27 May 2011

The Apartment on Boulevard Montmarte

Ok Folks. Brace yourself for a load of photos. I probably went a little bit overboard, but my guess is you're all very interested in what the apartment looks like. It is on the top floor (8 floors up) and the only apartment there. It's in the shape of an "L" and the front door is at the bottom right side of the "L" where your pen would end. I will do my best in explaining if there needs any explanation. Enjoy!

Here's the itty bitty elevator that only goes to floor 7 and skips floor 6 because of how the stairs wind their way around the elevator. If the weight limit is too much, you can either wait or haul yourself up/down for a ridiculous leg work out considering the ceiling is 16 feet tall!
Elevator to the left, our stairs to the right! I love that they're kinda worn and rickety. They are stable, no worries!!
There is one of two of apartment doors on floor 7. It's such a tight squeeze but has such a wonderful view of the inner courtyard!
Here's at the top landing looking down the stairs and into the apartment. We are having problems with the lighting in the inner hallway, so I couldn't light it better!
The blasted doorknob finally fell off. Brandon's task this weekend is to put it back on. It's a really cool big chunky knob that fits in the middle of the heavy door!
Here's the view in the back corner of the landing looking down the stairs. There's a lovely skylight shining down which helps in the daytime! A tiny light button is just outside the front door. What's really nice is the light is on a timer so if we come home late at night we can turn the light on when we enter the apartment building before we get into the teeny elevator and it will stay on until we get up to our apartment and turn off itself. Smart.
The landing from the doorway. I really want to put a big ol' ficus tree there. It does get enough light during the day so I am sure I wouldn't kill it. Only problem is, we don't know how long we'll be here! Oh well.
Here's the first view you get into our apartment! It's a super long and narrow hallway with a door that leads into a small bedroom, which we're using as storage. There were very beautiful sconces but the electricals kept going so the electrician had to take them down...leave it to the French to not return to finish it in a timely manner.
The door isn't curved. It's the lens because it's such a tight space and you can see all the bolts! I'm super safe!
I don't dare show you how messy the storage room is, but you can see a snippet of it. I don't know why anyone would make it a bedroom because a twin bed would JUST fit with nothing much else. Because there is a slanted wall on the opposite side of the door, it makes the room even tinier! BUT there are two windows in there so there's loads of light...and the fuse box. Classy.
Our hallway with one of two lovely skylights. The radiator is really nice in cold weather to come straight in and pass...it heats the hallway nicely.
We're now halfway through the bottom ledge of the "L" in a room we don't quite know what to do with.... If we stay longer, we might make it an art gallery of sorts with a chaise longue and table for reading or just contemplating the meaning of life. Who knows.
Now you can see the slanted wall. This wall also has two windows which keeps it nice and bright during the daytime.
I'm now standing at the 90 degree angle of the "L" looking toward where the long part starts. To the left of the three clocks, is where the WC, bathroom and first bedroom is.
I'm still in the same spot, I just turned around to look at the bottom part of the "L".
The past two photos, I was squatting just left of the red curtains underneath the slanted "middle" wall in between the two rooms - I'm standing right next to the three clocks.

Ok, a little jump here. I uploaded them in the wrong order but I had to go backwards and it was getting confusing! Here's one of the bedrooms. If you think of an "L", it's the outer side of the long part on the "L" and if you leave the room, the next room to the right will be the bathroom and straight ahead is the WC. To the left will be the living room, and where the clocks are.
Here's the bathroom. It's really nice, with two sinks, the narrowest bathtub I've ever seen (but it's really nice and cozy) and a rain shower head.
That black shelving unit won't be there much longer, if I can help it. I put it up because I didn't have anywhere to put the "bathroom" items. It covers the water heater and cleaning supplies.
The most fabulously gaudy hot pink WC I have ever been in. It's fantastic! When Brandon found the place, he talked to the owner and she asked if we wanted to keep it as is, we both said yes!
Back to the clocks. The doorway to the left is the WC, the one to the right is the bathroom. The doorway you can't see is immediately opposite the WC and is one of the bedrooms.
I'm standing at the red curtains looking the length of the "L" toward the kitchen. The bathrooms and both bedrooms are on the other side of the wall where the entertainment system is.
The kitchen is behind me and that doorway you see is to the other bedroom. As you can see, the slanted wall makes decorating somewhat tricky, but the width of the space is enough to where it still is quite enormous. VERY unusual for a Paris apartment.
I'm standing by the sofa looking toward the fabulously red lacquered IKEA kitchen!
Aah, the kitchen. It's a tad on the teeny side but it really works nicely in it's layout. Immediately under the window, the middle handle is where the washing machine is stashed. It's probably 1/4 the size of American washers...and there's no dryer. It's line drying all the way! I've become very creative in hanging stuff up!
There's a microwave above the oven and then the stovetop is actually an induction range where only a certain type of pot/pan can be used to connect with it. What's fabulous about it is a pot of cold spaghetti water will boil in about a minute. I kid not.
There's the itty bitty refrigerator! No stockpiling food here! It's daily (or every couple days) market ventures!
Here's the other bedroom, through that door closest to the kitchen. The doorway is immediately to the right.
Voila. There's the apartment! I hope you enjoyed the tour!

26 May 2011

Paris, two years later...

Hello again!

It's been two years since I've posted but I am back now to share with you what is happening in my life and a lot has changed. Here's a quick run-down!

*I applied to and got in to Webster University's photography program.
*I moved to St Louis, MO to start the end phase of getting my degree.
*Brandon moved to a new agency, also in Paris, and moved into a new apartment which will be our first home.
*Brandon proposed to me on a beach in Malibu the day before Thanksgiving 2010. I said "YES!" (of course!)
*I finished my toughest yet but most rewarding semester and met some amazing friends along the way.
*I got an internship at Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency in Paris, France for the summer as an assistant art buyer, which is why I am here today!

Here are some photos! Enjoy the views from the apartment windows! I'll post photos of the apartment shortly!


This is the view from the kitchen window... in a little while, you'll get to see the most impressive kitchen window sight to me. Sacre Coeur. The kitchen and living room windows overlook the courtyard in our building.

Here's a wide-shot of the other side of the apartment overlooks Boulevard Montmarte. We are on the top floor, 9 floors up. It's a little tough to get the street level in the shot because the windows in our apartment are at a 45 degree angle. Soon, I will take photos of the exterior of our building from the street level and show you.

Here's a view (the Eiffel Tower is the tiny thing to the left, shooting up near where the horizon meets the street...) from the two bedrooms and bathroom. I included the roof so you can get an idea of where the apartment actually is.
There's a closer view of the Eiffel Tower...
Here's the view of Sacre Coeur from the kitchen window. I will most likely show you more views of this, depending on my favorite thing as a photographer: LIGHT!
A TINY view of Sacre Coeur...
More views from the street side windows...I love how the light completely changes the same rooftop views, depending on the weather or the time of day.
The blue and white topped building in the background is the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum in Paris. It can be seen from the street side of the apartment.
There's the Eiffel Tower....
This is about 10 pm at night, when the sun ends up going down...I love it!