To catch up any new C.R.A.F.T. readers, Andy and I are getting married (possibly on Valentine’s day!) and recently moved to Florida. Andy actually moved back in August, and I officially moved in on Monday, January 30.
The renting thing is a totally different ball game. (We got the Austin condo officially leased yesterday… hip, hip hooray!) If you currently rent, you are going to extra-like the next couple of months on C.R.A.F.T. It’s all about making things pretty, without making it permanent. Oh, and of course, we try to do it all for free!
First things first, let me show you what we’re working with…it’s a 1,000-ish square feet, one bedroom apartment with 1 and 1/2 baths. Square footage wise, a tad bigger than our old place in Austin, but minus a whole bedroom and LAUNDRY room. Which is proving to be mighty tricky when organizing an entire laundry room and craft room into 2 closets!
These pictures were all taken pre me and all my stuff moving in. This is how Andy lived for almost 5 months (that is a blow up mattress in the bedroom)!
You just opened the front door and you see our bedroom. Yes, our bedroom has no door.
Again, bedroom has no door? I suppose someone was going for the open feel?
To the left in the foyer is the half bath…
You’re walking down the hallway 🙂 That closet is the new MP AND laundry room! We also have a storage room in the hallway of the building, but that space was quickly eaten by our 2 bikes.
Super tiny, galley style kitchen. The entire kitchen has 1 drawer. Yep, true story. That drawer is only 9 1/2 in. wide… It’s pretty tricky trying to find a silverware caddy for such a tiny drawer!
Our favorite thing about the place is that you can see the ocean! Apparently, there are manatees (sea cows?) living in the intracoastal (that body of water right in front). I will be manatee searching soon. I have actually been staring out the window a lot thinking one might jump. (Do manatees jump?)
This picture basically sums up the entire apartment.
Once again…
Pretty sunset viewing and a major glare on the ‘ol computer! I have moved that sucker around about 6 times now.
Have you moved lately? Or organized? Or tried to get rid of things? Or moved from a 4 room house to a 2 room house? I’d love to hear… I just keep thinking how together really is a wonderful place to be!
Comments & Reviews
We moved from a house to a rental place about a year ago. It is hard not to be able to paint the walls. BUT we now live in NC and I have not seen one flake of snow this winter which is GREAT. Although we can't see the ocean from our place, it takes us 15 minutes to drive there. Your view looks fantastic. Have fun with your decorating.
hi! i'm new to your blog and totally in love already…your view from the new apartment is lovely!! i died laughing (awkwardly in the middle of my office) when i read about the kitchen…hubby and i moved into our old apartment without realizing that there was one big thing that was missing. drawers. we had ZERO drawers in the kitchen. it sure made things interesting…we ended up throwing our utensils in some colorful baskets on the counter and it made things look quite nice. anyway…sorry for the ridiculously long comment…enjoy the new place!
WOW!! That place is GORGEOUS! SO much potential. And those views!!! WOW!
First congrats on your relocation to such a sunny state! I currently live in a 1 bed, 1 bath apartment that is around 850-950 sq ft. I'm not sure really because I would actually like to say that it feels like its 500 sq ft. ha. The hardest thing I find about apartment living is storage. My bf and I have way to much stuff. I have had to start packing things and putting them at my moms, dads, and our storage closet (under the stairs) because we just have stuff all over the apartment, which equals a lot of cleaning for a little space. So my advice is to make sure that you only keep out the necessities, and organize your things in storage good in case you need to pull something out for that occasional use. The second hardest part about apartment living is decorating. I like to change things frequently, which cause issues and as your Andy might say “too many holes”. So make before decorating live in the space for a few weeks to figure out what works best for you two. What you think might work because you visualize it working, might actually not. I hope this helps and feel free to visit me at http://www.natalielmurphy.blogspot.com
xoxo
Natalie.
Andy picked the place out… My only request was lots of light 🙂 Views and light are its pluses, it has its own bag of minuses! I'm up for coffee or crafts ANYTIME!
First time I landed on your blog and saw a beautiful post. Congratulations! Your house and the view is awesome. I'm sure you will live good life over there. My best wishes!
