Day 2 was yesterday, Friday the thirteenth. First we did the walk through; just a formality in this case. I have to leave my present apartment by May 31. It’s too late to look for anything else, and in fact, nothing else I wanted has come on the market. So I did not negotiate the price or any of the minor annoyances I would have liked to have changed. After all, it’s only money. The closing took less than an hour and was relatively painless, the painful part having been on Day 1 when I wired the money from my account. All the kinks had been worked out previously. I went back to the new apartment afterward and inspected and thought and photographed for about two hours. Here are photos and some of my thoughts.
This is the entry door from inside the living room. There are good closets on either side. I’m probably keeping the gold colored walls, but I’m thinking about making that entry area all white. I need some help making that decision.
The living room itself is quite large and I probably don’t have enough furniture. Empty rooms are nice. Actually, I have too much furniture–just not the right stuff.
Looking to the right there are mirrored, built-in shelves. I find the mirror confusing, but after I put stuff on the shelves it will probably be OK.
Then there is the wall. It sits between the living room and dining room, making the dining room about a foot too small. The wallpapering job is amazing. I could hardly find a seam. Amazing or not, I can’t live with large green peacock feathers. We’ll come back to the dining room.
There is a wall of windows, facing north, making the room very light. I will probably get shades that close from the bottom up, allowing me to hide the parking lots below, but let the light come in.
On to the dining room, smaller but in need of more work.
The chandelier is going, along with some enormous sconces that show in the next picture. I found some wonderfully funky looking fixtures in Home Depot online and ordered them. My dining room table and chairs will be very tight in there. I’m still thinking about it.
The floor seems to be travertine. I’m happy it’s not carpeted. I’m actually thinking about removing the living room carpet, which is relatively new, and installing a wood floor.
Next is the dreaded hallway.
That’s the dropped ceiling with florescent lights. Note the wall paper and the closet door. There are three of those doors, very high on my priorities of the things that go. I feel oppressed in there.
It’s is getting very late and I’m ready to go to sleep. I’ll finish this on day 4. Day 3 was uneventful. I put a stack of large drawing tablets, book board and foamcore into the car and took it to the apartment. I intend to bring something every day–all the things that would be difficult to pack. I also bought a cheap floor lamp. Both bedrooms and the living have no lights. Another thing to think about.
100 Books Before I Die 
You wanted thoughts? LOL
Cancer: If the treatments will leave you more comfortable and there is a good chance of a cure, I would go for it.
Dining room: Try a recessed light and no sconces. Or a light bar and no sconces. Yes, those are terrible. Yes, we had to get rid of our too big dining room table and chairs here too. We have a small, light wood table with leaves. It sits against the wall, and easily expands for party’s or holidays.
Living room: Yes, that carpet doesn’t go with either the marble or the walls. Wood will be nice. That wall is horrific. Yes, off with the wallpaper. Perhaps a grass paper that will give the room an oriental look. You can hang a couple of japanese prints on it…on both sides.
Then again, you knew what I did here. Paint it all white, move in, and make changes later. Horrible idea.
I like Grace’s note and while I’m no authority on decor, I agree that wallpaper has to go! From her photos on Postcards, I think Mage has a wonderful color sense. I’ll be checking back to see whether she has any suggestions. The gold walls are nice, but yep that entry needs to be lighter–at lease from where I sit. It’s nice to be this moving journey with you. I’m be waiting for the next installment. Rest well and come back soon.
I showed the pictures to Andy, who finds the apartment very interesting. He thinks the fenestration is wonderful and has an oriental feel that you can emphasize. He likes the apartment’s progression of spaces, and feels that the “feather” wall can be looked at as an woderful opportunity rather than a liability (without the feathers). Etc. Congratulations on your new adventure, Ruthe! Keep these blogs coming. We are intrigued.
I hope your fascination will bring you back to Pittsburgh, at least for a visit. The wall will be good on the living room side. The trouble is that I will probably have to get rid of my dining table and chairs and get something smaller. I hadn’t thought of the windows as having a Japanese feel, but screens would be interesting. Another thing to think about. Thanks for your input. Thank Andy, too.