Advice: Decorating the Living Space

Either you live in a box (10x10 feet, and yes, it exists) or you live in a large apartment.  Either way, moving to a new place means decorating, and it doesn't have to be expensive.

Apartments in France
Usually come unequipped.  The kitchen often has a sink, the rest is up to you to use creative ingenuity, budgeting and a little imagination.  Here's the places we went to decorate our place and some options of other places to go;

• Ikea:  Of course everyone knows of Ikea, sometimes the products can be expensive and temporary.  I bought a few items that were not expensive but incredibly used.  Remember you'll need to put together the items at home, which is time consuming and annoying.. having a friend with powertools helps.  I reccommend going to their French Website and picking everything out and putting onto a 'lists d'achat', or list of things to buy.  This allows you to see if the product is available at your Ikea, and how many.  It helps.
• What I bought at Ikea:
• Hanging Clothing Dryer: necessity for doing your own laundry.  €5.99.
• Little Kitchen Island:  To put my oven, store some things.  €36.
• Giant Cutting Board:  To put on top of my washer so it becomes a good workspace, €6.99.
• 6 Wine Glasses, for only €3.85.
• Spice Jars:  4 for €3.99, wonderful to store my multitude of spices.
• Black Extending Table:  Because we invite people over, and eating in front of the television really gets old.  €99.
  
• ParuVendu:  A website/newspaper that offers used products for sell.  Sellers create an advertisement in the paper, buyers call direct to the sellers.  Often there are tables, chairs and big objects for much cheaper than it would be new.  They also sell animals and services... :)
• FUSAC: An American friendly website with advertisements of products or items being sold.
• L'Occasions:  Sometimes as you are walking down the street you'll find some occasion shops and even a 'salvation army' where things are cheaper but still good quality.

As an example of our apartment, here's the before in the kitchen...

The kitchen is blocky, the area stuffed.. not very 'chi' for me.

And then I got to decorating.. and here's our new apartment..

My little oven on it's stand, laundry drying.. fridge turned.  MY kitchen!

My Ikea Spice jars, stuffed with smelly good spices..

The Washer.. and work table...

out eating area

This is Miles, my Moulinex.  Not part of the deco- but I love him.

Just to show the difference, this is the OLD apartment.. and yes, that WAS my kitchen

Good luck on the decorating- and remember to be inventive and SHOP AROUND!

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