Love that view! You are going to have so much fun decorating your new apartment! Can't wait to see what you do with it!
Have a great weekend!
Sinea from Ducks 'n a Row
Excited to see your decor!!
The view! Why can't my rental have a view like that. Instead its nasty looking fence! Glad you made it safe. I can't wait until you start posting your renter's posts!
Welcome to South Florida! My boyfriend and I moved here in August too. You are very lucky that you have so much light in your apartment. Our building was built in the 70's and hasn't been updated at all since. The detail on your balcony wall is amazing!
I can't wait to see your apartment friendly posts! Maybe we should meet up for coffee sometime or meet up at a craft show!
-Elisha
I am looking forward to seeing what you do with the place. If all goes well we will be moving to Florida soon too and will be renting as well. Hopefully we can find something close to size as our last home! Good luck!
It will be fun to see you put your stamp on your new place! I know you'll make it awesome. I'm sorry we didn't get another thrifting day in before you left, though! I love looking at your FL pics…we used to live in Key West, and The Hubs's work took us to Ft. Lauderdale a lot. I miss the ocean. Let me know if you take a trip to the Keys!
SO jealous! This looks like such a beautiful apartment, and one you could easily transform into a gorgeous looking humble abode! Can't wait to see some tips and ideas!
-Jess @ That's Sew Crafty
You're really crazy, but in a good way 🙂
We are expert movers in our house since my DH is Air Force. We are moving again this summer, and I think it is going to be a BIG change because we are probably going to foreign parts of the world, and moving from a house we own to a high rise apartment complex owned by the military…..BIG changes ahead!
I love it and can't wait to see what decor magic u come up with!!
The space looks great! Love your view. I'm in Miami so shoot me a note if you need recs on anything. I have a lot of friends further north too for recs further up.
I've moved 9 times during my marriage. 10 times. 7 states. With kids. Call me if you need support.
Good luck in making your home cozy! My husband and I moved from Georgia to South Korea a year and a half ago. We lived in a 6 room duplex and were told we would get a furnished apartment in Korea. When we arrived, we walked in to a studio apartment that had a bed in it. The bathroom is a toilet and a sink, the sink has a hose coming out of the faucet with a shower head attached. Boy, did that take some adjusting to, we're here 7 more months and we ship back to the states….thank goodness.
I've lived in 5 different places in the last 3 years, so I feel your pain since 3 of those places were apartments. Welcome to Florida! I live in central Florida and am truly jealous of your beautiful view! Enjoy it here 🙂
Welcome to Florida!! I live in Jacksonville (aka south Georgia). Do I remember correctly that you're in Miami…very south Florida?? Your view is B-U-tiful!! Can't wait to see how you make the apartment "home."
You poor thing with only one drawer in the kitchen! Thank you for showing us around. I love reading your posts. Your view is amazing. And I am so jealous about the manatees. They are supposed to be very docile. I literally laughed out loud when you said you were waiting to see one jump. 🙂
Can't wait to see what you do with your new home. And you're right-together is a wonderful place to be. I always tell my husband and my daughter that no matter where I am, I am always at home if I am with them. 🙂
Can't wait to see what you do with the place. I wouldn't get anything done…with a view like that I would feel like I was on a permanent vacation! I would just be sitting on that balcony with a glass of wine!
No manatees don't jump, they move VERY ssslllloooowwwwllllyyyy. Your view is amazing, like everyone else can't wait to see what you come up with to make your own.
I've lived in four different apartments in the last three years, so I definitely feel ya when it comes to achieving that pretty-but-not-permanent thing (Check out my blog, particularly the living room and bedroom tours:)
Epic view, by the way. Best o' luck!
I love this post and all the pics hun!!!!! I feel like I've already been there now! Congrats on getting your Austin pad rented. I guess that means I need to stop going by and yelling JAMIE!!! at your balcony:/ Hahaha FYI, I'm only sorta crazy as you well know:)
i would totally give up some of my amenities to have that view!!
Looks like you have your hands full!!! Can't wait to see the makeovers!