The idea gathering phase is easy. Just pin some interesting pegs in Pinterest and go crazy over these sleek mono chromed Scandinavian interiors. In my first Project Condo post, I was so excited about buying furniture that I didn't realize I had to consider a whole lot of other things before making these big decisions. See, I didn't plan on moving into my unit right away because I wanted to do the whole shebang of inviting family and a few friends over to celebrate my big move and of course have the place blessed by a priest. My mom will bring lasagna. I'll serve it on my new Corelle plates and we will eat it using my sparkling cutlery. My sisters and brother will share their thoughts on the awesomeness of my place and I will gush at how my condo really looked exactly how I imagined it. We will have coffee and cupcakes on my Eames-inspired dining set and we will sit on my cozy gray couch while watching T.V. They will marvel at my small albeit beautiful space, and I will tell them how fun and amazing it was to decorate and move in.
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| The dream living room |
But of course, that scenario's all in my head. When the keys to my unit were handed over mid-March, I realized shit just got real. Let me share with you what my moving in experience was like and how different my expectations were from my actual reality...so far.
The Turnover
The developer, Robinson's Residences emailed me early March to schedule the condo viewing and turnover. My bank loan has been approved and I had set up my account for auto-debit. The engineer showed me around the building--the lobby, mail room, trash chute at the lower ground, function rooms, gym and pool! I had an idea what the pool would look like, but it was even better than the mock up 3d photos they showed online! Expectation < Reality!
Then we arrived at my unit's door, I was nervous and excited at the same time. I got a one bedroom apartment, and I knew it was going to be small. When my mom and I got in, I was flown back to reality. This is my 3 years worth of downpayment. While my reality matched my expectations because the flooring, kitchen and cabinet finish were great, there was a lot of natural light coming in and the bathroom was spacious and the developer has provided built in aircon slots in the bedroom and exhaust slots in the kitchen, I had one thing on my mind: How am I going to fit all my dream furniture in this small space?! See, 32 sqm is not a lot. In fact, it's really tiny. In my head, I was already reducing my bed size from Queen to Full and my L-shaped sofa to a 2 seater love seat. I will probably have to scrap 2/3 of my pins in my Project Condo board. Expectation = Reality.
I then started researching on small space interiors from Apartment Therapy and the site has a lot of resources on how apartment owners can style their homes to maximize space. Some featured homes come even in 20-24sqm! That's when I knew my small space had hope. It was all in the layout and design.
The Move
As I've mentioned earlier, there was no urgent need for me to move in, until that week when I remembered I have a 3-day Project Management training in Eastwood on April 2-4. I knew then I had to take advantage of my condo so that I can at least cut my commute time in half if I come from Mandaluyong instead of Paranaque. There was an immediate shift of priorities because of the urgency of the move, so I recalculated. Remember this post? Not one of those items enumerated were bought during the week of my move. I guess taking a more practical route took first dibs because I didn't have an endless pool of moolah to fund all my dream furniture at once. Expectation > Reality.
To be able to move in with the bare minimum, you have to buy the following:
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| The bed |
1. Mattress - There are so many things that one needs to consider in buying a bed frame and I didn't want to rush into the purchase just because of my 3 day training. I want my bed fame to be made of solid wood, in white or dark wood and with a couple of drawers for storage underneath. So I went futon style and bought an Ambassador Ortho Prestige mattress in semi double. I knew right from the start that I didn't want a single bed, but a queen seemed too big for my room. A double was a good choice as well, but the OC in me wanted the edge of the mattress to fit a 50 inch frame. I took off the plastic cover on one side but kept the cover underneath to protect the mattress from dust. It has 15 year warranty service and I got it at a discounted price.
Note: I have yet to give a review of Ambassador sales people from SM though. The mattress is awesome, but the service from SM was horrible
2. Pillows, pillow cases and bed linen - Apart from receiving keys during the turnover, Robinson's also gave me a standard sized pillow. It's soooooo fluffy and soft, I wanted to hug it all the time! Since they only gave me one, I wanted to get the second half of the pair so that my other pillowcase won't be lonely in the cabinet and I have something to hug when I sleep. I also purchased a waterproof mattress protector from SM and a 4 piece bed set that include 2 pillow cases, a fitted sheet and a flat sheet. Buying a duvet or comforter seemed impractical at this point because I haven't bought an airconditioning unit yet!
4. Electric fan - I got a black stand fan for 1,250 bucks in Handyman. It has a 5 year warranty and the fan generates good breeze that I only set it at the minimum setting. The downside is that it has a rather audible whirring sound as well. I will most likely use it for the living room once I install airconditioning in my bed room.
5. Entry way and bath rugs - I bought two rugs for the bath and for the entry way, just so I won't have to tiptoe around my space and keep the dirt at a minimum. I kept my shoes near the entry way and made sure I use only my indoor slippers (a couple of pairs were provided by Robinson's as well!) when I'm in the unit. Still, I learned it the hard way that no matter how nice a white rug looks in pictures, it won't be white for long in real life.
6. Trash cans for kitchen and restroom - I got a step on stainless steel trash can for the kitchen and a plastic grey bin for the rest room. If the bath room gets flooded (God forbid!), plastic might fare better in the restroom than the stainless steel kind.
7. Dinnerware and glass containers - I was seriously planning to eat out all the time, but when I came across the Corelle 16pc dinnerware in black and white, I had to take a second look. And what do you know, it's on sale! I also got myself 4 glass containers from Lock & Lock and I got them on a buy 1 take 1 bargain as well. I used it for storing sugar, creamer, oatmeal and ground coffee.
The Perks and Trade Offs
It's only my second week at my new space and I definitely had a change of lifestyle. My constant concern is the number of furniture and house hold items that I still need to purchase, the utility bills and association bills that I need to pay for and well, my new perspective on independence. I bought groceries thinking of the value that I can get for my money. In short, I became more mindful in consuming. The biggest perk of living in a condo is the convenience. I save time and effort in the commute going to work (I it's a 5 minute walk plus tambling to my office because it's just right across my place) and I get more things done within 24 hours. I get to swim every 7 am and still have time for breakfast and coffee in the morning before going to the office. Depending on the developer, the building can also offer pretty rad facilities. The trade off? It comes with a price, of course.
A Thousand Things More To Do
Contractor meet up, check. Suppliers for blinds/curtains, check. Furniture research, check. Appliance canvassing, check. It's a lot of work, living on your own and establishing a life in your own space. I've been learning a lot these past couple of weeks and one thing we need to remind ourselves during the move in process is that there is no rush. You don't want to get trapped into the false urgency of having everything at once. The key is to research, discern and decide carefully so that you will have no regrets with your home improvement purchases. The important thing is to fill your home only with things that you really love and finding a purpose for everything. It's having the balance between function and aesthetic that is essential to making the dream a reality.