ll have to fix the holes in the walls after I move; wall shelves are harder to sell on marketplace given what I’ve seen so it would be an investment with no return.
[] Option 2: Hornavan — thanks Ikea [~$60]
If you search “book storage ideas” on Pinterest, you get quite a few images of this kitchen trolley from Ikea being re-envisioned as a bookshelf. It’s a really cute idea because that trolley comes in these bold, cute colours (but also neutral colours for boring folks like me).
The problem is that that one is something like $40 CAD PER STORAGE PIECE, which is more than I’m willing to dish for something of that size. I’ve seen the actual piece in a friend’s house before, and she uses it for real kitchen tools. It’s not actually that wide and won’t actually fit some of my bigger square-shaped books.
So I scrolled around on Ikea and found a cheaper option (that’s actually larger, what a win???) that’s meant to be in bathrooms. Since it’s only $24.99, I might invest in two, one for overflow pantry items (yes, bulk instant noodles)
Option 3: cube organizer
I was also looking into open-faced cube organizers but the only ones I can find are on Amazon, which I’m trying not to use to source my furniture items. The reviews on this one is also horrendous, with people saying that the shelves can rip.
So I’m holding back on this idea unless I find one that actually does the job.
[] Hooks
I’m just going to purchase a lot of hooks so that I stop placing things on the floor. There’s just things I keep needing to find because they’re hidden in bags that I can easily find them.
The umbrella that I haven’t used since before the pandemic, I’m looking at you. In fact, this spring, I’ve just been avoiding going out if it rained because uh… I still haven’t re-located it. It’s a hunt.
Price: 20 for $28 ($1.40 each); 9 for $18 ($2.00 each); 6 for $11 ($1.80)
The Bedroom
[] Bye piano — +$100 hopefully
Once I get my second vaccination shot I’m going to … sell the piano keyboard I had in my room. For a while I thought that I would set it up, but ever since I unhooked it at my old place and then moved it into the new place, I’ve never actually used it.
If I’m not going to touch it through the pandemic, I sure am not going to touch it post-pandemic.
This also represents the dumbest impulse purchase I’ve ever done, because I went for a “cheap” option that was $300, and then played it a total of twice before I realized I hated the feel of the non-weighted keys. Growing up I was fortunate to have a real piano, and it’s honestly something else when you’re playing at a flimsy keyboard set. Lesson learned.
[] Hi Craft Workstation — $0, possibly new side hustle? another one? lucy ??????????????
It’s my lifelong dream to have a crafts shop, particularly in upcycling old pieces that would never have sold at a thrift store into pieces mended with love and embroidered art, or some other crafting skill.
I want to develop a craft where experience with fabric-working, paint, or other art mediums helps revive a piece destined for the trash into something that someone else can love for another lifetime.
I want this to be in my bedroom because this is where I’d like to spend more tme to draw (digitally or traditionally) and just relax in general, away from my computer, which is in the workspace.
[] a floor couch??? a floor pillow?
I’ve gotten away with sitting directly on the hardwood floor in my room for quiet time but given how literally every single friend I have has back pain I think it’s time to support my back and knees more 😅
Hi I’m Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) and from time to time I write less structured rants for eggsisting, a place to dump all of my eggsistence.
Hop down the rabbit hole? 🐰🕳
